| Author | Message | ||
| applejuice
Intermediate Member Username: applejuice Post Number: 109 Registered: 1-2006 |
I was thinking about an Orion. I love my Orion bass but I find myself playing more guitar. That could be because my bass is usually 2000 miles away from me. I want this guitar to be a representation of what I've become since I joined the military. I made myself a guitar when I was 16 that had inlays on the 12th and 24th fret that were peace signs. Well, been there done that and unfortunately I can't find peace anymore. I want the inlay on this guitar to say I gave peace a chance. I'm not too sure if anyone here really agrees with that though. I'm not sure what kind of electronics I want in it because I've never played an Alembic guitar. I know I want it to be able to have a sharp low sound for metal and be able to switch to a crisp clean sound for everything else. Anyone got any suggestions for this? I know I want it to be a neck through instrument with an ebony laminate in the neck. I want this guitar to be able to do anything. | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 3262 Registered: 7-2004 |
Joe: IMHO Alembic guitars just inherently don't do metal very well. Alembic guitars have a very clear clean tone. Some have described it as "piezo-like". Others have referred to Series guitars as "piano-like". I find these descriptions to have validity. If you search around you'll find past discussions about efforts to find a distortion pedal that matches up well with an Alembic guitar. I don't mean to rain on your parade, just suggesting that you get your hands on an Alembic, put it through your rig, and check it out. If you're going to take the plunge on a custom, you might want to pick up an Orion or and old Electrum first, so that you will have a better idea of exactly what you want. I hope peace finds you wherever you are, and that you return safe and sound and have many more years to enjoy that Alembic. Bill, tgo | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 1251 Registered: 6-2002 |
I agree with what you say Bill, I have an orion guitar and getting it to dirty up in a convincing way has not been very productive. None of the pedals I've tried really do it very well. Digital pedals like the Line6 XTPro live i bought against my better judgement, proved to be just buzzy and plain nasty thin and take away the individual tone of the guitar whether it's the alembic or strat. The only way so far I've found to get it to distort/overdrive in a creamy way without losing the tonal character of the guitar is by using the the overdrive channel on my Fender twin but even that does not sound as creamy as my Ultra Strat does. Hence my quest to find a good valve over drive pedal that I can take on the road and get the sound I want. At the moment when touring I use my original pro-co rat which, since 99% of what I play is clean, is a reasonable compromise..... for now. I've been trying to get hold of a Mesa Boogie V-twin pedal but am always being outbid on ebay. An Orion guitar is fantastic, about a year or so ago I upgraded the electronics to a filter and 3 position q-switch and that has improved the versatility of the sound and when used with a distortion pedal it sounds better. It seems to me the alembic is best for clean sounds and really for distortion. Yes I also agree with the piezo like tone, it does have a great acoustic type tone. ps:I put Alembic activators on my maple neck strat and although I found it weak on overdrive with the original fender pickups, it's no better with the alembic guts. But it sounds phenomenally cleaner, and less noisy now and the addition of the bass and treble electronics the tonal colours are incredible. It's so righteously crisp that James Brown would have loved it. Jazzyvee | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 3263 Registered: 7-2004 |
As for an overdrive pedal, I am currently using the Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Classic, which I love. It essentially converts a single channel amp into a three channel amp like a Mesa Mark III. It has two different channels on the pedal, a lead and a crunch rhythm. For metal you might want to check out the Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Mayhem. I've never tried one, but I've heard good things about it. It seems to be an over-the-top version of the classic, from what I've read. Bill, tgo | ||
| jalevinemd
Senior Member Username: jalevinemd Post Number: 676 Registered: 12-2003 |
Joe, His "Esquireness" speaks the truth. I have 2 custom Alembics and have owned 2 others. I have gone through at least 2 dozen OD/Distortion pedals over the last few years trying to get the sound I need from my Alembics...a sound that comes quite easily with the 20 or so other guitars I own - vintage BC Rich's, Les Pauls, you name it. This is my take on Alembics and it's going to ring like pure heresy with many here: They're wonderful instruments. But I love them more for how they look and feel rather than sound. There isn't a more beautifully crafted instrument out there and nothing can come close to the necks on mine. But if I could put PAF's or Dimarzio S2's in my Alembics without destroying them, I'd do it in a second. If you play through a clean amp or one with different modulation effects and some occasional overdrive, you will love these guitars! But as soon as you kick on that distortion pedal, you pretty much defeat the purpose of owning an Alembic. The sound they are known for...the acoustic-like ring that no other guitar can give...simply vanishes. And a lot of the cost of these instruments is in the electronics. What are Series I upgrades, like 5K? It's taken so much time and effort to be able to play the 70's AOR music I love on my Alembics. And I still don't know if I'm quite there. So I'd forget about metal entirely. Sometimes, when I'm lazy, I'll play through my POD XT Live. The Les Paul, Mock, Bich, Zemaitis, Strat all sound great. Then I plug in the Alembic and...ouch! Not so good. In short, if Metal's your game, I'd find a custom builder who can give you everything you want...including the sound. Let the firing squad commence. (Message edited by jalevinemd on September 17, 2008) | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 3267 Registered: 7-2004 |
Just to balance out Jonathan's "heresy", I find the sound of Alembic guitars to work wonderfully for the Grateful Dead and other clean-style music that I play. If you're looking for a clean sound for Dead, Jazz, even country, Alembic is "it". If you're looking for dirty, Alembic isn't "it". Jonathan: You should try and get your hands on a Daion Power Mark XX. Alembic-like construction (9 piece thru neck with maple and rosewood), standard humbucker type electronics with the most usable coil splitting I've encountered. A great asymmetrically shaped neck. The best production line guitar I've played to date. Made at the Yamaki factory in Japan, 1978-82. They show up on ebay 2-3 times a year and go for $800-$1000. Susan looked at one of mine and said she'd have to charge $3000 for the wood working alone. Try it, you'll like it! Bill, tgo | ||
| jalevinemd
Senior Member Username: jalevinemd Post Number: 677 Registered: 12-2003 |
Bill, I will definitely keep my eyes open for one. That's why I love the Big Bear. Wonderful craftsmanship and 3 Dimarzio Super II's to boot. The best of both worlds! In all fairness, I can get good overdriven and distorted sounds from my Alembics. I'm not saying it's impossible...just a bit harder. They're like spoiled children who just don't want to play nicely with the other kids. And my pedalboard is quite a bit bigger in order to accomodate the "Alembic-friendly" pedals and the "Not-so-Alembic-friendly" pedals. | ||
| hydrargyrum
Advanced Member Username: hydrargyrum Post Number: 364 Registered: 3-2004 |
I've never tried one of these, but I saw them in another forum recently, and they certainly look intriguing. If they hold up to their claims, they might be the answer to the active electronics distortion issue. http://www.psionicaudio.com/main/fuzzylogic.htm | ||
| jalevinemd
Senior Member Username: jalevinemd Post Number: 678 Registered: 12-2003 |
Kevin, I'm definitely going to look into one of those Fuzzy Logics. Bill, I took out my Duncan Twin Tube after close to a year in the closet. I played my Goldtop through it and actually liked what I was hearing. Not heavy enough distortion for certain things, but a very nice warm overdriven tube sound. I might need to revisit this one. Later I'm going to put my Keeley-modded Tube Screamer in front and see if I can kick it harder without it getting too muddy. | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 3270 Registered: 7-2004 |
Jonathan: Something tells me you might like the Duncan Twin Tube Mayhem. Bill, tgo | ||
| jalevinemd
Senior Member Username: jalevinemd Post Number: 679 Registered: 12-2003 |
Bill, I'm headed to GC later to see if they finally have them in stock. A few months ago it was special order. I watched the Guitar World Gear Demo and it seemed a bit "metaly" for my taste but I'm sure I could tone that down a bit. After all, I got the EH Metal Muff to sound pretty damn good. | ||
| hydrargyrum
Advanced Member Username: hydrargyrum Post Number: 365 Registered: 3-2004 |
Jonathan, If you happen to try one of those fuzzy logics, please let me know what you think. I was actually able to get some pretty decent metal sounds from the Orion Baritone I sold to Bill, and an old DOD grunge pedal. I hate the sound of it with pretty much everything else I have, but it sounded nasty in a good way with the Orion. | ||
| pace
Advanced Member Username: pace Post Number: 380 Registered: 4-2004 |
Kev, Did THE Baritone get passed along to Bill?!?.... awesome..... play'er in good health!!!! -Mike | ||
| hydrargyrum
Advanced Member Username: hydrargyrum Post Number: 370 Registered: 3-2004 |
Hey Mike, Yeah, unfortunately my wife and I ran into some tough times financially, and I had to part with the Baritone. It sounds like Bill is giving her a good home though. I hope everything is going well for you. | ||
| jalevinemd
Senior Member Username: jalevinemd Post Number: 683 Registered: 12-2003 |
Kevin, I emailed the folks at Psionic Audio about the Fuzzy Logic and never heard back. So I didn't wind up getting one. | ||
| jalevinemd
Senior Member Username: jalevinemd Post Number: 684 Registered: 12-2003 |
Bill, I put together a second, more portable pedalboard. I decided to give the Twin Tube another try. Gotta say, I'm loving this pedal. Having played around with it a lot more, I now know the type of OD/distortion tone it's capable of and what it's limitations are. Set the way it is, the rhythm channel comes unbelievably close to my Hiwatt's naturally overdriven tone. The lead channel is perfect for Black Crowes type stuff. Really glad I gave this baby a second (make that a third) chance. The Radial Trimode is awesome. Another tube-driven distortion pedal. The only change I'm making is to swap out the equalizer for my Keeley Katana. Every once in a awhile, the Trimode needs a tiny kick in the ass. By the way, if anyone is looking for great modulation effects and has limited real estate on the board, I can't say enough about the new T.C. Electronics Nova Modulator. It's got phase, flange, chorus and tremolo all in a compact, relatively simple to use package. And at $249, quite a bargain for all you get.  (Message edited by jalevinemd on October 11, 2008) | ||
| pace
Advanced Member Username: pace Post Number: 382 Registered: 4-2004 |
Hey Kev & Bill, I'm happy to hear that she's still "in the club"... I guess the filter & Q that I got from Rory preferred to reside in the Bay area! | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 3317 Registered: 7-2004 |
Mike: The upgrade electronics in the Orion baritone came from Rory? Synchronicity at its finest! Jonathan: Glad to hear you're finally "groking" the Twin Tube. I'll try your settings when I'm next in the studio, Is your Dyna Comp stock? Is it the current Dunlop re-issue? If so, have you ever checked out the Analog-man mod for it? HUGE improvement, really evens out the sound and gets rid or the 'breathing' or 'whooshing' quality that plagues these pedals. By the way, what's the pedal on the lower right. It's a little dark on my monitor to ID it. Bill, tgo | ||
| jalevinemd
Senior Member Username: jalevinemd Post Number: 685 Registered: 12-2003 |
Bill, The Dynacomp is just a fill in. My Demeter Compulator is getting fixed. There was a short in the footswitch. The black pedal is the new Korg Pitchblack tuner. | ||
| bluplirst
Junior Username: bluplirst Post Number: 36 Registered: 12-2004 |
Hey applejuice, I suggest Series II electronics. I can do metal as well as the crisp clean tones. Combining the pickups with different filter settings, you can achieve insane and even perverse metal sounds! It would be an expensive option, but totally worth it! |
