| Author | Message | ||
| kenonbass
Junior Username: kenonbass Post Number: 18 Registered: 4-2008 |
As I played my near minty '93 JPJ triple omega last night at practice and worried that I might collide with my guitar player or forget to put it in the stand, I stared at my old J bass that I never worried about and wondered "has anybody ever played their Alembic until it was beat to s**t? What does a "relic'd" Alembic look like?" Can I treat my Alembic like a J bass? Are Alembic basses particularly fragile? Why does everyone's always look so pristine? Does anyone have any pics of one with mojo from honest wear? Any stories? How can I live this double life: careful with Alembics; careless with Fenders. (Message edited by kenonbass on October 22, 2008) | ||
| dadabass2001
Senior Member Username: dadabass2001 Post Number: 962 Registered: 6-2002 |
Hi Ken, I remember Mica once mentioning a custom bass that was ordered "stressed" by draging it around their parking lot on a chain behind a motorcycle. Also check out forum member Kevin's old #12. He said it's had it's head broken off a couple of times and the body is funky beyond belief, but he'll NEVER part with it. amen Mike | ||
| keavin
Senior Member Username: keavin Post Number: 1481 Registered: 12-2002 |
 this one is been to Hell & back.head stock broken three times lots of dings & it needs a new finish but for an oldie like this it sounds like Heaven!!!!!!!!!.& i like the worn look it shows it's true age.(1972#12) | ||
| keavin
Senior Member Username: keavin Post Number: 1482 Registered: 12-2002 |
 i forgot to mention my pickup rings are gone & i'm on my third power supply Cable in 30 years! (Message edited by keavin on October 27, 2008) | ||
| keavin
Senior Member Username: keavin Post Number: 1483 Registered: 12-2002 |
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| new2alembic
Member Username: new2alembic Post Number: 80 Registered: 9-2008 |
So Keavin, how about that Chicago gathering? Carl | ||
| new2alembic
Member Username: new2alembic Post Number: 81 Registered: 9-2008 |
Keavin how recent is the broken headstock picture? Is old #12 healthy today? I hope so! Carl | ||
| new2alembic
Member Username: new2alembic Post Number: 82 Registered: 9-2008 |
Sorry Ken. I wasn't ignoring you. Play your bass like you're trying to kill it. Make it scream! But when the night is over, give it some TLC. Read the posts on caring for your instrument. The lemon oil really does wonders for the fretboard. My guitar is 30 years old. But the previous owners took good care of it. I am following in their tradition. I sometimes play very hard, but I am always careful in how I handle my instruments. However; if something catastrophic does happen, the elves at Santa Rosa are able and willing to do their magic. Carl | ||
| keavin
Senior Member Username: keavin Post Number: 1487 Registered: 12-2002 |
that chicago gathering ..anytime!,,,,,,the last time old#12 has been broken i belive was in 2003 when my strap gave way, so at that point i got a thick leather strap and screwed it into the bass at both ends,which i repaired my self with a good clamp & a tube of gorilla glue its better than carpenters wood glue.http://www.gorillaglue.com/  | ||
| new2alembic
Member Username: new2alembic Post Number: 84 Registered: 9-2008 |
Thanks for the information Keavin, and I am glad to know that old #12 is still in good health. Play it healthy! Carl | ||
| mike1762
Intermediate Member Username: mike1762 Post Number: 144 Registered: 1-2008 |
So what was going through your mind at the time of the first decapitation??? I would have LOST MY MIND!!! I guess by the 3rd time you're just like... "oh, did THAT happen again... ho hum". | ||
| keavin
Senior Member Username: keavin Post Number: 1488 Registered: 12-2002 |
couldnt believe it!....my mutha f#ckin alembic on the floor broke?????...what would U do?. | ||
| mike1762
Intermediate Member Username: mike1762 Post Number: 148 Registered: 1-2008 |
I'm assuming this occurred after the body hit the floor followed by the back of the head stock??? I would imagine a multi-laminate neck would be more susceptible to "decapitation" than a one piece neck. While a multi-laminate neck is more stable, it is relatively inflexible; therefore,... SNAP!!! | ||
| keith_h
Senior Member Username: keith_h Post Number: 1150 Registered: 2-2005 |
As I recall Alembic actually went with the multi part neck on purpose. In their early years Alembic did quite a bit of instrument repair including decapitations. They found that a solid piece of wood will shatter and be much harder to repair. By adding the headstock as a separate piece most breaks are cleaner and therefore easier to repair. The laminates serve two purposes. The first is to strengthen the joint and the second is to hide the kerf joint where the headstock is attached. Keith | ||
| keavin
Senior Member Username: keavin Post Number: 1489 Registered: 12-2002 |
yeah i dont understand that concept (multi-laminate/weaker joint) especially concidering the money paid for an alemnic,........But my 2nd decapitation occured while flying from chicago to Vegas in 2000,baggege handlers toss everything my bass case was damaged & when i opened the case there it was!!!!! the first thing kept thinking was calling a ••••••• bomb threat to delay & disrupt the whole ••••••• airport, i called to complain about guitar but got nothing but the runaround from some white lady on the phone!!!  | ||
| mike1762
Intermediate Member Username: mike1762 Post Number: 151 Registered: 1-2008 |
I didn't realize the headstock was a seperate piece!!! I've never noticed the joint... I'll have to take a closer look when I get home. Keavin, did your breaks occur at the joint? | ||
| keavin
Senior Member Username: keavin Post Number: 1490 Registered: 12-2002 |
they occured right at the or under the brass nut,however they were clean breaks which made it fit right into place (no splinters)...plus also most of the very early alembics had super skinny necks i mean you can wrap your hand around my neck twice almost,my neck is a little over 2 inches wide from the first to the last fret, a guy with big hands would be uncomfortable with my bass ,i have small hands so its just rite. | ||
| mario_farufyno
Junior Username: mario_farufyno Post Number: 23 Registered: 9-2008 |
I try to always take proper care with my basses, even the cheap one. But you know... $#!t happens. The drummer I play with droped my Rogue on floor one time he stumbled on his cord and this caused a minor hurt at its back. But nothing like breaking the Headstock. I confess that I droped a single tear when I realized what happend and I just can't imagine my reaction if I see my Alembic broken in pieces. | ||
| adriaan
Senior Member Username: adriaan Post Number: 2016 Registered: 6-2002 |
Always unplug your Alembic when not playing it - saves on battery life too! | ||
| mario_farufyno
Junior Username: mario_farufyno Post Number: 25 Registered: 9-2008 |
A single tear because I was among my band mates (if I was alone I would probably cry like a child!). I forgot to mention that my Rogue is "wounded" by the "tail" (I carry it in a Gig Bag, whose zipper hurted the bass before I protect it with a rag of a blanket). | ||
| adriaan
Senior Member Username: adriaan Post Number: 2019 Registered: 6-2002 |
I know the feeling ... my Epic once slipped through my fingers, from not more than a foot above the ground, in a gigbag. This left a mark on the side of the bass, about half an inch in diameter - but luckily not through the polyurethane finish, which is pretty thin. That was the last time I carried it in a gigbag. | ||
| benson_murrensun
Member Username: benson_murrensun Post Number: 71 Registered: 5-2007 |
I bought my Alembic very much "used": Buckle rash, a few dents and dings, some little scratches, etc. The sound and electronics are fine, however. Because of it's condition, the price was lower, and I can let friends try it out without fear of ruining that mint condition of an instrument. It lives in a gig bag that seems to be fine for the use I give it. I'll take it on any gig. I do have some other instruments that are in mint condition, and they have to be babied to keep them they way they came from their makers, but the Alembic ain't one of them. I kinda like that. | ||
| chalie_holmes
Junior Username: chalie_holmes Post Number: 35 Registered: 3-2009 |
Hey Keavin, That picture of your severed bass head was absolutely gastly! I can imagine your emotions when you 1st saw it like that. I remember about 3 yrs ago right before my show I took my Double Bass out of it's case and the neck just fell right off of it's body! Fortunately the drummer had another Stand-up bass at his house we quickly drove to his house and I used that bass (ugh). Anyway, I can take losing my girlfriend but not my axe! | ||
| dadabass2001
Senior Member Username: dadabass2001 Post Number: 1080 Registered: 6-2002 |
Chalie, if your girlfriends neck comes off, the cops will be looking for ya. (paraphrasing Love & Death) "but, could I be happy with a decapitated partner and a borrowed upright?"  Mike | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 1422 Registered: 6-2002 |
Hi Keavin, in your post ( 4th on in the thread), it looks like you have two cables plugged into your bass, PSU and jack. Is that the case and why? I thought you got one or the other outputting, and not both. Jazzyvee | ||
| keavin
Senior Member Username: keavin Post Number: 1607 Registered: 12-2002 |
that was because my power supply cable was providing juice (electricity only) & the 1/4 jack provided pickups.......in other words the power supply cable had some broken wires inside so i enquired about another one here in the club and recieved a new one in less than a week totally free from a fellow club member....but at the same time my bass would'nt take batteries do to very old & bad wires but ive since had new battery wires installed so now after 29 plus years my bass runs on batteries as well as the power cable.......so my workhorse alembic earns the "most beat alembic" award! (Message edited by keavin on April 16, 2009) | ||
| llobsterbass
Member Username: llobsterbass Post Number: 52 Registered: 5-2004 |
I don't care how old or beatup #12 gets...I still drool every time you post a photo of it. Must be a close relative of Phil Lesh's Alembicized Starfire, which was under construction ca. 1972. all those knobs are superfilters, right? jam on! | ||
| serialnumber12
Advanced Member Username: serialnumber12 Post Number: 393 Registered: 12-2004 |
(Message edited by serialnumber12 on April 27, 2009) | ||
| serialnumber12
Advanced Member Username: serialnumber12 Post Number: 394 Registered: 12-2004 |
the knobs are just standard seriesII but spread out along the entire brass plate,the mini toggle is standby and my gain adjustable trim pots are also front loaded that's why you see ten controls on the front of my bass,the trim pots/Humcancellers are inside. (Message edited by serialnumber12 on April 27, 2009) | ||
| serialnumber12
Advanced Member Username: serialnumber12 Post Number: 395 Registered: 12-2004 |
 | ||
| hubertarian
Junior Username: hubertarian Post Number: 15 Registered: 1-2003 |
The laminations on the headstock strengthen that vulnerable joint significantly. My '78 medium scale was sent on a flight off of the third tier of a stage riser from a guitar stand when my foot pulled on the cable as I walked off for a "break". It travelled all the way to the audience floor, about 20 feet down and another 10 forward, taking a jbl 12" monitor with it from atop an A7 main speaker, snagging the monitor cable on its perilous journey (the monitor landed on the back of the neck!). The bass landed /smack/ onto its face, with the monitor rolling off to the side. This was in '79, and the bass played the rest of the night, and for 6 months after that before a luthier helped out by soaking some glue into the myriad little cracks which formed on the back laminates. Having once broken the head off of a Gibson Thunderbird by slipping on ice up some steps on the way to rehearsal, I came to deeply appreciate the thought and care in the development of the head/neck joint laminations. |
