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Alembic Club » Dreaming... for now » Archive through October 06, 2007 » Archive 2004 » Archive through November 22, 2004 » Short, Dark and Handsome « Previous Next »

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somatic
Junior
Username: somatic

Post Number: 22
Registered: 11-2003
Posted on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 5:41 pm:   Edit Post

Hi All,

I'll be coming into a bit of money soon, and am contemplating ordering a new bass. This is what I'm thinking about, and I have a few questions and opinions I'd like from everyone (tageed with *) before I ring and make enquiries about how to do it most cost effectively.

Body Small Standard
Body Woods Undecided, but tilting towards Walnut core, maple accents (pinstripe thickness) and either a wenge (preferred) or figured walnut top/rear. Not sure of the finish.

Neck Ebony laminates, 7 piece, with maple or purpleheart, 1.5" nut, ebony board, no inlays/dots, std al side markers. Satin finish.
Scale 30.75
Headstock Cone, bit smaller than std if possible. Standard Alembic logo

Tuners Hipshot Ultralites, black
Bridge Black, 17mm spacing, bird tail piece

Electronics I'd ideally like Series pickups and Hx, but only with a volume and balance. From other threads I've read, this isn't really an option, so maybe Fatboys and vol/bal. Pickups spaced like the Series, with the neck one up near the trussrod plate. I don't use the onboard tone controls much as I have a heap of versatility in my preamp.
Knobs Matching the top wood, either THG or a friend could turn them up here.

The sound I'm looking for, is the biggest possible out of a short scale instrument, especially in terms of fundamental tones, but without an unnaturally low-end balance, if that makes sense. I still want the rich midrange and top end, so I've been leaning towards the maple. Would the purpleheart neck lams be a bonus, a negative or just a waste of money d'ya reckon? What about the body woods? I know that have a much lesser contribution to the overall sound.

Any other comments or opinions? I want to keep it simple, not "flashy", but still get the biggest return on my money soundwise, I like the look of dark basses and prefer the short scales.
adriaan
Advanced Member
Username: adriaan

Post Number: 336
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Thursday, October 07, 2004 - 12:42 am:   Edit Post

Here are my two cone headstocks, one regular (Epic) and one narrow cut (Spoiler). Both pictures are taken from the same photo, with the basses fairly close together, I just removed the excess stuff.

Spoiler 88S4828 cone Epic 94W8256 cone

Ah, the Spoiler was closer to the camera, so the headstock appears to be bigger, and it's a medium scale as opposed to the long scale Epic. The string spacing is just about the same on both in reality. The tuners on the Spoiler are Schallers, and the point of the headstock is not wide enough to hold the logo.

(Message edited by adriaan on October 07, 2004)
adriaan
Advanced Member
Username: adriaan

Post Number: 337
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Thursday, October 07, 2004 - 1:08 am:   Edit Post

Just found another picture where the camera was aiming between the basses, so you get a better impression of what it looks like from the front:



(Message edited by adriaan on October 07, 2004)
adriaan
Advanced Member
Username: adriaan

Post Number: 343
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Thursday, October 07, 2004 - 4:56 am:   Edit Post

And for posterity's sake, here's the flipside of the headstock. You can see what they had to do to the A and D tuners ...



Apologies for the poor blurred image.
malthumb
Advanced Member
Username: malthumb

Post Number: 278
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 10:05 am:   Edit Post

Darn.....thought this thread was about me. Oh well.....Carry on.

Short, Dark, and Handsome(?)
bracheen
Senior Member
Username: bracheen

Post Number: 602
Registered: 11-2003
Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 1:32 pm:   Edit Post

James, I was having a long dreary day til now. Thanks for the laugh.

Sam
adriaan
Advanced Member
Username: adriaan

Post Number: 345
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 2:22 pm:   Edit Post

Well, it sure isn't me. But then I'm not "tall, blonde and ugly" either. Well, I'm not tall. And I'm not blonde.

Good call, James.
palembic
Senior Member
Username: palembic

Post Number: 1669
Registered: 9-2002
Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 4:10 pm:   Edit Post

"wide, blonde and ugly????"
hehehehehehehe
PTBO
bob
Advanced Member
Username: bob

Post Number: 333
Registered: 11-2002
Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 9:40 pm:   Edit Post

Thanks, James, I really needed that (really).
kmh364
Senior Member
Username: kmh364

Post Number: 592
Registered: 9-2003
Posted on Monday, October 11, 2004 - 6:35 am:   Edit Post

I'm still laughing, James! And it's been days, LOL! You forgot "...and modest" LOL!
somatic
Junior
Username: somatic

Post Number: 25
Registered: 11-2003
Posted on Monday, November 22, 2004 - 7:53 pm:   Edit Post

Wow, I've really been tardy replying to this thread. I showed the spec to a luthier I know locally, and he's going to make one to similar spec (with wenge neck lams).

However, looks like I'll be visiting the US next year, so I'll drop in and visit the factory and discuss specs in detail and place an order (via D. Burgess). I'll also drop off the Series 1 for a refinish and maybe the new PF7 electronics.

Adriaan, thanks for posting the pix. I see the difference in the headstocks and prefer the one on the right.

Malthumb, thanks for the laugh. Paul (Palembic) almost summed me up too, but "wide, blonde and ugly????" should be "wide, bald and ugly!!!!"

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