| Author | Message | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 6168 Registered: 7-2004 |
Brother Slawie is coming to town from Australia. While he's here Wolf (Sonicus) & I thought it would be fun to have a mini gathering. We're looking at Sunday afternoon, August 2nd. It will be at my place where we had last September's gathering. Full studio with amps, drums, P.A. and a fridge. So who's in? Let us know and I'll send out directions. I'm really looking forward to watching Slawie play as I've never seen someone play upside down before! hehehehe Bill, tgo | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 4369 Registered: 5-2009 |
I look forward to this ! Wolf | ||
| hieronymous
Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 1546 Registered: 1-2005 |
I'm in! I was so bummed to think I might miss it if it was this week, but Aug. 2 I can do! | ||
| stephenr
Member Username: stephenr Post Number: 100 Registered: 9-2014 |
Would love to come hang with you guys but won't be back from Alaska until the 4th. Is the September meet still happening? | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 6169 Registered: 7-2004 |
AFAIK it is. This one is just an impromptu little get together while Slawie visits from down under. Bill, tgo | ||
| slawie
Senior Member Username: slawie Post Number: 814 Registered: 8-2002 |
Well it looks as if I have to be there ;) Really looking forward to this Hang with some great players and jam. Big fat Cheshire grin on my face at the moment as I just got back from the factory and my bass sounds the best it has for years. No access to amp at the moment so Sunday Will be the first time the I can reacquaint myself with the Alembic series I sound. Everyone at Alembic are just the nicest people on the planet. slawie | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 4374 Registered: 5-2009 |
Slawie, it is indeed great to read of your visit to the factory with your Series I back in order. I look forward to hearing you play that beautiful fretless of yours . Wolf | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 6178 Registered: 7-2004 |
How about Sunday at 2:00 p.m.? Does that work for everyone? Slawie, (and anyone else), if you let me know where you're coming from, I can send you directions. Bill, tgo | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 4391 Registered: 5-2009 |
It works for me . Wolf | ||
| hieronymous
Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 1550 Registered: 1-2005 |
Should work for me, though I might be a little bit late. | ||
| slawie
Senior Member Username: slawie Post Number: 815 Registered: 8-2002 |
That time would be perfect for me although I have been looking forward to this since the announcement. Catching up with like minded folks and jamming is for me an exciting prospect An address would be extremely helpful. Slawie | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 6180 Registered: 7-2004 |
Slawie: Let me know where you will be coming from and I'll email you directions. If you just get the address and rely on GPS, there's a good chance you won't find it. Bill, tgo | ||
| ed_zeppelin
Junior Username: ed_zeppelin Post Number: 15 Registered: 2-2010 |
>>>I'm really looking forward to watching Slawie play as I've never seen someone play upside down before!<<< That's one of the funniest things I've ever read here, and it's inspired a rather bizarre train of thought. "Does he play on the FORWARD beat, or the down(under) beat?" "Does he come down on the four?" "Does he follow the circle of fourths?" "Do the turnarounds go the other way; V, II, IV, I?" ...mm, that's about it, so far. I have Aussie relatives, and this is the kind of brainless fun we have when they visit. "Vegemite was invented to be eaten on a dare!" "When you get too drunk, does the room spin the other way?" etc. the dumber, the better. I would love to attend the gathering. Do you have a string bass? I might bring mine, unless I fly, in which case I have two words to say about that (and one of them is "that"). The fridge is the most important piece of equipment, in my astoundingly humble opinion. Every good bassist I've ever met was also a terrific cook. It's one of those weird things, like guitarists having the warmth and charm of a Bulgarian prison guard or drummers being excellent at delivering pizzas. That reminds me; when I was a teenager in the 70s in Sudden California, I knew a bassist who craved an Ampeg SVT cab so much, he mounted an old 15" speaker in the door of his dad's "beer fridge" in the garage. No kidding. It sounded awful - with the door shut. Prop it open about two inches and it sounded AWESOME. His dad did not agree, nor was he amused to discover a 15-inch hole in the door of his beer fridge. I found out later that Geddy Lee did the same thing with an old front-loading dryer when he was a lad. Ha! And I told my wife, "the Foghorn," to get me a tall triple shot cappuccino this morning. "No prob," I says, "probably perk me up a little." Now I'm babbling about Australia and contemplating turning the fridge into a bass cab. Uh oh. | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 6181 Registered: 7-2004 |
Mr. Zep: First of all, you do realize that "Bill, tgo" stands for "Bill, the guitar one"? I've never heard about the Bulgarian prison guards, though I have heard: "What do you call a guitar player who breaks up with his girlfriend? Homeless" And I've heard that all bass players were sour-faced except for Paul McCartney! Your story about opening the fridge reminds me of the instructions that came with the Pignose amp I bought new while in college. It was suggested that the player should have a friend open and close Pignose while the player plays for a cool effect! Groovy, huh? Are you considering coming down? You might want to wait until September for the official gathering - we usually get at least two dozen players and instruments, but you're certainly welcome this Sunday. And if you leave anything behind, I can return it as I'll be driving through Eugene on my way to Seattle for Hempfest in a couple of weeks. Bill, tgo | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 6186 Registered: 7-2004 |
Wolf, Harry, a drummer friend, and I will be welcoming brother Slawie from down under on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. There should be at least ten Alembics present. Anyone else is, of course, more than welcome. Bill, tgo | ||
| hieronymous
Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 1552 Registered: 1-2005 |
The Mini-Gathering was fun - too tired to do a bunch of pictures now (it's been a LOOOONG few days) - but here's one for now:  | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 4412 Registered: 5-2009 |
I had a wonderful time !  | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 4413 Registered: 5-2009 |
 | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 6193 Registered: 7-2004 |
I took the picture! (And a fine time was had by all) Bill, tgo | ||
| slawie
Senior Member Username: slawie Post Number: 816 Registered: 8-2002 |
Thank you guys so much. I had a blast! For next time I will be prepared with some Dead tunes. Bill thanks for making your home available. Harry thanks for letting me play your double neck Wolf thanks for he inspiration to keep practising You guys are the best! | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 4414 Registered: 5-2009 |
Slawie , It was great to meet you ! Thanks for letting me try to play your wonderful beautiful bass ! Wolf | ||
| hieronymous
Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 1553 Registered: 1-2005 |
Here's a couple of action shots - one of the nice things about the Gatherings is that we get to hear what these wonderful instruments sound like! It was great getting to play Slawie's bass, it's definitely a close cousin to the doubleneck. Bill's friend Rich played drums on some tunes, Wolf & I sat in on a couple as well.   | ||
| ed_zeppelin
Junior Username: ed_zeppelin Post Number: 22 Registered: 2-2010 |
I would love to see the amps as well. I even like bad amps. Frank Zappa said; "talking about music is like whistling about fish," and I can think of no better example than discussing amps. Even with basses or guitars, you have a rough idea in your head of how they sound; Paul's Hofner, Chris Squire and Geddy's Ricky 4001s, Jaco's Jazz bass and of course: Stanley Clarke's Alembic ... But as far as amps go, we're like geezers poring over the racing forms, comparing statistics and making wild guesses about the outcome. I still think the best bass amp I've ever used was my high school's old, beat up Standel Studio 60 bass amp. It was so clean, and those four JBL 12s thumped you in the solar plexus so good sometimes it was hard to stand upright, if you follow my drift (wink, nudge). I'm always interested in what people are using, especially because a great deal of my gigs are on upright, so I have to use two systems and A/B them between the Alembic Series 1 and my string bass' Fishman Bass Blender ( http://www.fishman.com/files/acoustic_blender_system_user_guide.pdf ) I think every bassist needs one of those, by the way. It's a dandy direct box, with either mic, transducer or both. You can use ALL the outputs at once, in any configuration, it mounts on a mic stand and gives you complete control without even having to bend over or turn around to twiddle knobs. Those basses are so beautiful. Man, I envy you. That must have been an amazing time. Nothing I like better than groovin' away an afternoon with music pals. | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 11905 Registered: 5-2002 |
Pictures!! Looks great; thanks for the report! | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 6195 Registered: 7-2004 |
We had two bass rigs: 1. My studio bass rig consisting of a GK Backline 600 through a 2x10 cab. Wolf added his IN-2 and SF-2 to the signal chain. 2. The rig belonging to the bass player in Stonetrout, my regular band, consisting of an SF-2 into a Traynor head into an Acoustic bottom (1x15, IIRC). I played through my latest set up. An F-2B into a Carvin DCM200L into a pair of 1x12s loaded with JBL K120s, one with a hemp cone. Bill, tgo | ||
| hieronymous
Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 1554 Registered: 1-2005 |
Here's Bill's rig - looks, sounds & weighs great!  | ||
| hieronymous
Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 1555 Registered: 1-2005 |
Only one guitar has made it into the pictures - there were quite a few more lurking about!  And here's a closeup of the two small bodied '70s Series basses:  |
