What does the top Alembic bass sound like?

hifibassman · Newbie Alert Joined: 12 Feb 2004 Posts: 4

the legendary Series bass- the highest fidelity, for 3 decades-

listen to this-

http://www.janolofstrandberg.com/mp3/electric.mp3

if you can't hear the big difference- the underlying precise, high quality tone (that no other bass can put out) on this sample, then you might as well stick with the cheapo basses or fender-ish type sounds and keep blending in the boom/thud/thwack balsy sound that everyone else is used to.

Not really knocking fender-ish sounding basses (which are 98% of the basses on the market regardless of brand), but thats all they can sound like- FENDER. they can only put out basically ONE tone and that's it. i like the fender sound for certain venues, but an alembic can adjust electronically to sound like a fender too.
_________________
Why Alembic?
For the bassist that wants to achieve the absolute legendary high fidelity bass tone, who are not afraid to go beyond average- there is a reason (more than just aestetics) why most of the world's extreme legendary bassists use them.

BassMan02 · Tiger Joined: 15 May 2003 Posts: 848

Yeah, Phil Lesh spoke in the Grateful Dead movie how his Series1 could mimic almost any bass.
_________________
Sometimes we ride on your horses
Sometimes we walk alone
Sometimes the songs that we hear
are just songs of our own

-"Eyes of the World" Grateful Dead

hifibassman · Newbie Alert Joined: 12 Feb 2004 Posts: 4

i like other basses too -musicman stingray, rick 4001, fender jazz and precision, even the newer variety that come closer to alembic's clarity like the MTD bass with emg hz pickups (clear, but too sterile). all these basses sound good and i suppose that's good enough for some. but they still are only capable of one fundamental sound, and they are not natural sounding.

alembics are very natural sounding, are musical, and they are the only instrument that can release the complete range of acoustical and electrical properties of a bass guitar simultaneously. It can articulate natural resonances and harmonics while changing the color of the sound in dramatic fashion by adjusting the low pass Q filters. This is where of course Stanley Clarke's signature sound came from. His famous sound would not have been possible without the series bass electronics configuration. some bassist think they can just pick up any bass and duplicate those sounds.
_________________
Why Alembic?
For the bassist that wants to achieve the absolute legendary high fidelity bass tone, who are not afraid to go beyond average- there is a reason (more than just aestetics) why most of the world's extreme legendary bassists use them.

BassMan02 · Tiger Joined: 15 May 2003 Posts: 848

I don't know...I mess around with my Ric 4001 quite a bit and I think it has a nice range of sound.
_________________
Sometimes we ride on your horses
Sometimes we walk alone
Sometimes the songs that we hear
are just songs of our own

-"Eyes of the World" Grateful Dead

bassmaniac50 · Rattlesnake Joined: 25 Feb 2003 Posts: 430 Location: Ohio

Well, I would expect a bass that costs as much as an Alembic to sound awesome, with a ton of sound tweaking abilities, which is true of the Alembics I've played, so they're well worth the investment if you can afford it!
Heck, I feel lucky to have managed to get my Yamaha TRB6'er, which was a major investment for me, and it's less than half of the cost of an Alembic!
Oh well, I'll just keep on dreaming! #Fade in

BassMan02 · Tiger Joined: 15 May 2003 Posts: 848

Yeah I want to own a Series 1 bass body with Series 2 electronics.
_________________
Sometimes we ride on your horses
Sometimes we walk alone
Sometimes the songs that we hear
are just songs of our own

-"Eyes of the World" Grateful Dead

hifibassman · Newbie Alert Joined: 12 Feb 2004 Posts: 4

Yeah- i'm really an alembic fanatic... but i can't afford one either. I'm not a pro bassist, so i guess until i can afford one (if ever) i will continue to go to the guitar shops and play them when i get the urge to do so. Trouble is that those series basses are so expensive that most guitar stores don't carry them in stock. some even say "alembic, what's that?" so i just pick up the closest thing to one and start jamming Cool

_________________
Why Alembic?
For the bassist that wants to achieve the absolute legendary high fidelity bass tone, who are not afraid to go beyond average- there is a reason (more than just aestetics) why most of the world's extreme legendary bassists use them.

BassMan02 · Tiger Joined: 15 May 2003 Posts: 848

Yeah Alembics are almost to the point where they are custom guitars. I have seen one at a store once and it was used. I usually get to try all the guitars that I play from my friend because he is always buying and selling guitars over ebay. He had a custom ordered Series 1 about a year ago. The thing seemed as if it was designed by God himself.
_________________
Sometimes we ride on your horses
Sometimes we walk alone
Sometimes the songs that we hear
are just songs of our own

-"Eyes of the World" Grateful Dead

hifibassman · Newbie Alert Joined: 12 Feb 2004 Posts: 4

i used to see alot of series basses in the stores back in the 80's and early 90's. and when i asked to play them some would cop an attitude and say we're not allowed to touch them- like they were ferrari's or something. but when i finally get a shop to let me play one, they would hardly ever hook it up right. got to play them a few times without the ds5 power supply which was no fun. but a couple of times they did, and that bass sound coming out of those cabs were absolutely awesome. plays like "butter"- very, very easy to fret.
have you ever noticed how huge that bass is? it just commands attention- it says you must be a specially gifted player to others that watch you play it (although my playing abilities was nowhere near what this thing was built for). i fact i don't think i have enough talent to justify having one, really. but i just want one anyway to play a few good licks/slap on, and for recording. as i progress and learn more playing techniques i just don't want the shortcomings of the instrument to get in the way. who knows, i may just find that i do have enough talent.
_________________
Why Alembic?
For the bassist that wants to achieve the absolute legendary high fidelity bass tone, who are not afraid to go beyond average- there is a reason (more than just aestetics) why most of the world's extreme legendary bassists use them.

BassMan02 · Tiger Joined: 15 May 2003 Posts: 848

Yeah Alembic's were and are primarily used by the elite i.e. Phil Lesh, John Entwistle etc...Those series basses are massive. My friend would have kept his but, he can't last a whole gig with something that heavy so he bought an Alembic Essence 4 string.
_________________
Sometimes we ride on your horses
Sometimes we walk alone
Sometimes the songs that we hear
are just songs of our own

-"Eyes of the World" Grateful Dead