| Author | Message | ||
| terryc
Junior Username: terryc Post Number: 45 Registered: 11-2004 |
Okay this isn't a problem but maybe advice. Some of the forum have said they haven't even took the control cavity plates off or had a good look at the innards or took the hardware off. Well I know we pay a lot for oour basses & guitars but basic maintenance cansave lots of money AND they are very helpful on this page. I service all my instruments and I suggest to anyone who wants to do this is to go and get a wrecked or cheap guitar, pull it to bits and rebuild it..that way you are not going cry when you get it wrong | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 578 Registered: 9-2002 |
I've often thought these instruments were designed to be maintained by the user, so as not to lose time via UPS returning them to a small company who could not maintain a large 'third-person' repair network as would a Fender or Peavey. By design, the laminates, in a majority of the population of built instruments, are just more stable. This was backed up by superior wood choice and aging before construction. Especially important regarding the neck/fingerboard system: Very rare to need a new nut with the brass composition, and the adjustability negates much need for filling/deepening the piece, save for drastic changes in string guages. Even at that, you only need a blank for the top part of the assembly. And that and the occasional refret could be done locally if trusted to a competent tech. The electronics in most cases are very long-lived due to the almost NASA-spec componentry that Ron spec'd for his circuits. This is a good thing, as you're NOT going to find Honeywell Clarostats at Radio Shack or Guitar Center. But with over 20 wipers inside, not often you're gonna need one. My 92 hasn't even the slightest hint of corrosion noise, and turns as if the shaft is spinning in 90 weight gear grease. As with the other components, there are NO solder joints to degrade or break. The gold-plated plug-ins are virtual lifetime connectors. The Series electronics are more complex, but built to last as well, and have proven to be upgradeable over time as technology and component quality have improved. The pickups don't even have foam beneath them to turn into mouse feed over time. And with the plug-ins, a lot of problems are reduced to unplugging the old, inserting the new. With the adjustable nut, the dual truss rods, and the bridge pre-cast to match the curve of the fingerboard, action adjustment is simply easier on these than any other instrument I can think of. Turned it into a log while you were experimenting? Return some screws to their starting points and it's right back where you started. No neck shims, no conventional nut to file/break/replace, no pulling the pickguard to get at the truss rod . . . it just seems that these instruments were almost meant to never come home after they were sold. I've always wondered it this was just the by=product of the feature set, or if this was a conscious decision to tweak the feature set to this level of adjustability . . . it's just a stunning display of practical genius either way. I remember a post where the respondent said, 'it takes a LOT of homework to reverse-engineer Ron Wickersham', and I'd have to agree completely. I was taken in by this soon after I bought the BigRedBass, and all of this just kept tapping me on the shoulder and intruding into what I thought was a pretty fair layman's knowledge of guitar building. I had previously been at the mercy of guitar techs to adjust my action. They NEVER got it right, and I went to some VERY good ones. But they could not wrap their mind around my idea of a BASS with action comparable to a first rate electric guitar: Very low, rattle-free, effortless to play. It dawned on me that anything I could do to THIS bass, I could easily undo UNTIL I GOT IT RIGHT. And if I proceeded prudently, I would NOT hurt this instrument. nor require somebody else (again) to replace a nut, etc. I felt like I'd discovered something sublime. Bought a great book, read it over and over and over in the adjustments section, dove in and did it till I FINALLY 'got it', and now my bass is EXACTLY how I want after playing for over 20 years. And I can KEEP it that way. This is a wonderful gift. To lift a line from the commercial, 'PRICELESS!'. For those of you that are at a point where setup and maintenance is an important part of you personal paradigm, I cannot agree with TerryC more. That's why the BigRedBass truly changed my life. My musical life easily boils down to BEFORE I got it and AFTER I got it. The sound and craft spoke to me; learning to adjust it myself bonded it to me in a way that I can't easily explain. I'm just so fortunate to have it. J o e y | ||
| smokin_dave
Advanced Member Username: smokin_dave Post Number: 257 Registered: 10-2002 |
I couldn't agree more Joey. I've never really had to correct the neck on my Epic but my Rogue is a whole different animal.I've grown very comfortable making my own adjustments and I have it set exactly how I like it.Especially after reading the post's in the FAQ section.Very helpful and eye opening the FAQ's are.I've got my Rogue neck adjusted for impossibly low action,buzz free and this is after years of playing with a much higher action.My hands and fingers in recent years just won't tollerate high action anymore and thanks to Alembic,I've discovered the joy's of playing a low action bass.Plus I can keep it that way since they are so user friendly.The Rogue changed my bass playing life much like your BRB did to yours. Cheerio P.S. I have made the same adjustments to my Epic for low action which I didn't think were possible to achieve after 10 plus years of playing the thing with very high action.I used to play with a very heavy hand but age has forced me into a different,lighter playing style and thanks to Alembic electronics,I still get a very powerful sound without beating the bass and myself to death every night.My Epic,after all these years, is still beautiful to play. | ||
| terryc
Intermediate Member Username: terryc Post Number: 165 Registered: 11-2004 |
Firstly thanks to bigredbass for the support of my suggestions and my example of this is my old Squier precision. It was a typical high action bass, I fitted Alembic P/J activators about ten years ago and at the same time fitted a Badass II bridge, tweaked the truss rod and the action came down. Anyone who tried it couldn't believe how well it played. I cannot stand high action basses ot guitars as they can cause repetitive strain injury to the hands..make it easy on yourself(as the song says) and adjust them down. My son now owns this bass for his rock band, he detunes the low E to D and a couple of weeks ago he said it was buzzing on some frets, again tweaking the rod to compensate for the lower tension solved it all. Why is it that truss rods seem to put the fear of god in some people?? Just don't attack them like as if you were torqueing a car cylinder head and you will be fine. | ||
| dannobasso
Senior Member Username: dannobasso Post Number: 552 Registered: 3-2004 |
I also heartily agree. I currently have 15 Alembics (another 1 on the way) 6 other basses and 10 guitars. I have no fear of adjusting anything on all of them. The ease of Ron's design took the mystery out of it and made me aware that despite changing seasons, I can have instruments that always perform. On my others I can now confidently drill, replace, tweek, solder and file as need be. Even with all the instruments I acquired over the years, it doesn't take much time to bring them back to peak performance. Taking Anthony Jackson's advice I carry tools with my basses and can tweek before a gig, session or rehearsal if I need to. Some folks are mystified at how easy it is to maintain my gear. Dual rods, adjustable nut and bridge as well as secure pickup adjustment, how lucky can we get! | ||
| georgie_boy
Advanced Member Username: georgie_boy Post Number: 239 Registered: 8-2005 |
what a great and informative thread! I actually built a neck-thru bass from scratch, and learned so much from the experience. I even used her on stage many times. Let's all thank the Wickershams for changing our lives so radically. G | ||
| keavin
Senior Member Username: keavin Post Number: 1204 Registered: 12-2002 |
It's so easy a caveman can do it! | ||
| rraymond
Advanced Member Username: rraymond Post Number: 266 Registered: 6-2002 |
 | ||
| keavin
Senior Member Username: keavin Post Number: 1205 Registered: 12-2002 |
LOL!!!.... | ||
| rraymond
Advanced Member Username: rraymond Post Number: 268 Registered: 6-2002 |
I couldn't resist. | ||
| terryc
Intermediate Member Username: terryc Post Number: 170 Registered: 11-2004 |
Dannobasso 15 Alembics!!!!! f**k me...took me 20 years to get one!! Must be guitar heaven in your house! And as far maintenance of them..guess it must be a full time occupation! You must have a purchase contract with a string manufacturer for that lot. | ||
| keavin
Senior Member Username: keavin Post Number: 1206 Registered: 12-2002 |
Next to Stanley Clarke Rami has the 'MOST ALEMBICS'... | ||
| adriaan
Senior Member Username: adriaan Post Number: 1482 Registered: 6-2002 |
Kevin, not sure that Stanley has that many Alembics - I think Mica once said he had no more than three or four. | ||
| terryc
Intermediate Member Username: terryc Post Number: 171 Registered: 11-2004 |
If you look at the vinyl version of 'I Wanna Play For You' I think there are four or five laid out on his entrance steps(or as you USA guys say a stoop- is that right??) Never forget that one on the front cover with a Bigsby on it!! | ||
| dannobasso
Senior Member Username: dannobasso Post Number: 555 Registered: 3-2004 |
Quite a few folks have more and fancier than I. Someday I'll get a group shot together with the whole family. Me camera is not a so good. I'm working on an endorsement from DR. That would help a bunch. | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 5088 Registered: 5-2002 |
Terry; here in the South it's called a porch. | ||
| bassdr
Member Username: bassdr Post Number: 95 Registered: 10-2004 |
I agree with all of the above. This spring Koa Essence went crazy- the action got real high and it took me several days of gentle tweaking to get it right again. I love the adjustable nut- every bass needs one. Michael | ||
| terryc
Intermediate Member Username: terryc Post Number: 197 Registered: 11-2004 |
Okay, you guys in the US of A may not have heard but over here in the UK we have had two months rain in two weeks, I think the MK Signature is sprouting roots thinking it was back in the rain forest!!! For the first time in long time I had to adjust the rods again this year because of the air moisture. |
