| Author | Message | ||
| the_8_string_king
Junior Username: the_8_string_king Post Number: 12 Registered: 9-2005 |
Hey everybody! (In the voice of Dr. Nick) I've been a proud Alembic owner for over a decade, but only became a lurker and then member recently. Y'see, I'm -well, some people say I'm paranoid (but not me); and I've never hooked up my computer to the internet so that it can't catch viruses and other people can't possible hack into my information. But my chosen ones' computer is hooked up to the net, and she's invited me to use it, leading to me finding the website, and here I am. Hi! It's nice to be here. It's warm and cuddly here. Everyone is friendly, helpful, positive and informative. And why wouldn't they be? Okay, the screwed up world we live in. But aside from that, having an Alembic (or Alembics)is certainly something to be positive about. My musical journey began as a youngster. By the time I was a teenager, I REALLY loved music, and I developed good taste for a kid. I listened to a wide range of things, and began to appreciate the really progressive and texture "rock" and related genres, as well as seeking out and listening to jszz and classical, and becoming educated little by little. My favorite individual/group artists at that time were Joni Mitchell, the Eagles, Crosby Stills and Nash, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, King Crimson, Yes, Fleetwood Mac, Blood, Sweat, and Tears, Tower of Power, and Chicago. I also found I liked Bach in particular, and also Claude Bolling and Miles Davis. I gradually branched out into other music, and began to educate myself about the names of the specific instruments, and before long decided I wanted to play. Badly. I gave drums a little try because I had access to a set, and it was fun, and an outlet. And I actually did okay. But I decided that what I most wanted to play was either electric bass OR guitar, OR trombone or trumpet. I gave both horns a go; I actually put in a lot of work on trumpet, in particular; but I ultimately gave up. It just wasn't for me. I didn't have the aptitude. On the other hand, I did pretty good on bass. My mother bought me a cheap ($150) used Univox and a Peavey amp, and I loved it. I practiced my ass off, playing 2-3 times a day for as long as I could. I learned everything I could from other people, and eventually worked my way up to having both the motivation and the endurance to practice 4-5 hours a day. I was always looking for new things to learn, and I took up classical guitar, which I found -and still do find- to be EXTREMELY COMPLIMENTARY to electric bass playing. I experienced a tremendous amount of musical growth, and eventually was sent to a respected guitarist/bassist/teacher, a very wonderful gentleman by the name of Bruce Casteel, who told me that -contrary to what I took for granted- I WAS good enough to succeed at music school. So I ended up majoring in classical guitar (I wanted to major in bass, but they didn't have it) at St. Marys College of Maryland, and graduating in 1985. Along the way I've discovered that I also am fortunate to have an intuitive grasp of flute and saxophone, so my musical arsenel includes a fabulous Murumatsu sterling silver alto flute, a cheap Germeinhardt soprano, a Yanigisawa 901 tenor sax, a Yanni 901 alto, and a Yamaha ys r-475 soprano -in addition to a fender electric mandolin/viotar, a Yamaha classical guitar that over 20 years old and has a wonderful tone, a black silver Gibson Les Paul Customer that I adore, a quilted maple 6-string Alembic Elan Plus, and finally my pride and joy, my 8-string custom Alembic bocated Europa. I haven't done anything professionally with music -long story. The short version is that I'm just weird, and the great joy of music is personal. I love playing with other people, and do from time to time, and I don't have anything against playing for other people. It's just the main thrill is getting better and making cool sounds come out. Anyway this is already long, so let me focus on my custom. After playing bass for several months, a "big brother" type figure asked if I'd heard of Stanley Clarke, and when I said know, he told me how great he was, how he played a bass "like a guitar", and used a really fantastic bass that sounded clearer and better than any other. He also mentioned that a couple of the bass players in groups I liked happened to use that bass; and he lent me a Stanley Clarke album -School Days- and I was SOLD. (On both Stanley and Alembic). Two things happened that day. One is that Stanley Clarke instantly became influence number one... I WANTED TO BE ABLE TO PLAY LIKE HE DID. Secondly, I knew that EVENTUALLY, I would have to have an ALEMBIC bass!!! Over the years, I'd gone a few times to the stores and -a few times- managed to get the salespeople to allow me to touch, hold and even play a Series I or two. I've never forgotton the one and only time I actually had a Series I hooked up and played it. And I ripped on it! I wanted it so bad. But alas, I had not the money, and had to settle for a Fender Precison Elite II -which was actually pretty nice. It's too bad, if I'd had another $500, I could have got a Spoiler, but it took a whole summers work to afford the Fender for the Jazz Ensemble in college... I just didn't have the money for even the cheapest Alembic, the Spoiler. Well, eventually as a working adult, I was able to prioritize and save up for an Elan. And when I got it, I was an extremely happy clam, for a while. But soon, in short order, I came to find it limited... I just wanted more. I always found "only 4" strings to be lacking on a bass. Ultimately, I came to the opinion that both guitar and electric bass should have 7 strings. I still hold this. (At least for me, I'm not saying for everyone, of course -just to be clear.) My Elan was great, but I wanted more. In the course of conversation with Alembic over questions about the electronics of my bass, I mentioned that I loved it but wished I had a 7-string... and then they told me that they could make one for me. This led to a conversation about the custom work that Alembic does, which was a revelation. Despite being a huge fan of Alembic, I simply had no idea about the extent to which "custom"... is WHAT THEY'RE ALL ABOUT. I didn't really that they could do -and have done- virtually anything. Well, they set me straight, and sent me a catalogue, and this brought me to a new point. I KNEW I had to have them make me a custom. I had to figure out what my perfect dream bass was, then save up for it, and get it. Eventually, after saving up a couple grand, I sent a detailed letter of specifications, and asked for a quote. The quote indicated I needed another year or two a saving, so after another year or two, I gave them an updated specifications list, got an updated quote, and began carefully watching the "special of the month" as I continued to save. I think it was Noverber 1998 that Mica advised a price increase was on the way in January, and the special that month was for I think 50% off custom electronics. I was getting some pretty fancy and pricey options, so that was my month. Anyway, this has been going on for a while, so I'm gonna cut to the chase, n' tell y' 'bout my bass. I had a fantasy of a 7-string with a 3 octave neck as the perfect bass -rangewise. But then I saw a picture of one -a Conklin Sidewinder- and I saw the extra long fingerboard meant that there was no space for a neck/second pickup (or that at best it would be right next to the bridge pickup, so what would be the point) and didn't like this. I also prefer even numbers of strings, and got the idea of just adding an extra string, and cutting back the fingerboard 5 frets to 31. So my bass has the same range as a 7-string with 36 frets, but it has 2 pickups, and each has a great and distinct sound. Next, I wanted to have both the Alembic Filter and Q tone system AND the equalization controls that are more common. I had them add a mid-range "quick change" toggle switch, and then upgraded the bass and treble toggle switches to knobs like the Epic/Orions, but with +/- 12 db range. Then I had the "q" switch upgraded to 3 positions (4/8/12 db) and have a separate 3 position toggle that choosed between filter off/filter on without q, filter on with q. But wait, there's more. I didn't want to have to choose between stereo and mono. Y'see, by and large, I think a stereo bass is the way to go. All things being equal, it's more versatile. But there is a downside. Sometimes, the simplicity of a mono bass like a Spoiler, Rogue, Essense, or Europa is appealing, because if you want to change the overall tone, you only have one filter (and/or set of e.q. switches) to deal with. So I had a cool idea. My bass is designed as a stereo bass. It has two independent sets of tone controls. EACH PICKUP has a filter, 3 position q switch, 3 position control switch for the filter and q, bass and treble knobs, and a 3 position mid boost/cut switch; and then a special "stereo switch" gives me 3 options: in the middle position, the bass in in stereo mode, and each pickup has its own separate tone controls. By flicking the "stereo switch" one way or the other, I can make either SET of tone controls become MASTER tone controls for BOTH pickups. This is really cool. It has a couple applications. The most obvious is what I've already said. I can operate my bass as a stereo instrument with individual tone control and/or processing for each pickup (I also have 3 separate jacks and a what was at the time a unique first of it's kind stereo balance pan control, although it looks like it's been used on a few other basses since mine, if so, "yay"), OR I can operate it in mono. But I can also use it as a gimmick, by setting one set of tone controls for a particular setting, then using the OTHERS pickups controls, and using the "stereo switch" as an "instant radical tone change" switch... to switch between two very different tones. You can use it to preset a tone that you can come back to anytime, at the flick of a switch. These features, the range, and the electronics, were essential. But there were a few other things. Constructionwise and concept wise, I wanted the concept of Yin/Yang to be implemented. In an appearence sense, I wanted there to be a balance of dark and light wood. In a more broad sense, I wanted an instrument that was a perfect blend of form and substance... form and FUNCTION. My Elan 6-string had 11 neck laminates. I wanted more for my custom 8 string. I wanted a neck that would be super strong and functional, and also unique and visually striking. Mica was extremely informative about this (and everything else) and explained that rock maple was the traditional, proven, and preferred Alembic material for neck woods, and that purpleheart, which was denser, stronger and more expensive, was added to higher end basses, and increased the stiffness and sustain. I wanted to have these two woods and ebony in my neck, and the information that Mica gave me about ebony told me it was a better choice functionwise -for my purposes- than I realized. Ebony was even stronger and denser than purpleheart, and significantly increased the overall sustain in general, and the sustain of the lower partials -especially the fundamental- in particular. It became clear that an ebony-dominated neck would be a key feature of my bass. There were also two standard features on Alembics and indeed all neck-thrus that I've seen that I just don't like. Now it may sound silly or anal when I tell you. Maybe it is. But I just don't like the way most basses -even Alembics- look with respects to the bodies being glued to the neck. It looks "fragmented" to me. I wanted the outer laminates of my neck and headstock to BE the body... to be literally the same pieces of wood as the two body halves. Also, I prefer to have the topwood go all the way across... in other words, to cover the neck (from the front). Mica told be they have this option, "bookmatching to center" and I realized that I had seen a few of these over the years. In particular, I've seen quite a few quilted and flamed maple guitars bookmatched to center. But I've never liked them, because beautiful though they are, the line that runs down the center on even the most perfectly done ones is to me, an unacceptable aesthetic factor. So I asked Alembic about these two points. To my joy, they were able to deal with both. If you look at the pictures of my bass (C.O.t.M, June 1999 "8 strings of power")you can see how the flame maple body runs all the way up into the headstock. I think it is extremely cool, and it looks fantastic. Now I'd asked if they could put 1 single piece of wood across my top -instead of 2 bookmatched halves; and Mica said they could do it, but at the time, the only wood she thought they had that was big enough was purpleheart, and she commented that at that time they'd not yet done a purpleheart top, and wasn't sure if it was a wood choice I'd want; she said that if I wanted, she'd try to see if there were other choices that could work; but she commented that if concern over the appearance of a centerline was an issue, that they could and have disguised such lines very effectively, and that it probably wouldn't bother me. I eventually flew out to the factory to meet them, go over things in general in person, and look through the woods. I actually wasn't super set on any particular top wood. This might seem strange, because I know some people are big fans of certain topwoods. But I've seen LOTS of gorgeous Alembics over the years in all sorts of woods: quilted, flamed, burl and birds-eye maple, zebrawoods, walnuts, koas, coco bolos, ebonys, and many others. I just wanted a dark wood that would look great and contrast the flame maple body that Mica suggested most helpfully after we'd discussed my "integrated neck" concept that I originally figured would be done with mahogoney or rock maple. After looking through the woods, I ruled out the ebony and ziricote, and found some stunning shimmering zebrawood that became the leading candidate. The coco bolo and bocate they'd had had not fit my requirements of very liney in the middle (to disguise the bookmatch) and increasing detailed towards the edges. But Mica sent me a note that they'd found a piece of bocate that fit the description and crude drawing I'd made perfectly -and she wasn't kidding. They found me the perfect piece of bocate -liney in the middle and highly, wildly detailed and figured. It screams "ALEMBIC." You can spot it as an Alembic from quite a ways away. I figured out my completed neck concept. There would be 4 laminates of "light wood" in the neck: the two outer flame maple neck/body laminates, and then two colormatched rock maple laminates in between; between these 4 laminates of "light wood" there would be 3 sections of a purpleheart laminate sandwiched between 2 laminates of ebony. Every other laminate would be ebony, the strongest and most sustain-enhancing wood. The inner core of my neck would thus have 6 ebony laminates, 3 purpleheart laminates, and 2 rock maple laminates, giving it a unique and exotic appearance, but more importantly giving it incredible strength and sustain. Mica told me they generally wouldn't want to use flame maple as a neck wood because while it has a bright sound like maple usually has, because it is less dense, like mahagoney, it has a warmer sound too but is not a strong neck material; but she also told me it was structurally irrelevent in my case due to them being the outer laminates and due to the fact that the inner core had 11 laminates, and also that they were the woods they were. My neck has the best of all worlds; it has the brightness of maple, and the warmth from the flame maple, and the incredible punch and sustain of ebony augmented with purpleheart. Well, it took a long time, but it was worth the wait. That is, of course, and understatement. It is indescribably fabulous! It is most literally, a dream come true, fantasy made reality. It is a self-actualizing vehicle for coming full-circle. By that, I mean it's a fantasy or idea transformed into reality which in turn allow other (musical) ideas to be transformed into reality... It's transcendental... it defies description, and attempts at description are ultimately futile, and cannot do justice to the experience. Fortunately, that does not seem necessary, as most of us here can relate! Which is great, isn't it! Yeah, I'll say it anyways... it's awesome. I can do anything with it. The tone is stunning. It has the classic Alembic crispness and clearness, but just has a particularily "WHOA" punch and followthrough to it. The ironic thing is that after all the considerable amount of thought and money put into the electronics, it sounds awesome in any setting. If this bass only had a volume control and a pickup selector, it would smoke any bass I've heard. But the tonal flexibility is astonishing. The sustain is far superior to any other bass I've ever heard or played, even my Elan and a couple nice Series 1s. I can do anything with this bass. Right now I working on a mainly 2 voice piece from book 2 of Bachs Well Temperer Clavier, the C minor Prelude. I'm stumbling thru the first page, working on memorizing it. It sounds awesome, and it could only be played on a bass like mine -due to range issues- which is really cool. Anyway, I'm gonna go now. I know this has been long, but it's the only way I know how to communicate -detailed. For an introduction, there's a lot to convey. I tried to keep it short! Nice to be hanging out with you fine folks, and I love seeing all the other awesome Alembics out there, and seeing other peoples cool ideas. This is one cool company, and one cool place. But we all know that, don't we? (Message edited by the 8 string king on October 22, 2005) (Message edited by the 8 string king on October 22, 2005) (Message edited by the 8 string king on October 22, 2005) | ||
| richbass939
Senior Member Username: richbass939 Post Number: 435 Registered: 11-2004 |
Mark, welcome to the club. That's a pretty amazing story about an amazing bass. I'm glad I invested the 20 minutes and read it. Whew! Rich P.S. I wonder if this holds the record for the longest post. | ||
| bracheen
Senior Member Username: bracheen Post Number: 868 Registered: 11-2003 |
Did the three edits make it longer or shorter? Good to meet you, Mark. BTW (by the way) a URL is geek for internet address. I would love to see photos of the 8 string and I'm sure others would also. It sounds like a great one. Sam | ||
| tom_z
Intermediate Member Username: tom_z Post Number: 200 Registered: 7-2004 |
Mark - great story - very well conceived design for an interesting and exceptional instrument. Welcome to the club. I look forward to reading your contributions to the board, as your musical point of view seems rather unique. I hope you've been enjoying the glorious weather we've been having here and if you're ever playing the 8 Strings of Power anywhere around town I'd love to hear it. Cheers, Tom | ||
| tom_z
Advanced Member Username: tom_z Post Number: 201 Registered: 7-2004 |
Oops - sorry, double post. (Message edited by tom_z on October 22, 2005) | ||
| george_wright
Junior Username: george_wright Post Number: 27 Registered: 3-2005 |
Hey, Mark, I'm glad to see another guy with an interest in woodwinds. I still play baritone sax the most, but I have everything from sopranino through bass. (As for bass, I'm fairly fluent by ear, but I'm still learning to read that pesky bass clef!) | ||
| the_8_string_king
Junior Username: the_8_string_king Post Number: 14 Registered: 9-2005 |
Thanks for the responses gang. My custom can be seen in the custom archives, june 99, but my girlfriend thinks she can figure out how to take and send some digital photos, so if I can, I'll get some sent out. Hey George, I'd love to hear more about your saxes, especially your "extreme" ones... what kind of bass do you have, a Selmer, Keilworth, or another? Howz about you sopranino? A Selmer, an Yanni, one of those curved Orsis, or something else. I think sopraninos are cool and underappreciated instruments. Baritone is my favorite sax also; I really wish I had one. But I do have a tenor, which I love alost as much. | ||
| george_wright
Junior Username: george_wright Post Number: 28 Registered: 3-2005 |
Buescher 'nino, C sop, sop, alto, C tenor, tenor, and bass. Conn F mezzo, C tenor, and bari. Holton alto. King tenor. Leblanc alto and tenor. Martin bari. Selmer alto and bari. The only public performance opportunity I've had for the sopranino was in a pit orchestra for "Threepenny Opera." The overture calls for altissimo for a soprano, so.... Why not, I thought? | ||
| the_8_string_king
Junior Username: the_8_string_king Post Number: 16 Registered: 9-2005 |
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| the_8_string_king
Junior Username: the_8_string_king Post Number: 17 Registered: 9-2005 |
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| the_8_string_king
Junior Username: the_8_string_king Post Number: 18 Registered: 9-2005 |
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| richbass939
Senior Member Username: richbass939 Post Number: 441 Registered: 11-2004 |
Outrageously unique and beautiful bass. You have every reason in the world to be extremely proud of it. Rich | ||
| palembic
Senior Member Username: palembic Post Number: 2120 Registered: 9-2002 |
Yowdelyhow ...what a BASS! Huh ...it IS a bass no? Paul TBO | ||
| bracheen
Senior Member Username: bracheen Post Number: 869 Registered: 11-2003 |
Beautiful bass Mark. It has to sound fantastic. That's a pretty cool shirt also. Did you mention your amp in the introduction post? I don't recall reading about it. Would you mind sharing that info? And the sax, what can I say, that has to be one of the sexist sounding instruments around. George, old friend, Bass Clef = All Cars Eat Gas & Great Big Dogs Fight Animals Sam | ||
| george_wright
Junior Username: george_wright Post Number: 29 Registered: 3-2005 |
Sam, the bass-player in my band gave me a few other, rather more vulgar phrases to remember. The problem seems to be that my brain is getting full. | ||
| bracheen
Senior Member Username: bracheen Post Number: 870 Registered: 11-2003 |
I amazed at keyboard players reading both clefs at the same time | ||
| adriaan
Senior Member Username: adriaan Post Number: 640 Registered: 6-2002 |
I'm amazed at lute players reading 4 separate bars (2 on the left, 2 on the right) at the same time. And talk about wide necks ... | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 732 Registered: 7-2004 |
That's a LOT of reading. I think I'll just wait for the movie! (nyuk, nyuk). Bill, tgo |
