| Author | Message | ||
| abatory
New Username: abatory Post Number: 1 Registered: 7-2012 |
Subbing for several swing bands. Is swing making a comeback? But also have a jazz combo, a rock duo and metal band so things have been crazy. Needed a backup to my 84 Distillate. Decided on a SC Signature Deluxe but now I'm afraid to take it out in public.  | ||
| funkyjazzjunky
Senior Member Username: funkyjazzjunky Post Number: 791 Registered: 5-2007 |
Welcome to the Club VMG | ||
| eligilam
Advanced Member Username: eligilam Post Number: 384 Registered: 2-2006 |
I know the feeling. I kept my new SC sig deluxe in the closet and had frequent heart palpitations when I thought about the wear and tear it might receive on a gig. However, when I finally made the plunge, it was worth it---great live sound, the audience dug it, bass players admired it, etc. Now that it's got a little "wear character" I play it even more. Come on, man, bust that thing out on the stage!!! | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 3028 Registered: 6-2002 |
Welcome to the forum and for showing us your bass. I don't think you are alone in that sentiment. I still feel protective about all of my instruments when taking them on a gig. But I think because of the cost of the alembics, it's a bit more heightened in case it gets damaged or worse. But they are merely tools and need to be played....... I keep telling myself. :-) Jazzyvee | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 645 Registered: 2-2011 |
Welcome to the forum abatory! You have a great looking bass, but I'm not sure it is a SCSD. The upper horn appears to be shaped different than the lower one & they are identical on SCSD. You also have a pup selector switch which the SCSD does not. Here is my SCSD for comparison - [moderator's edit to remove pictures] (Message edited by adriaan on July 18, 2012) | ||
| hammer
Intermediate Member Username: hammer Post Number: 186 Registered: 9-2009 |
Given that the pic is of Rusty playing out I'm going to assume that the bass in the pic is the Distillate to which he was referring and that he's still a bit concerned about taking his SC out. Which brings up a interesting question given that I've got a build underway... How long does it usually take people to feel comfortable enough with their new instruments (and the environments in which they will be playing) after an appropriate break-in period of course, before they bring their new Alembics to gigs? and...is this most dependent on how long one has had their instrument; whether it's acquired its first "ding;" quality of security, etc. | ||
| pauldo
Senior Member Username: pauldo Post Number: 846 Registered: 6-2006 |
Rusty - Tony is playing his 84 Distillate in the picture above - I am rather familiar with Distillate's from that era! :-D Tony - YES - swing is making a come back. One of the groups I play with is the "Swing of Pearls" - 95% of our material is 'old school' swing/standards the rest is more contemporary. Jazzyvee is correct - "they are tools" | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 646 Registered: 2-2011 |
Hammer, you are correct, I misread the post & thought that it implied that the picture was of his new bass since that was the subject of his post. To answer your question, I got my SCSD on a Thursday & gigged with it on Friday! I don't let it out of my sight at gigs though! Adriaan my pictures were in no way an attempt to hijack this thread, & I was mearly trying to show Tony what a SCSD looks like in case he was misinformed. Apparently I was the one who was misinformed, but my intentions were to help, NOT hijack! | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 3031 Registered: 6-2002 |
@hammer, I've been on the road a fair bit and at the level I've been at, I've witnessed musical instruments getting damaged on stage and seen the aftermath when stuff has been stolen from bands. In one band I played in, they recalled a situation when all their equipment was held to ransom in a hotel store room because the promoter of a festival they were playing at sneaked out over night without paying the bill for the bands that were staying there and since they were the last band to check out of the hotel, the manager held onto their gear as security. They never got the stuff back even after calling the police. Imagine if you had put your Alembic in the hotel baggage store and that happened. Even back stage where bands share hospitality and dressing rooms it is not unheard of for musiclans to steal from each other and in my own personal case, I have had equipment sabotaged. So security is pretty high up on my list of concerns about taking Alembics out. I've taken my alembic guitar out on tour many times to Europe and the States and it only has minor battle scars. Even though I try to think of my instruments merely an musicians tools, I think one of the main problems is we see them, at least I do, as an "Expensive Alembic" before we see it as merely a bass. I guess in a nutshell its like this "Even if you paid a shed load of money for a hammer, at some point you have to bash a nail with it to prove it is indeed a hammer". Otherwise it's just an expensive piece of metal. Goodnight Jazzyvee | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 647 Registered: 2-2011 |
Love the hammer analogy Jazzyvee! | ||
| pauldo
Senior Member Username: pauldo Post Number: 847 Registered: 6-2006 |
Jazzyvee - Your post #3031 brings up valid concerns. It also reveals that we all have different gigging situations and each individual needs to assess what is correct for them and their comfort zone. For me - I move my bass (and gear) to and from the show and to and from the stage. It is never out of my control. This equates to me being very comfortable taking my Distillate to any show. I am afraid to ask about the 'sabatoge' incident - there are times when I just don't understand why people do the things they do . . . | ||
| hammer
Intermediate Member Username: hammer Post Number: 187 Registered: 9-2009 |
Jazzyvee: I do like your sense of humor. As far as concerns about gigging with a new Alembic go, I get the feeling having read a number of threads that you have started that the quality of the venues in which you play are in an entirely different league...,no different world...than those in which I play (I use the term "venue" very loosely with respect to the places I have and will probably continue to play. Dives, probably says it better). A good example is that I'm currently playing with only one of my two Phil Jones cabs. because after a gig in a local bar my 9B cab "disappeared" while we were loading all the equipment back in to the truck. The thing was probably unattended for 30 seconds and it just vanished and of course no one left in the establishment saw anything. The build I'm currently having done, though certainly not at the level of a Series II custom with special inlays, is going to set me back about $10,000. Though I'm typically extremely careful about all of my stuff, from what I've related above you can see that one little slip (all five of us happened to be loading equipment in to the truck at the same time) can be costly. My aim of course is to gig with the new bass, but it's going to take some additional thinking and planning for me not to slip in to the trap of just taking the Distillate and EB-3 along. I also need to go back and find that recent thread about equipment insurance that a lot of members use since at this time all my equipment is just covered by a rider on my home insurance. | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 649 Registered: 2-2011 |
When I'm loading in or out, my wife watches my Alembic constantly! | ||
| jacko
Senior Member Username: jacko Post Number: 3216 Registered: 10-2002 |
Meanwhile, back on the ranch..... Welcome to the club from Scotland Tony. Let's see some pics of your SC please. Graeme | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 3042 Registered: 6-2002 |
Well re-focussed Jacko. |
