| Author | Message | ||
| ghostyhead
New Username: ghostyhead Post Number: 1 Registered: 5-2008 |
Hey all, 1st timer here! Have wanted an Alembic since I learned about them in the 80`s and listened to Mark King and Stanley. I guess thats the sound I want, the clean crisp sound that only an alembic seems to deliver. I almost bought a Distilate this morning on ebay $1900 us (which is $2600 in NewZealand dollars. I guess I want to know, without buying a signature, is a series one or two what I should start with, or even a distilate if I can find another? and how reliable is it buying from people here? thanks in advance | ||
| keurosix
Advanced Member Username: keurosix Post Number: 308 Registered: 10-2005 |
Hi Ben, welcome to the club! Good luck in hunting for your Alembic! The signature series and the Series 1 & 2 (flagship) have 2 low pass filters with Q switches on board. This is the sound made popular by MK and Stanley, and is the most versatile (and costly!). However, any Alembic with even one filter and Q switch has a killer sound. A Distillate has one filter, but has an awesome sound too. You will probably have to settle for what you can get / afford in your area, but you should be able to trust the Alembic Club members here. We are all dedicated musicians who honor the finer things in life, especially Alembics, and usually go out of our way to please! Keep an eye on the "for sale" area of the Club. Every Alembic is a work of art and will offer years of great sound and pride of ownership. Kris | ||
| ghostyhead
New Username: ghostyhead Post Number: 5 Registered: 5-2008 |
Thanks man, is the q switch the same as a frequency Q on a mixing desk, where it determines the width of the frequency you are boosting? and does the low pass roll of the top end (as on a mxing desk) or is it a different design? | ||
| 3rd_ray
Junior Username: 3rd_ray Post Number: 28 Registered: 2-2008 |
Ben, have you tried Bass People? I'm sure they know something about getting an Alembic into your area... http://alembic.com/club/messages/393/51131.html?1209677991 Good luck! | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 6578 Registered: 5-2002 |
Hi Ben, welcome to the board! I'm listening to your "Giants" tune, and it's really nice! No, the "Q" switch on an Alembic does not determine the width of the frequency. The Q switch boosts the frequency that the low pass filter is set at. The standard two position Q switch on Europa or Signature electronics has either an 8db boost or no boost. The three position switch on Series I has 0, 6, and 9db positions. For more, see our FAQs and Must Reads sections. | ||
| tbrannon
Senior Member Username: tbrannon Post Number: 746 Registered: 11-2004 |
Ben, I'm listening to Nicola from the band's MySpace. Nice bass work- I wish I had known about you guys earlier. I would have caught a few shows up in Jaffa-land had I known you were there! Toby | ||
| ghostyhead
Junior Username: ghostyhead Post Number: 11 Registered: 5-2008 |
hey thanks! we are still working on adding real drums to the last 3 songs... the rest I programmed as demos. I was offered that distillate again as the ebay buyer backed out... tell what you guys think. is the volume knob some dogey replacement? it works out to $2600 nz dollars (1900 us roughly) still worth it considering you pay $2000-4500 for a musicman here and they have only one sound and very different from and alembic I guess. | ||
| ghostyhead
Junior Username: ghostyhead Post Number: 12 Registered: 5-2008 |
hey thanks! we are still working on adding real drums to the last 3 songs... the rest I programmed as demos. I was offered that distillate again as the ebay buyer backed out... tell what you guys think. is the volume knob some dogey replacement? it works out to $2600 nz dollars (1900 us roughly) still worth it considering you pay $2000-4500 for a musicman here and they have only one sound and very different from and alembic I guess. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250248948565&ssPageName=STRK:MESO:IT&ih=015. | ||
| effclef
Senior Member Username: effclef Post Number: 511 Registered: 1-2004 |
Hmm, Distillates had a power LED by the jack, and see that black hole there? I can't see the LED. Maybe it's missing? He could be correct in that it's a surface crack but to me, that looks like it was cracked totally off and re-filled, with the LED being missing. I'd ask for closeup shots and shots of the electronics cavity before going for it. There is an Epic fretless up now at $999 or best offer. Maybe that would be a better deal - if you have a luthier who can fret it for you, perhaps. Good luck making a decision. It is hard...the Club members always say "there WILL be another" when passing one by, but it is hard when one is right in front of you.  EffClef | ||
| bsee
Senior Member Username: bsee Post Number: 1964 Registered: 3-2004 |
I would say that there are two theories for buying your first Alembic. They may not apply for someone in New Zealand with a much more limited selection. Theory one is to save your pennies and spec out exactly what you want. I am not a big fan of this since there's almost always something that you miss, or add and don't like. There are too many sales of special customs on the used market for my liking, and every one comes with a significant loss. Theory two, the better one in my mind, is to get your hands on any Alembic to see what it is all about. Own it if you have to, or find one that you can try somewhere. In the US, it's not hard to buy a used Alembic for $2000-3000 and sell it for within a couple hundred dollars of the same price after 3-6 months. This is where being in New Zealand is going to hurt your wallet. There is very little risk. If you're thinking about a custom order, you should start quantifying information about your preferences. Since you can spec out just about everything when you order from the factory, you should pay attention to what neck dimensions work for you. Depth and width at the nut and 24th fret should give you all the parameters that matter. Maybe also pay attention to the shape of the neck, be it like a sawed off baseball bat or something flatter. As far as buying from someone here, I think it has a much higher success rate than eBay. Not to be a participation snob, but if you see a sale from someone who has been here for a year or more and has some posts, it's probably a pretty safe deal. I would still use some caution and read a few of the seller's posts to get a feel for the person you're dealing with, but I'd have higher expectations that the deal would go through and that the guitar would match the description. With regard to that Distillate, I'd agree that it looks like more than a surface crack. I have seen a couple Distillates that were dropped while plugged in and had injuries like this. If someone "backed out" of the original deal, this could be why. The bass may function and play fine, but the value would have to be reduced by the damage. In the US, I would value the thing closer to $1500 than $2000, but it's probably still a good deal if you can get it to New Zealand with reasonable shipping charges based upon what you have said about prices there. I would want some guarantee that the bass is fully functional and that there is no flex on the top when a cable is plugged and unplugged. Maybe a picture of the control cavity as well. Some people removed or disconnected the LED for better battery life so, if it is gone, that shouldn't be a big concern. The Distillate should be a lot closer to the sound you're looking for than any Epic. In my opinion, fretting a fretless or defretting a fretted Alembic is almost never a good idea. The side markers are in different positions for these basses and the cost of the work and chance of a screwup are greater than the cost of selling what you have to get what you want. It would have to be a very unusual bass where you couldn't find a replacement to justify a fret change operation. | ||
| briant
Intermediate Member Username: briant Post Number: 181 Registered: 12-2004 |
"Theory one is to save your pennies and spec out exactly what you want. I am not a big fan of this since there's almost always something that you miss, or add and don't like. There are too many sales of special customs on the used market for my liking, and every one comes with a significant loss." I can say with absolute certainty that if I ordered the 5 string custom Rogue I now have before I bought/owned the JPJ I would have ordered a very different bass. And I wouldn't be nearly as pleased with it. I would probably still *like it* but it wouldn't be exactly what I was searching for all these years like my Rogue turned out to be. |
