Alembic - show us your pics

[Reggaebass 4,562]

There’s some stunners here 

 

[Doctor J 2,445]

My Orion. It's one of the "cheap" models but it's still something which is a joy to play every time. You can see where the money goes in them.

[dmccombe7 4,688]

8 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

My Orion. It's one of the "cheap" models but it's still something which is a joy to play every time. You can see where the money goes in them.

Like that a lot.

[fleabag 6,125]

What handsome basses

[dmccombe7 4,688]

Only just catching up on this thread. Some gorgeous basses.

[Cat Burrito 1,465]

Threads have been merged, in case anyone is coming to this wondering what's going on. I'll hide the merge request comments.

[Captain Bassman 200]

Posted this before but I’ll just throw it back up to keep the thread going.

Series 2, 3/4 point body and crown headstock, burl maple front and back, chrome metalwork.

Fire & Ice.

[Cosmo Valdemar 900]

On 11/01/2021 at 14:03, Shaggy said:

I thought I’d posted a couple of pics of my ‘bic ages ago, but looks like I haven’t.

1976 long scale S1 with birdseye maple facings; imported from the US (in the days before  customs charges became crippling).    I tend to gig with my Warwick (LX Streamer Jazzman) these days*, but the S1 is a lovely old beastie.......

*Edit: when we actually were gigging, of course.......

There it is. My dream.

[dmccombe7 4,688]

11 hours ago, Captain Bassman said:

Posted this before but I’ll just throw it back up to keep the thread going.

Series 2, 3/4 point body and crown headstock, burl maple front and back, chrome metalwork.

Fire & Ice.

That's an Enterprise control panel. What does it all do ?😀

Gorgeous bass but i think i'd prefer a more simplistic control system.

Dave

[dmccombe7 4,688]

Cracking pics of some gorgeous basses i'd love to own.

Any chance we could get some descriptions of how they feel, play, sounds and how they compare to other basses you may have had.

Just to give us poor people an idea of what they are like to play as i could see me picking up a 2nd hand one at some point. 

I still need to go thru every page yet so maybe there are descriptions further back. My apologies if that's the case.

Dave

Edited January 15 by dmccombe7

[jazzyvee 273]

i think a really good place to also check out to get the lowdown on your questions would be the alembic web site forum. www.alembic.com as that is a more focussed group, and many also use  non alembic basses too so you would find more views relating to the different alembic models in their range, both vintage and current. There are many members from that forum who participate in BC too.

I hope you find one.

Edited January 17 by jazzyvee
Correction

[Shaggy 602]

7 hours ago, Cosmo Valdemar said:

There it is. My dream.

Thanks Cosmo  - it was actually your post on the “Basses you see and want” thread that induced me to post on here -  when I saw the pic in your post, just for a split sec I thought “Hey - that’s my bass............oh - no it’s not”  

All Alembics are incredible instruments, but for me the original series 1 & 2’s are the classiest. I dithered and lost on a Distillate with flamed koa top FS on here a couple of years back - still kick myself 

[4000 1,784]

1 hour ago, jazzyvee said:

i think a really good place to also check out to get the lowdown on your questions would be the alembic web site forum. www.alembic.com as that is a more focussed group, and many also use  non alembic basses too so you would find more views relating to the different alembic models in their range, both vintage and current. There are many members from that forum who participate in TB too.

I hope you find one.

I haven’t been on in a long time but the Alembic Club was a great forum. Loads of information. The “Factory to Customer” build threads on the Alembic site are wonderful too. 

For what it’s worth the typical Alembic neck shape - although if going custom you can have anything and some models do have what they call the ‘taper’ neck profile, in addition to the necks on the cheaper models generally being a bit chunkier - is not far removed from being Rickenbackerish, I.e. it’s pretty parallel and narrow all the way along. My custom came with by far the best factory setup I’ve ever had, and noticeably better than any other boutique I’ve had. My friend who owns my Wal Custom was very impressed at the setup.

Sound-wise they tend to be very pure and clean (some would maybe think too much so), but obviously you can change that with amps/pedals. Most, but not all of the models have filters, not bass/treble etc, although some do  (e.g. Rogue, which also has the taper neck). The Series electronics are a step above everything else IMO, but you pay for them. I’d go to Alembic.com for more info as it’s a bit of a wormhole. Alembic will pretty much build you anything within the various shapes, and sometimes beyond those.

Edited January 15 by 4000

[Doctor J 2,445]

1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said:

Cracking pics of some gorgeous basses i'd love to own.

Any chance we could get some descriptions of how they feel, play, sounds and how they compare to other basses you may have had.

Just to give us poor people an idea of what they are like to play as i could see me picking up a 2nd hand one at some point. 

I still need to go thru every page yet so maybe there are descriptions further back. My apologies if that's the case.

Dave

If you wanted to dip your toe, an Epic or Orion might be a reasonably priced place to start. They're the budget models (yes, I know 😂), generally set neck, no back facings and have a bass and treble cut/boost rather than filters. I got my one via the forum here a few years ago. It's a 2004 Orion with a walnut top, maple and purpleheart stringers on a mahogany body. The neck is five-piece maple and purpleheart with the standard ebony fretboard.

The Epics and Orions have MXY pickups, which are humbuckers and don't need the phantom coil you see on basses with the single coil AXY pickups. The neck pickup is pretty much where a P pickup is, relative to the 12th fret, though the bridge pickup is slightly closer to the bridge, even compared to the 70's J position. I play with fingers 95% of the time and didn't have a problem adjusting to it or finding places to anchor my thumb. The string spacing is 18mm, slightly narrower than standard but easy to get used to.

The electronics are very high quality. The blend is particularly useful. Minuscule changes on the knob position result in big changes tonally. I have no other bass which responds like that. As a result, the blend is fundamental to getting different sounds, moreso than the EQ, even. I find I rarely play one pickup solo. I usually use the blend to get what I'm looking for and then the EQ for fine tuning.

The nut is 40mm, narrower than a P, wider than a J. The nut height is adjustable and can be locked in position. I like this a lot because I like a very low nut, basically I like the height of a zero fret. I prefer J necks, generally, but this is very comfortable to play for extended periods. One caveat, I did find the neck edges quite abrupt so I rolled the edges. That is a personal preference, though, not everyone cares about that kind of thing.

It's built immaculately, as you can imagine, and the action can go as low as you need. I like low action, no complaints from me. When I got it, I put my preferred strings on it, adjusted the truss rods for very slight relief and haven't needed to touch them since.

They're not cheap, let's be very clear, and I would never buy a new one. I couldn't afford to. You'll pick up an Epic or Orion for much less than a late 70's P, though, which just makes no sense at all in my head. If you buy second hand you're never going to lose money either, if you choose to sell it on. I can't see myself parting with this one, though.

[Doctor J 2,445]

Oh yeah, on a strap the Orion balances beautifully. No neck dive whatsoever.

Edit -> and forgot to say how it sounds. It's very clean, very clear, but it's high output. If you need to drive a gain stage you will have no problem at all. The slightly wider gap between the pickups means you can get very bassy to very growly and everything inbetween, due to the blend. If you've heard the Won't Get Fooled Again isolated track, that's the basic sound but you can go far meatier than that but still keep the growl.

I have a couple of "Monthly Challenge" tracks I did with it. I'll bounce down mixes with the bass turned up and upload later.

Edited January 15 by Doctor J

[4000 1,784]

I’ve tended to find the set necks a little growlier, to my ear, although all individual basses will differ somewhat. 

[Captain Bassman 200]

11 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

That's an Enterprise control panel. What does it all do ?😀

Gorgeous bass but i think i'd prefer a more simplistic control system.

Dave

Easy! 😉

On/off pick up selector - small pointed knob below bridge

Individual pickup volume x2 plus master volume - 3x knobs underneath

Individual pickup ‘CVQ’ controls - 2x small pointed knobs underneath those

Individual pickup filter controls - 2x knobs at bottom

The large socket is for the 5 pin cable to the DS-5 power supply. Alternatively you can use a standard lead into the jack socket and rely on the onboard battery supply.

If that’s too much then just turn everything up full and away you go!

[dmccombe7 4,688]

10 hours ago, Doctor J said:

If you wanted to dip your toe, an Epic or Orion might be a reasonably priced place to start. They're the budget models (yes, I know 😂), generally set neck, no back facings and have a bass and treble cut/boost rather than filters. I got my one via the forum here a few years ago. It's a 2004 Orion with a walnut top, maple and purpleheart stringers on a mahogany body. The neck is five-piece maple and purpleheart with the standard ebony fretboard.

The Epics and Orions have MXY pickups, which are humbuckers and don't need the phantom coil you see on basses with the single coil AXY pickups. The neck pickup is pretty much where a P pickup is, relative to the 12th fret, though the bridge pickup is slightly closer to the bridge, even compared to the 70's J position. I play with fingers 95% of the time and didn't have a problem adjusting to it or finding places to anchor my thumb. The string spacing is 18mm, slightly narrower than standard but easy to get used to.

The electronics are very high quality. The blend is particularly useful. Minuscule changes on the knob position result in big changes tonally. I have no other bass which responds like that. As a result, the blend is fundamental to getting different sounds, moreso than the EQ, even. I find I rarely play one pickup solo. I usually use the blend to get what I'm looking for and then the EQ for fine tuning.

The nut is 40mm, narrower than a P, wider than a J. The nut height is adjustable and can be locked in position. I like this a lot because I like a very low nut, basically I like the height of a zero fret. I prefer J necks, generally, but this is very comfortable to play for extended periods. One caveat, I did find the neck edges quite abrupt so I rolled the edges. That is a personal preference, though, not everyone cares about that kind of thing.

It's built immaculately, as you can imagine, and the action can go as low as you need. I like low action, no complaints from me. When I got it, I put my preferred strings on it, adjusted the truss rods for very slight relief and haven't needed to touch them since.

They're not cheap, let's be very clear, and I would never buy a new one. I couldn't afford to. You'll pick up an Epic or Orion for much less than a late 70's P, though, which just makes no sense at all in my head. If you buy second hand you're never going to lose money either, if you choose to sell it on. I can't see myself parting with this one, though.

I def like the look of your bass. That's a shape i'd def go for. I'm off to listen to that WHO isolated track now

Edited January 15 by dmccombe7

[Captain Bassman 200]

On 14/01/2021 at 20:21, Doctor J said:

My Orion. It's one of the "cheap" models but it's still something which is a joy to play every time. You can see where the money goes in them.

That’s a real stunner, very classy.

The crown headstock really works nicely with that body shape IMO.

[dmccombe7 4,688]

2 minutes ago, Captain Bassman said:

That’s a real stunner, very classy.

The crown headstock really works nicely with that body shape IMO.

Its the only one i've seen with that headstock and it does make the bass look quite different.

Dave

[dmccombe7 4,688]

On 14/06/2020 at 11:04, Hellzero said:

A butchered one. I got the inside cavity photo and it's just awful. The tuners have been changed for incorrect ones and the pickups are now AXY, with the dummy coil still under the badly glued and matched top. Everything that makes a Series One has gone...

Get ready for a heart attack.

https://www.bassic.de/kleinanzeigen/alembic-series-1-1975.9359/

The seller is active here on BassChat, but didn't put it here for sale...

I cant open the links for some reason ?

Dave

[dmccombe7 4,688]

Most of the pics before page 14 of the thread are no longer available. Guessing they were before the updates we had on BC.

Maybe repost if you still have them.....would be nice to see them.

Dave

[Hellzero 4,244]

7 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

I cant open the links for some reason ?

Dave

It was 7 months ago, Dave. And on Bassic.de, the ads are only live for a month...

[obi 2 kenobi 15]

Essence 5 that I had for 6 months before moving on to a Ken Smith.

Sounded great. Top line luthery. Let down by severe neck dive

[dmccombe7 4,688]

That suprised me about the neck dive. You wouldn't expect that from Alembic.

Good to hear the negative side too tho.

Dave