| Author | Message | ||
| Googe Endeveronte (goooge)
Junior Username: goooge Post Number: 22 Registered: 8-2002 |
this picture is from portland 1979-those of you who know is notice the osage orange wood has really darkened up and notice that the "additional hardware" (located behind the bird tailpiece) is on the bass in this picture-looks like individual string saddles-maybe the original tailpiece was replaced-  | ||
| Googe Endeveronte (goooge)
Junior Username: goooge Post Number: 23 Registered: 8-2002 |
from guitar player november 1977- explaining a bit about the above bass: Today the "Godfather" is Phil's spare. His main bass is a custom-made Alembic with additional circuitry designed by George Munday of Pluto Electronics. Phil also uses George's tone-modifying Pluto Pedal, an active filter/boost/cut unit in which two filters can be swept at once. Phil likes it because of its versatility for bass tone modification. Nevertheless, he complains that too many pedals only perform one or two functions. "I still have a dream of a computer-controlled synthesizer/quadraphonic bass," he says, "and the instrument I'm playing now has the capability of being that. All it needs is the proper interface." The Alembic has the same pickup configuration found on the Guild: two standard humbuckers and a quad. Though he can get a separte signal for each string, Phil currently is running his signal monaurally. The filters on both the Guild and the Alembic basses allow for 32 tone settings, with a mixing of filtered and flat response signals from the pickups. The filter modules contain controls for Q (resonance), bandwidth, frequency reponse, and filter mode (to allow for lowpass, bandpass, highpass, and notch filtering). The filters are essentially Phil's design, though Alembic built them, and George Munday redesigned them to Phil'specifications. His favorite tone settings center around the use of the bandpass filter, though he explains that he generally just tries to blend well with what the other musicians are doing. He usually plays with a pick, though on extremely rare occasions he uses his fingers. The Fender Heavy he has relied on for the past few years replaced a Carpe Plexiglas pick he favored until its manufacturer folded. His string choice is D'Addario Half Rounds, gauged at .045, .060, .075, and .090. He previously used Framus and Pyramid strings. He always puts on new strings before going into the studio to record, but on tour he changes them only as necessary. | ||
| Googe Endeveronte (goooge)
Junior Username: goooge Post Number: 27 Registered: 8-2002 |
Hey Mica-are there any good shots of the fretboard inlays of this bass in your files??I remember first seeing this bass and remembering that I had never seen such detail before(1974) with the exception of (greg lakes'I think) "detailed" metal zematis guitar. | ||
| Edwin Hurwitz (edwin)
New Username: edwin Post Number: 10 Registered: 5-2002 |
I like this picture, but it's been hard to look at for me so I did some quick color correction to get it back in the ball park. It's quick and dirty, but I hope you like it! If I had a larger file I could do much better.  | ||
| Googe Endeveronte (goooge)
Junior Username: goooge Post Number: 45 Registered: 8-2002 |
thanks edwin!-I am a "freak" about this particular bass as I think you are the "Godfather"- thanks for the clean up-also- you notice in this picture the part of the body top near his forearm? what is going on there?- I have read that this bass "de-laminated"-wonder if that is the spot?also he changed the bridge tailpiece to what looks like individual pieces vs the bird tail piece he had originally- I would love to see a clear pic of all the inlays on this bass too. For one of the all time "coolest" alembics there are not many pics of this bass around. hmm | ||
| Edwin Hurwitz (edwin)
Junior Username: edwin Post Number: 11 Registered: 5-2002 |
I am not completely sure, but I think that the part that delaminated was the neck. On the body near the forearm might be just carving. I saw Phil play this bass a bunch in the 70s and it sounded great, although he was usually too low in the mix in those days. Edwin | ||
| Donald Pasewark (pasewark)
New Username: pasewark Post Number: 2 Registered: 4-2003 |
Here's a decent pic of that bass. I pretty sure this is an Ed Perlstein shot.  | ||
| Joey Wilson (bigredbass)
Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 79 Registered: 9-2002 |
OK. . . I'm short enough of the lore of the Dead, but what the hell is 'Osage Orange'? Joey | ||
| Googe Endeveronte (goooge)
Member Username: goooge Post Number: 57 Registered: 8-2002 |
osage orage is a tree that grows in the midwest-the indians made bows from it- I have heard it called "bodark" and Bow d'arc-not sure of the latin name-check ebay-usually someone has some for sale I have some-it is very yellow orangish when first cut-very stiff stuff-brown up with exposure to air/light- apparently the tree itself is a nasty thing with serious thorns-farmers plant them in rows as a natural fence of types-the tree bears fruit-many people also use the wood to make fence posts-apparently the wood is very rot resistant | ||
| Googe Endeveronte (goooge)
Member Username: goooge Post Number: 58 Registered: 8-2002 |
here is a shot before the bass was finished-these pictures can be found in the Historic Pics section of this website (see site index) anybody got a better shot of the inlays?? also notice the bridge has changed over the years-looks like individual string saddles replaced the bird tailpiece. Hey Mica- what is the neck of this made out of?-  | ||
| Googe Endeveronte (goooge)
Member Username: goooge Post Number: 59 Registered: 8-2002 |
here is another I found on the harddrive-dont remember where i found this one-says "10-74" on photo- winterland I guess  | ||
| Donald Pasewark (pasewark)
Junior Username: pasewark Post Number: 19 Registered: 4-2003 |
Cool! | ||
| Donald Pasewark (pasewark)
Junior Username: pasewark Post Number: 20 Registered: 4-2003 |
By the way, whats the retangluar thing on the lower left of the body next to the omega cutout? | ||
| Googe Endeveronte (goooge)
Member Username: goooge Post Number: 60 Registered: 8-2002 |
I have wondered about that myself Donald-hey Mica-????? It looks like a brass plate with possibly a couple of dip switch type things on it- if you have "the grateful dead family album"- check the picture on page 131- it also shows the replacement bridge on that photo-I have a video of the 78 saturday night live show they did- the bass is REALLY dark-cant really tell about the rectangular thing One thing of interest on this bass is that besides having 11 knobs- there were also the 10 white "push buttons" on the upper half of the bass-each with its own red LED light-if you watch the grateful dead movie you will also notice that the back "panels" are completely removable and the body is just chock full of electronics- man I love that bass!!! | ||
| cdf
Junior Username: cdf Post Number: 30 Registered: 5-2003 |
I just saw the newly released "Closing of Winterland" DVD last night, which featured this bass (as well as J. Garcia's Tiger guitar). This is one incredible sounding and looking bass. There are many terrific sequences of P. Lesh and his bass at work. Looks like about as many controls as a 747 ;-) Everyone was really on that night. The mix could be a tiny bit better, but all in all a great DVD, highly recommended. | ||
| davehouck
Advanced Member Username: davehouck Post Number: 224 Registered: 5-2002 |
I haven't heard anything about this DVD yet. Please tell more. | ||
| pasewark
Junior Username: pasewark Post Number: 27 Registered: 4-2003 |
go here: http://dead.net/merchandising/music/DEAM-DECD249/ I was at the Fillmore for the DVD release party a couple of weeks back. I had a great time! | ||
| davehouck
Advanced Member Username: davehouck Post Number: 226 Registered: 5-2002 |
Thanks; I've just ordered it. | ||
| davehouck
Advanced Member Username: davehouck Post Number: 228 Registered: 5-2002 |
While waiting for the DVD to arrive; I went to Amazon and read the reviews of the four View From The Vault releases. On all, there were ample complaints about the psychedelic visual effects. Apparently these videos were taken from the large screen feeds shown at the concerts; and thus this was all the video producers had to work with. On the Winterland DVD however, the video is from a local public tv broadcast. The reviews I've read report that, while limited by late 70's broadcast tv quality, overall the video is very good. As I have always had a high regard for the music of the Grateful Dead, I've been wanting a Grateful Dead DVD; but I've been hesitant about ordering one because of the many complaints about the DVD's already out there. So I am looking forward to the arrival of the Winterland disk. Thanks for the tip! | ||
| cdf
Junior Username: cdf Post Number: 31 Registered: 5-2003 |
davehouk, I'm sure you will be pleased with this DVD. I have a few others and this is definitely my favorite. As I mentioned in my first post the mix could be a bit better (though my playback system is medium to low quality), but the performance is really terrific, quite good camera work for the time and a real nice song selection. Enjoy! | ||
| lembic76450
Junior Username: lembic76450 Post Number: 15 Registered: 5-2002 |
Dave, I'm still working my way through, but, it seems to be a very good Jerry night, both playing and singing. The audio is very nice, also. Kenn R. | ||
| dela217
Advanced Member Username: dela217 Post Number: 232 Registered: 6-2002 |
I watched it last night. I am not a Dead fan, but the instruments were great. It was shown last night on the local Public Broadcast Station. | ||
| davehouck
Advanced Member Username: davehouck Post Number: 240 Registered: 5-2002 |
It came today!!! It's wonderful!!! | ||
| the_mule
Junior Username: the_mule Post Number: 15 Registered: 1-2004 |
I also ordered the Winterland DVD, along with the new version of the Illustrated Trip book BTW. Thanks for the heads up! | ||
| trebor
New Username: trebor Post Number: 8 Registered: 9-2004 |
The picture from "10-74" above was taken during the run at Winterland when the Dead were filming and recording "The GratefulDead" movie. This thing came out initially on laser disk, then vhs. It is finally being released on DVD, http://dead.net/merchandising/movie_folder/index.html There is a portion of the movie where Phil is showing off his Omega Cut that blew me away when I first watched this back in the '80s. I'm really partial to this film cause I was at two of the shows during that run. If you want to see the "Wall of Sound" up close and personal, I highly recommend this to anyone, and to those of the Alembic persuasion, it's a must see. robert "FAB" | ||
| bassman10096
Senior Member Username: bassman10096 Post Number: 650 Registered: 7-2003 |
Garcia spent a ton of time editing (read "learning to edit") the film. I believe it shows some of the best, up-close footage of the band playing and interacting on stage. In its time, it was a mindblower (At the time, there hadn't been a lot of concerts filmed with a large number of camera angles and sophisticated sound production.). From those perspectives, a triumph. IMO, the overall (meaning, yes, I love Sugar Mag.) songs chosen, did not represented the highest energy the Dead were capable of. Nonetheless, I own the VHS and am debating whether to get the DVD. On the whole - I like The Closing of Winterland DVDs better. I, too was captivated by the very brief cut in the GD Movie where Lesh shows off the Alembic, playing a few notes and a very cool feedback spot while the stage crew is completing set up. I had seen him playing that bass many times, but the first closeup view I got of the wood, the inlays and the (could it have been more of a unique and dramatic departure from the basses of that time?) omega tail. Chalk it up as another instance where I knew I'd eventually own an Alembic Series 2 (Cut to "Waynes World": "...It will be mine. It WILL be mine...). Bill | ||
| lbpesq
Junior Username: lbpesq Post Number: 23 Registered: 7-2004 |
The Winterland run leading up to their temporary "retirement" was interesting, but not among their best shows. The most significant part was during the break in the final show when a second drum set was placed on stage and Mickey Hart came out and rejoined the band after they had played for a few years with one drummer. Given where my consciousness was at that particular moment, I wasn't sure if Hart was back and I was seeing double, or I was seeing quadruple and looking at 4 Kruetzmann! Also the movie contains the best approximation of the NO2 experience I've ever seen on film. As for the playing, though, the closing of Winterland film is far superior. IMHO. Bill, the guitar one (Message edited by LBPESQ on September 25, 2004) | ||
| davehouck
Senior Member Username: davehouck Post Number: 883 Registered: 5-2002 |
Thanks for three very interesting and informative reviews of the Grateful Dead Movie. However, the differing opinions have left me undecided. And that's a good thing; my budget is kinda decimated at the moment. | ||
| kmh364
Senior Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 553 Registered: 9-2003 |
I love that Movie! I promised myself back in the day if I ever got a Laserdisc player, my first disk would be "The Grateful Dead Movie". Well, the LD player was a 30th B'day present from my (now) ex-wife and I got that movie first (#2 promise was "The Kids Are Alright", and I got that one too). That was 11yrs. ago. I spent many "Midnight Matinees" at various seedy third-run theatres highed-up out-of-my-mind jammin' to that movie in my youth. Regardless of how great (or not) the performances of that movie are, it is still hot sh*t in my opinion. The "Psycle Sam" opening animation is worth the price of the DVD alone...ck that cat out up at the stage front jammin to "U.S. Blues"! It contains lots of extras and extra footage. There is also a companion CD 5-disc set of almost all of the Winterland run. Compared to the LD, the DVD is a bargain and the sound and picture quality will be the best yet. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! | ||
| hollis
Advanced Member Username: hollis Post Number: 398 Registered: 11-2003 |
I put in an pre-order this morning.... | ||
| kmh364
Senior Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 557 Registered: 9-2003 |
That movie was/is sacred in the Deadhead circles I used to frequent in my misspent youth. Most Deadheads I knew saw the Movie before they could actually see the Dead! You know the drill: it was hard to save up the $15-$25-$35 to get a Dead show ticket, LOL back in the day! | ||
| lbpesq
Junior Username: lbpesq Post Number: 40 Registered: 7-2004 |
I just ordered the movie. I had to. After all, I'm in it. Somewhere. Very small. (But that night my mind was VERY big). My DVD source, deepdiscountdvd.com, also listed something I never heard of before. DVD Audio remixes of Workingman's Dead and American Beauty. The descriptions say that Mickey Hart mixed Workingman's and that Sugar Mag on American Beauty is mixed so that Jerry's Pedal Steel is the lead instrument! I never knew Jerry played steel on that particular cut! Anyone else heard these? I though it was worth taking the flyer for less than 12 bucks each. This site is a great source for DVDs. Good prices, no tax, free shippping. Here's the links to the Dead DVD Audios: American Beauty: www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemID=WEA074385 Workingman's Dead: www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemID=WEA078356 Bill, the guitar one | ||
| davehouck
Senior Member Username: davehouck Post Number: 905 Registered: 5-2002 |
Bill, let us know what you think when you get them. | ||
| kmh364
Senior Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 571 Registered: 9-2003 |
Bill: Yes, please do! Also, doesn't FOUR Kreutzmann's really in all actuality constitute several KreutzMENN? LOL! Sorry, very corny but I couldn't resist. Cheers, Kevin | ||
| zezozeceglutz
Junior Username: zezozeceglutz Post Number: 20 Registered: 9-2008 |
A couple that should be added to the thread for the sake of completeness:    | ||
| pauldo
Advanced Member Username: pauldo Post Number: 204 Registered: 6-2006 |
woweee! | ||
| pasewark
Junior Username: pasewark Post Number: 45 Registered: 4-2003 |
Great photos! | ||
| moonliner
Junior Username: moonliner Post Number: 22 Registered: 12-2004 |
Lovely to see these photos. What's a "BadAss" bridge doing on the bass in the last photo? There is a story coming I know.... | ||
| zezozeceglutz
Junior Username: zezozeceglutz Post Number: 21 Registered: 9-2008 |
Phil was experimenting with the effect of different string anchoring systems around that time. It's also visible in the first post in this thread with individual tailpieces for each string and below with the same. The shot with plate behind the Badass looks to be an intermediate step between the original setup and that shown below from '79 (right before Mission Control was retired). The plate covers the tailpiece mounting holes and there are no signs yet of holes for the individual tailpieces.  | ||
| tmoney61092
Intermediate Member Username: tmoney61092 Post Number: 153 Registered: 9-2008 |
is that 3 pickups or just a large "dummy"? ~Taylor Watterson | ||
| sonicus
Advanced Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 213 Registered: 5-2009 |
I believe one of them (center) is a quad just like the modified Guild Starfire was , right guys ? | ||
| tmoney61092
Intermediate Member Username: tmoney61092 Post Number: 154 Registered: 9-2008 |
i'm an idiot when it comes to his basses, what's a quad? ~Taylor Watterson | ||
| zezozeceglutz
Junior Username: zezozeceglutz Post Number: 22 Registered: 9-2008 |
One small pickup per string. It interacted with the Wall of Sound the Dead used in '74 to send each string to a different set of speakers when used (very rarely). The white dots on the upper half of the body were designed to select where the signal from each section would go. The switching system was notoriously unreliable so Phil ended up using his earlier modified Starfire a lot. The quad pickup in the Starfire is potted in clear epoxy so you can see better what's going on inside. | ||
| tmoney61092
Intermediate Member Username: tmoney61092 Post Number: 155 Registered: 9-2008 |
wow, that sounds intense, would there be any way of "deactivating" the quad so that he could have still used this as a "normal" alembic? ~Taylor Watterson | ||
| zezozeceglutz
Junior Username: zezozeceglutz Post Number: 23 Registered: 9-2008 |
He used it "normally" 90+ percent of the time. The quad seems to have only made appearances during the spacier jams. There's a Truckin>Nobody's Fault jam somewhere on archive.org that has a really distinct stereo mix where Phil solos with the quad and it's quite the experience. It was a partial show and available streaming only but I haven't been able to find it again while looking | ||
| tmoney61092
Intermediate Member Username: tmoney61092 Post Number: 156 Registered: 9-2008 |
yea, that bass would be to beautiful to just have it made and not use it(even "normally"), i will definetly have to try to find that video. Mica, is there anyway Alembic would do something like this today??? ~Taylor Watterson | ||
| dadabass2001
Senior Member Username: dadabass2001 Post Number: 1222 Registered: 6-2002 |
Also check out the Grateful Dead Movie for shots of this bass (although he doesn't activate the quad feature, and switches basses during the show). Mike | ||
| jseitang
Advanced Member Username: jseitang Post Number: 268 Registered: 6-2002 |
is there a definitive recording of phil's quad sound on some sort of dicks pick or any release for that matter? thanks | ||
| cje
Junior Username: cje Post Number: 16 Registered: 5-2009 |
I just heard a concert on the Sirius GD channel, and each bass string was panned separately across the stereo field - so I know there's plenty of boards out there where you can hear it. Sorry - I don't remember what show it was, I just remember hearing each bass string come at me from a different direction! | ||
| jseitang
Advanced Member Username: jseitang Post Number: 269 Registered: 6-2002 |
what ???????????????????????? | ||
| hieronymous
Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 630 Registered: 1-2005 |
I had a tape - JFK '73 maybe? - with a crazy bass solo during Dark Star where Phil was kind of playing a traditional rock and roll line and two strings were on the left and two on the right. Sorry I don't have more details. I haven't noticed the quad effect in any Dick's Picks that I've listened to recently - hmm, good excuse to go back and listen again... | ||
| mario_farufyno
Intermediate Member Username: mario_farufyno Post Number: 167 Registered: 9-2008 |
What does he uses as a Pick??? | ||
| edwin
Senior Member Username: edwin Post Number: 448 Registered: 5-2002 |
These days a graphite Stubby 1.5mm by Jim Dunlop. Edwin | ||
| pace
Senior Member Username: pace Post Number: 482 Registered: 4-2004 |
Thanks for the Photos Zez... those pics you posted 7-24-09 are dopplegangers of my next-door neighbor (less the bass, of course) | ||
| crobbins
Senior Member Username: crobbins Post Number: 617 Registered: 6-2004 |
Besides the Osage-Orange, what were the rest of the woods used in this bass? | ||
| edwin
Senior Member Username: edwin Post Number: 1324 Registered: 5-2002 |
Here are some pics I just found:    | ||
| sparechaynge
Member Username: sparechaynge Post Number: 79 Registered: 6-2010 |
WOW. Can you disclose the source? | ||
| edwin
Senior Member Username: edwin Post Number: 1325 Registered: 5-2002 |
http://www.rukind.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=311&t=12897 Some nice Hot Tuna pix as well! | ||
| sparechaynge
Member Username: sparechaynge Post Number: 80 Registered: 6-2010 |
Huh,hadn't seen those before. I guess I didn't dig deep enough. Whose the guy w/ the cowboy fancy who doesn't look like Bobby? Is it still Bob? | ||
| edwin
Senior Member Username: edwin Post Number: 1326 Registered: 5-2002 |
I'm not sure who doesn't look like Bobby to you, everyone looks like Bobby! Seriously, though, he's the only guy playing the cowboy fancy. | ||
| sparechaynge
Member Username: sparechaynge Post Number: 81 Registered: 6-2010 |
Weird. Guess the beard is throwing me off, he looks like Trey in the 4th pic and the one below the first Hot Tuna shot. | ||
| mtjam
Junior Username: mtjam Post Number: 47 Registered: 11-2011 |
Please delete post (Message edited by MtJam on October 19, 2012) | ||
| mtjam
Junior Username: mtjam Post Number: 48 Registered: 11-2011 |
Thanks for sharing that link, Edwin. Awesome pics! I always like seeing pictures that I have never seen before. I like the one of Casady with the whiskey bottle on the drum riser. I was thinking recently how you never usually see anything harder than bottled water onstage these days. I suppose that's a good thing to help support our heroes' longevity, but it's fun to remember that glorious 70s era! | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 5253 Registered: 7-2004 |
Looks like Tequila to me! Bill, tgo | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 3418 Registered: 6-2002 |
It's amazing what you find on you tube. Here is a link to a video about The Dead's Wall of sound and some footage of the inside of Phil's bass and him adjusting all those bass knobs and giving a bit of explanation about his bass strings coming out of different stacks of speakers. Judging by the thickness of the sheepskin padding on his bass strap that bass must have been really heavy. Not sure if it's been posted here before but it was an interesting video for me anyway. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PODPgBaiFI4 I'm sure the Dead Heads amongst us will recognise people in the video. Enjoy Jazzyvee | ||
| edwin
Senior Member Username: edwin Post Number: 1500 Registered: 5-2002 |
When they released the movie on DVD, they gave out a frame from the original 35mm release and I ended up with a shot from that scene. It's cool to hear that movie in 5.1, especially the DVD remix. The theatrical mix was hampered by some problems from the fact that surround was in its infancy back in the day and the current mix benefited greatly from improved technology and experience (and the expert mastering touch of my friend, David Glasser, of Airshow mastering.).  | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 2861 Registered: 5-2009 |
I remember seeing this bass on the work bench when George Mundy was wiring it . George Mundy can also be seen in the movie making adjustments. | ||
| sparechaynge
Intermediate Member Username: sparechaynge Post Number: 125 Registered: 6-2010 |
Is George the guy with the butterfly t-shirt? I always thought that was Rick Turner. | ||
| moonliner
Intermediate Member Username: moonliner Post Number: 126 Registered: 12-2004 |
Edwin, that is perfect that you got that particular frame. You must have been very happy! | ||
| slicknickhaas
Member Username: slicknickhaas Post Number: 83 Registered: 10-2009 |
Hey There Guys, just wanted to chime in, that scene in the movie is exactly what brought me to Alembic, I had to know as much as I could find out about it, it even lead to conversations with Rick Turner, Steve Parish, And "Turbo" Tom Smith, one of the last people to work on the bass sadly Hacking the electronics out and routing the body for an aluminum plate, Said he's the guy who put the idea into Phil's head about a 6 string bass not sure about that but it did bring one thing to light, both Rick and Tom said there realy wasn't an issue with the bass at the time, guess there was some bad blood between Phil and George about working though and fixing the reliability issues of the bass. or so I'm told, by 79 According to Rick Phil was dealing with some issues at the time. and may have lead to the bass getting hacked. there's no evidence of a delam issue from what I can find. nor a photo of it any point past 79. curiosity got the best of me and I tracked down Tom, Phils tec and the time, according to him once phil had the idea of a 6 string the bass was placed in its case and put in room 4 for safe keeping in 1980 at there place in Palo Alto. the question is is it still there? Rick Turner also stated that if the bass was found he would gladly head up the restoration of it to its former glory, a far better version of the electronics could be built as well, or at least something quality. Maybe its just me but this bass should be brought back to life or at least into the light. it represents a major turning point in musical history, and im sure it means a lot to many of us. thoughts? | ||
| slicknickhaas
Member Username: slicknickhaas Post Number: 84 Registered: 10-2009 |
From Tom Smith, Nick, yeah I did mess around with that bass. The short story is one day I asked Phil if he knew what gauge size the strings were? (PL) Why? (Me) How about adding two more strings? (PL) I'll find out. The next day we drove up to Alembic and he ordered a 6 string bass and he refused to ever play the 4 string again. Blame that one on me I guess. At that point I didn't give a shit about doing any more with the 4 string because of his attitude. I wasn't about to argue with him, if you know what I mean. It had its own travel case and we stored it with all his other basses at Front Street in room 4, his equipment room. I assume he still has it. We thought we were the first guys to build a 6 string bass. In 1989 I was in Chicago and saw an ad for a used Fender Thunderbird 6 string jazz bass, oh well. You no doubt know that he has played a 6 string ever since. sorry correction, it was at Front Street, And a what!? | ||
| jacko
Senior Member Username: jacko Post Number: 3374 Registered: 10-2002 |
If I've read Tom's note right Alembic made Phil a 6 string bass? that's something I never knew. I'm pretty sure there's no mention of one in Blair Jackson's book. Graeme | ||
| slicknickhaas
Member Username: slicknickhaas Post Number: 85 Registered: 10-2009 |
I find id a little odd, maybe it was in that window of time when Modulus was working a bit with Alembic? I haven,t put to much research into it, any one have an idea as to what Phil's first 6 string was? I'm still in the grey on that change, it was mix emotions for me to learn that the stories of the bass getting hacked where true. but it the same sense that explains why its been in hiding all these years. One person, can't remember if it was Steve or Rick that said it, but much like Jack regrets sell number 1, Phil felt pretty bad for letting Mission Control get hacked. Ive tried to contact Phil though many fronts to ask about it, but never have been able to get a response. | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 1487 Registered: 10-2006 |
Per Jackson, Phil's first 6 (1982) was a 35" Modulus built on a 4-string neck, w/Barts. Peter (Message edited by cozmik_cowboy on May 29, 2013) | ||
| lembic76450
Advanced Member Username: lembic76450 Post Number: 335 Registered: 5-2002 |
You know, all the times looking at this bass I never noticed the logo on the headstock. Are there any others like this? | ||
| edwin
Senior Member Username: edwin Post Number: 1756 Registered: 5-2002 |
It's back. Rick Turner is starting the process of rebuilding it. He's none too happy with Turbo Tom's experiments. http://www.rukind.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=421&t=15947 | ||
| slicknickhaas
Member Username: slicknickhaas Post Number: 88 Registered: 10-2009 |
YES!!!!!!!! I've been bugging the powers to be from Rick Turner to Phil about this for 4 years! fantastic news! can't wait to see the photos!! | ||
| mtjam
Intermediate Member Username: mtjam Post Number: 162 Registered: 11-2011 |
That's great news! Can't wait to follow the progress of this restoration. | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 5732 Registered: 7-2004 |
Is the listed serial number, "74-0008" correct? I have #10, and it's a '72. Just askin'. Bill, tgo | ||
| pasewark
Advanced Member Username: pasewark Post Number: 234 Registered: 4-2003 |
I can't wait to see this bass restored! | ||
| enzo
Advanced Member Username: enzo Post Number: 388 Registered: 4-2009 |
That's an exciting news! | ||
| jalevinemd
Senior Member Username: jalevinemd Post Number: 935 Registered: 12-2003 |
Who is Turbo Tom? Tom Lieber? | ||
| edwin
Senior Member Username: edwin Post Number: 1758 Registered: 5-2002 |
Apparently some guy named Tom Smith who got his hands on the bass. | ||
| dead_head
Junior Username: dead_head Post Number: 48 Registered: 12-2013 |
Hi Edwin, just got my June Bassplayer mag. in the mail. Saw your spot in the "Dig My Rig" section. I knew that was your setup before even reading the caption. Loookin' goood!!!!! (sorry for the hijack). Rob | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 4047 Registered: 6-2002 |
A detailed history of Phil Lesh's Alembic basses with some great stories http://www.ricksuchow.com/press-group-167.html | ||
| hammer
Senior Member Username: hammer Post Number: 487 Registered: 9-2009 |
Jazzyvee: Thanks for sharing this. It filled in a lot of gaps in my knowledge of Phil's gear. | ||
| jacko
Senior Member Username: jacko Post Number: 3531 Registered: 10-2002 |
That 'fretless' Guild pictured is either fretted or has some pretty hefty fret inlays! Still an interesting article though. Graeme | ||
| edwin
Senior Member Username: edwin Post Number: 1868 Registered: 5-2002 |
Update from Rick Turner: I've started in on replacing missing wood. I got some Osage orange and duplicated the neck laminate layup...Osage, walnut, and maple...and inlaid it between the neck and past where the original tailpiece was mounted. Next I'll inlay two pieces of koa to fill in the top on either side of the central neck beam. I decided not to completely replace the top, even though some of the repair seams will inevitably show, but better that than doing more horrendous damage to what is left of the original top. I think I can match the color and grain reasonably with some koa I got from my pal John Reuter ( Roberto Venn School of Lutherie...major Deadhead ). Still mulling over pickups and electronics. My thought is to bring this bass forward about 40 years and honor much of the original intent while allowing what I've learned in that time to come forth. Yes, it will get a quad pickup, but this time it will be one of my piezos, and the full quad output may wind up as an option. The neck and bridge pickups will be self-hum canceling, and they will be mono/stereo pickups, that is, in mono mode, each will be a hum canceller with coils that sort of overlap for the A and D strings. The effect in stereo mode is a true stereo pan, and in this mode, the pickups buck hum from neck to bridge, neck to bridge. The magnetic arrangement is: N S S N I'll use some filter electronics from John East, and the two channels will stay separate at the normal output. I'm not even going to try to duplicate all of the micro-processor pickup assignment switching that was touch switch operated on the original setup. That was all the white circles on the bass side of the face. I'll just do inlays there and maybe pop LED's in next to them for kicks. I am documenting the hell out of this process, and I'm writing this all up for an article for Vintage Guitar Magazine. Much thanks to George Gruhn for finding Mission Control and sending it to me for the restoration. OH, it's in the original case as well. | ||
| slicknickhaas
Member Username: slicknickhaas Post Number: 89 Registered: 10-2009 |
Thats great news! Thanks Edwin for the update | ||
| elwoodblue
Senior Member Username: elwoodblue Post Number: 1536 Registered: 6-2002 |
Cool... thanx Edwin! | ||
| hieronymous
Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 1572 Registered: 1-2005 |
Found some great video from 1977 - hope it wasn't posted before - bass sounds great through good speakers! And it looks like the oscilloscope at the very beginning is Phil's signal! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE3BTUjrevE | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 11930 Registered: 5-2002 |
Thanks, Harry; hadn't seen that one before, and it's a good one! | ||
| serialnumber12
Senior Member Username: serialnumber12 Post Number: 1113 Registered: 12-2004 |
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