| Author | Message | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 1240 Registered: 9-2002 |
So I decided the BigRedBass was lonesome. I'd always loved the P/J fives after my BB5000's, WAY better for me than a double J five-string. So with my good friend Will Gunn and Susan's invaluable advice, I decided I'd have a five-string Elan with P/J Activators, as a counterpoint to the mighty BigRedBass and it's potent FatBoys. I wanted a Fender-ish wood signature with old-school Alembic features. So I decided I wanted Swamp Ash wings with Tiger Maple tops and the traditional Elan neck with all maple/cherry veneer separators. I wanted the tummy cut and the rounded-over top, with a circular fallaway to complement the curve of the Elan body, not the 'straight-edge' fold-over on the upper body. Susan laid in the cherry separators between the Tiger and Swamp Ash, and it came out with the most gorgeous pinstripe and 'revealed edge' I've ever seen. I spec'd the ebony/MOP oval fingerboard and the standard bridge and bird tailpiece to keep the Alembic vibe, and went with the 'poor man's gold' package: Gold keys and brass parts. Susan suggested the Signature electronics with the PJ's, and it was a great choice. I appropriated the old Yamaha trick and reversed the P pickup, ironically making it a bit easier for thumb work, and it just sounds better to me reversed: The high strings are a bit warmer, the low strings a bit sharper. And the old-school five look, a 4+1 Elan headstock. Mica mentioned once she'd like to do an Emerald colored axe, and it stuck with me, as I love color-tinted axes. So that was it. Bob shot me a gorgeous color, EXACTLY what I had in mind. He got it with NO color smaples changing hands, only what Mica had in mind and my suggestion that it should be about halfway between Hunter Green and a BP sign! Susan did the numbers, I settled up with Will ( I was his last delivery before he moved to Iowa! Thanks Will! )and they began working on it after New Year's in 2006. I purposely wanted NO updates, NO f-t-c thread, and I never asked any questions. I thought it would serve no purpose to bug them, and trusted them to get it right. I got it just after Thanksgiving a year ago, about a 10-month wait. It's everything I imagined and way more. The low C's and D's will almost move solid objects, the color is stunning, and it's the perfect changeup after the BigRedBass. Maybe I could call it the 'Slightly Smaller Green Bass' ?!? And I gotta admit it's way more comforatble after the long-scale Series shape of the BigRedBass. I requested the same 'classic' taper neck, so it's truly amazing to have the IDENTICAL neck on two utterly different(otherwise) basses. My deepest THANK YOU to Susan, Mica, Bob + Mary, James, Val, and certainly my friend, Will Gunn. Thanks again Mica for adding your UPS pictures as I'm just hopeless with a digicam! J o e y | ||
| tbrannon
Senior Member Username: tbrannon Post Number: 592 Registered: 11-2004 |
Joey, You are one sneaky dude!! I don't know how you could custom order an Elan (my favorite), receive it and then wait a whole year to post anything! Sounds absolutely sweet. I'm looking forward to seeing Mica's pictures. We're all still waiting to see the BigRedBass too.... | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 1241 Registered: 9-2002 |
Well, tb, I've just been having too much fun lining up Fenders MusicMans Sadowskys Lulls and the rest of the usual clone suspects, and picking them off like a sniper from AJDover's day job ! Nashville is especially over-run in all these Fender/clone basses, so I decided I'd get me one . . . from Santa Rosa. It's like showing up at a Miata rally with a Ferrari Enzo. Believe me, as much as I like the FatBoys, the P/J Activators are serious hardware, all the more enjoyable as they LOOK like most everybody's P/J's, except for that little ornate gold script on the covers . . . Amazingly, it's the rest of the rig I always dreamed of. I take the Elan and the Eden Metro and the Aphex tube compressor, and it's just like a guitar player: The bass, a combo amp, and the gig bag. No more refrigerator size rigs, channel switching, tube tone, I'm gone in five minutes. Like shooting fish in a barrel. I didn't want something quite as traditional as an 'East Meets West' axe, it was very important for me to honor the tradition and for this to be as Alembic as possible. The Elan (Susan's take on a Jazz) was perfect. Amazingly, I'd never seen or held one, so it was just meant to be. For anybody thinking of getting a more sophisticated Fender-ish bass, I could not recommend this axe more highly. And in a world of Fender Custom Shop or Sadowsky prices, it's certainly competitively priced, especially when WE have the luxury of having it built just like you want by the best in the business. And, oh yeah, it IS absolutely sweet. J o e y | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 1242 Registered: 9-2002 |
PS: The BigRedBass: See the 'Goldilocks' custom. Imagine solid mahogany wings without the matching quilt back, Quilt top with the deluxe laminates showing (no c-t-c top), Spoiler electronics with FatBoys, long scale, and a clear, fire-engine red tint, and you've got the general idea. J o e y | ||
| tbrannon
Senior Member Username: tbrannon Post Number: 593 Registered: 11-2004 |
Joey- Thanks for taking the time to explain it all. I've been dreaming up my own custom Elan for a few years now (similar to yours in many ways). Really looking forward to seeing the pictures. PSS: you're PS is somewhat lacking. Can you hear the bottles banging? Pics pics pics!!! | ||
| rraymond
Advanced Member Username: rraymond Post Number: 321 Registered: 6-2002 |
Hear, hear! As an owner/admirer of both tinted Alembics and Elans, I second the motion for PICS! When you get the time, of course... It sounds really cool, and as TB said, sneaky. Enjoy! | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 1020 Registered: 6-2002 |
I was not a fan of tinted alembics and it has taken me a long time to get used to the colour of my purple Elan 4 but now I love it. I doubt if I'd order a tinted one brand new but I love this one. I've yet to gig it though. http://alembic.com/club/messages/411/35750.html?1186587627 All the best with your new babe. Jazzyvee | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 4958 Registered: 6-2000 |
Found 'em!     Joey's request was for a cross between emerald green and British racing green. I know I always say this, but it looks better in person! | ||
| tbrannon
Senior Member Username: tbrannon Post Number: 594 Registered: 11-2004 |
Beautiful- straight up beautiful. Thanks for not sharing before now Joey- now I want one. | ||
| rraymond
Advanced Member Username: rraymond Post Number: 322 Registered: 6-2002 |
Oh man, I like that! Congrats, Joey. | ||
| fc_spoiler
Senior Member Username: fc_spoiler Post Number: 670 Registered: 5-2006 |
+1  | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 1247 Registered: 9-2002 |
THANKS, Mica. It's WAY prettier in person. After shooting that green bass on that maroon carpet, your camera's ccd must have had a headache for days ! J o e y | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 5744 Registered: 5-2002 |
Congrats Joey!!! | ||
| 2400wattman
Senior Member Username: 2400wattman Post Number: 479 Registered: 11-2005 |
Well it looks like these saved me a 3 hour trip to come see it! Absolutely beautiful and a unique color to boot. Dig in Joey! | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 1248 Registered: 9-2002 |
The idea was the ultimate Fender-ish P/J Five as completing the range of tones where the BRB/Fatboys left off. And it had to say 'Alembic' when you looked at it. So the particulars became: -4+1 Elan headstock -Brass parts, back door, gold keys -Classic taper five neck (2" nut x 2.5" 24th fret) -ebony fingerboard w/MOP ovals -standard ELAN neck, all maple, cherry separators -bronze side dots -Swamp Ash wings (I told Val as swirly and assymetric as possible) -standard Tiger maple top with (matching headstock veneers) -cherry separator between top and back (which became the most beautiful bent top/pinstripe effect, Thanks Susan!), and I requested the curving top foldover and the tummy cutaway -Reversed P and J Activators with Anniversary electronics (vol-blend-filter-filter with 1-way QSwitch for each filter). I thought about bass/treble boost/cut for about five seconds, wasn't 'Alembic', and am NOT sorry I passed on them. -standard brass bridge, bird tailpiece and brass back door -Emerald tint WOULD I change anything? Occasionally I think maybe a 3+2 Elan head, but not for long. That's it. J o e y | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 1021 Registered: 6-2002 |
That is some Elan Bass... Jazzyvee | ||
| foth
Intermediate Member Username: foth Post Number: 167 Registered: 12-2004 |
Old style knobs, too. It's the reflection of BRB, nice artistic concept. You could name it Reflejo. | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 1249 Registered: 9-2002 |
. . . and that axe is WONDERFUL in purple. Go ahead, gig with it ! Very interesting that it's a four with double P's: We tend to think of that around here because of John Entwistle, but two other examples come to mind: 1) The soapbar EMG's in the original Steinbergers actually hold a P-layout pickup (and still in EMG's catalog for retrofit into basses running Gibson-size humbucker rings) 2) And of course, Leland Sklar has his old battered PBass housing double EMG P's that's the veteran of countless major sessions. . . . so you're in good company. As much as I admire the various woods ALEMBIC uses, ultimately they just look . . . brown to me. Music is supposed to be colorful, so there I went. NICE axe. J o e y | ||
| alemberic
Member Username: alemberic Post Number: 60 Registered: 6-2006 |
Joey-- Fantastic looking bass! I have no doubt it looks even better in person, as Mica said, but Mica's pictures, as usual, do show it to great advantage. Glad to see you're talking about it "in public." I agree with Toby--I don't know how you held off talking about it until a year after you got it! Enjoy! Eric | ||
| basstard
Intermediate Member Username: basstard Post Number: 153 Registered: 3-2003 |
This is BEAUTIFUL. The only thing I don't really like about it is the narrow string spacing - but to each their own! Congrats - she's a real beauty! | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 1250 Registered: 9-2002 |
Oh yes, it CERTAINLY had to have the big knobs to look right to me. I basically wanted every ALEMBIC visual cue I could use, NO WAY I wanted it confused for anything else. Even though see-through green probably isn't a usual ALEMBIC visual . . . . ! Out of my five five-strings I run the gamut from the first model Yamaha BB5000 (VERY narrow) through the ALEMBICs to the A2 model BB5000 (WAY wide like all current Yamaha fives, spacing like a current TRB 5). I don't worry much about the width as I'm a fingerstyle player, but the neck profile is much more important: I like a flat oval feel, I can't stand a 'half-round' feel. And I don't care much for a big flare-out as it goes up the neck. The classic taper keeps the strings almost parallel the length of the neck, so it's my favorite. Aside from action, I'm not real fussy about what a bass has to feel like, aside from the usual aversions to baseball bat necks, crummy electronics, and obscenely heavy axes. The only problem I get on the narrow Yamahas is that the spacing only feels real tight at the nut, if I'm playing scale positions off the low C's, etc. Thanks ! J o e y | ||
| tbrannon
Senior Member Username: tbrannon Post Number: 598 Registered: 11-2004 |
Joey, Just wanted to let you know that this one has gotten under my skin.... I find myself back here looking at the pictures every few days. I hope you won't mind if I end up copying you once I scratch together the funds to have one built. I might not pick green, but everything else is just awesome. Toby | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 1254 Registered: 9-2002 |
Toby: Go for it! Be sure you contact Will about getting it together for you. I hardly re-invented the wheel, so to speak, it just seemed to be my translation of a Fender into Alembic, particularly the white woods. J o e y | ||
| tbrannon
Senior Member Username: tbrannon Post Number: 599 Registered: 11-2004 |
Joey- I've already spent a fair bit of time looking at Will's website, when the time comes he'll get a call. I've also spent a fair bit of time dreaming myself- FC Spoiler started a Dream Elan thread a while back and I posted my thoughts about an Alembic Jazz about halfway down- I like your PJ idea better! | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 1255 Registered: 9-2002 |
I just like the P/J better: The big fat P tone in that central sweet spot harmonically blended with the single-coilish bite of the J back by the bridge. It's even more obvious with Alembic's 'old school' way of backing the front pickup to the end of the fingerboard and the aft pickup right at the bridge. Double J's are OK for fours for that traditional Jazz sound, but they ultimately come up lacking for me, just not enough meat on the bone for my ears. And with few exceptions, the traditional Jazz tone does NOT show up with most fives. Fender ultimately had to go to Bill Lawrence to perfect the passive double J's they built for the Roscoe Beck Fives they recently (idiots!!) discontinued, one of the few fives that really did approach a classic, passive four-string J tone. Plus I hate that single coil buzz! Of course with the Activators, it's silent. And in a way, I knew the P would curb any tendency for all that Swamp Ash and maple to get that white wood honk/quack, a real possibility with an ebony fingerboard. I felt like two J's (even though the J Activators are stacks) might allow that tone to rear its head. I wanted it bright, but not end up with a bass Telecaster. Seems to have worked. You can never discount fads and fashion, but it's interesting that Fender also recently discontinued their fives with the five-string P pickup in the American Deluxe series. I was surprised they got around to engineering a 3+2 P pickup 25 years AFTER Yamaha. Better late than never, though I'm sure there's guys at Fender saying, "See, I told you they'd never sell"! J o e y | ||
| palembic
Senior Member Username: palembic Post Number: 2594 Registered: 9-2002 |
OOOOMAWGO-OD Cool bass Joey! I am a HUUUUUUUUUGE fan of the PJ-set-up too as is installed on my A-bass. I think there are dwelling some pictures of her somewhere here in this club. Anyway: more thunderish lows on the way in Nashville! Paul the bad one | ||
| georgie_boy
Senior Member Username: georgie_boy Post Number: 409 Registered: 8-2005 |
Superb!!!!!!!! G | ||
| tbrannon
Senior Member Username: tbrannon Post Number: 693 Registered: 11-2004 |
Joey, Would you happen to have any sound clips of this one? I'm in the planning stages with Will- I'm putting together something very similar (same woods/electronics). I have a Mahogany bodied Signature equipped Rogue and I'd LOVE to hear how the neck through/ash/maple sounds with the signature setup and activators. If you don't have sound clips, could you describe the tonal differences between the BRB and this one for me? Ash is supposed to give you a mid-focused sound.... opinions after having lived with it for awhile? Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom. Toby | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 1155 Registered: 6-2002 |
I have my first gig with my Elan 4 this evening with a blues band. Their bass player has gone to Florida for a holiday so I offered to stand in. Taking the mesa rig walkabout and 4x10 cab See how it sounds. Jazzyvee | ||
| tbrannon
Senior Member Username: tbrannon Post Number: 694 Registered: 11-2004 |
Jazzy- Yours is a maple body right? The purple double-P? Let me know how you like it and how the Mesa rig fits. I somehow remember you saying you had a difficult time dialing in a good dub sound when you first received it. I'm getting close to decision making time and would love any and all opinions. Toby | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 1157 Registered: 6-2002 |
Hi Toby, yes mine is the purple Elan, I just got back from the gig and it sounded great. Very crisp and meaty with plenty of clarity. Playing it at home through the same rig bears no resemblence whatsoever to the wonderful sound I got at the gig tonight. The sound was much clearer and although it didn't sound as bass heavy at the gig it was still very heavy. Enough low end to make the windows rattle, even at moderate volume. I'm very happy with the sound of the bass live now that I've taken it out I just need to find my own sound with it. I tried some reggae numbers on it and it sounds fine. I like the fact I can get a deep bassy tone and still get a crisp attack to the note. Jazzyvee | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 2134 Registered: 6-2002 |
(Message edited by jazzyvee on September 16, 2010) | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 2135 Registered: 6-2002 |
A variation on the theme. My Elan/Europa/Signature Jazzyvee [moderator's edit to activate the hyperlink] (Message edited by adriaan on September 16, 2010) | ||
| mario_farufyno
Senior Member Username: mario_farufyno Post Number: 524 Registered: 9-2008 |
Wow, that gold hardware matches so nice with that green tint... | ||
| tmoney61092
Senior Member Username: tmoney61092 Post Number: 509 Registered: 9-2008 |
Reminds me of the Green Ranger from Power Rangers when I was a kid :-) ~Taylor | ||
| tbrannon
Senior Member Username: tbrannon Post Number: 1232 Registered: 11-2004 |
You can find a very similar beauty, only in a 4 sting version in the thread below. http://alembic.com/club/messages/411/58550.html?1249617101 | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 1507 Registered: 9-2002 |
Before I went with the green, that 'peanut brittle' tinted- clear was my original choice. J o e y | ||
| tbrannon
Senior Member Username: tbrannon Post Number: 1236 Registered: 11-2004 |
It is beautiful-I asked Mica for something more 'honey' than the traditional amber tint they use and they nailed it. Absolutely gorgeous in person. | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 1584 Registered: 9-2002 |
So, three years later, here's a progress report: First, I don't know if this thing is this way because of all the white wood involved, or the Activators, or what, but . . . . This thing absolutely has the best low C's and D's I ever heard in terms of their tone. You can easily hear that third or fourth order harmonic (it sounds like a steady grind) even with old strings. Second, every thing you've read about a the difference in gain between the P Activators and the J Activator in this layout is true. I REALLY have to crank the pot for the J and back the P pot down quite a bit to get a reasonable blend where the P does not overwhelm the mix. Third, along those lines, IF I made another one, I would move the J one space away from the bridge (in other words, about the width of the pickup shell) and I would see if Ron could modify the Signature electronics to even out the difference in the relative outputs. Fourth, as is the case with the BigRedBass, set-up wise it is extremely stable. It moves very slowly in the neck (several days for the truss rod adjustments to really show, a frustratingly great thing), then stays there. When I first got it, it did finish drying out and being a bit skittish, but that's passed now. Like the BRB, I keep the same set of strings (D'Ad stainless, 45-130) every time, so I check the set-up occasionally with the feeler guages and the relief never changes. Amazing. It's also deathly quiet, electronically, as I expected. And lastly, I was pleased that it did not turn out to be TOO bright. While I was after a Fender-ish wood recipe, the idea of all that white wood with an ebony fingerboard (and stainless strings) did have me occasionally second guess myself that I was buying a clavinet. In looking back over the last three years, it once agin proved a phenomenon I found in other instruments: You can always (especially with filters) tone down a bright instrument: I've found it virtually impossible to brighten up a dull one. So that part did not turn out to be the case, and I can go from in your face highs to organ pedal thud with just a few turns of a knob and switch. I can tell you to NEVER under-estimate the sympatico that Susan and Mica have interms of getting the idea in your head translated into their hardware. I always think this is much THEIR axe as it is mine. So, the $64,000 Question: Would I buy another one? (With the minor electronic change I mentioned just to see if I'm right, and a 3+2 head to tell them apart) You Bet ! ! J o e y | ||
| skyboltone
Junior Username: skyboltone Post Number: 31 Registered: 11-2010 |
"As much as I admire the various woods ALEMBIC uses, ultimately they just look . . . brown to me. Music is supposed to be colorful, so there I went. NICE axe." (quote BRB) I've always been a fan of the various sun bursts for that reason but; I wouldn't have thought of the green in a million years for sure. Now that I've seen it I'm moved. Terrific! | ||
| vbob
Junior Username: vbob Post Number: 17 Registered: 12-2010 |
that is very striking... Green? Yeah! | ||
| jazzboy621
New Username: jazzboy621 Post Number: 8 Registered: 7-2011 |
Beautiful Bass!!!!! Great color!!!! | ||
| wishbass
Member Username: wishbass Post Number: 56 Registered: 5-2011 |
Used AnI love this bass.Its my bass on steroids!I've an Elan myself,and have been thinking of a Bob NovyRogue body,but after reading through this thread,I'll probably stick w/the Elan body.And by the way, I love that you used those knobs!Brilliant! It's the small things that make all the difference. | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 1771 Registered: 9-2002 |
Thanks, Karl. Those big knobs just say 'Alembic' to me, so I had to have them. Saw your red Elan (Gorgeous!) on your profile page, and IF you have an Elan 5 built, be SURE and have them put the J Activator a little away from the bridge, as it is on your red one. Interesting that this month's featured custom is in Ash, like mine. A very overlooked choice if you're picking among the 'white' woods. I just love that big swirly grain stripe look. J o e y | ||
| wishbass
Member Username: wishbass Post Number: 57 Registered: 5-2011 |
Thanks for the tip Joey,I was thinking the same about the pup placement.Agreed about ash ,a fine wood.Its I will be using.I have better pics of my Elan (w/out the funny looking Bozo in them) in the showcase.They did a spectacular job on the red (of course). Karl | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 1831 Registered: 9-2002 |
So while his older brother was having his picture taken, I got the kid to sit still for a minute:          Thanks for Watching! J o e y | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 2803 Registered: 6-2002 |
I'm overloading my senses with all these amazing Elans & Europa's I'm seeing these days. Now if you had an E-type Jag in British Racing green and that bass next to you..... serious road presence.... Gorgeous, my computer desktop is now this Elan bass. Jazzyvee | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 1833 Registered: 9-2002 |
JV: Funny you should bring that up: When my dad would drive me to school, we'd pass a very expensive home with a circular driveway. And every morning, parked in that driveway, was a silver Series 1 E-Type, the fastback with that door in the back. I can still see that car . . . . J o e y |
