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Bass People Newsletter - March 1, 2011  
INFORMATION
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Wed 02 March - Mark Costa Band (James Muller, Bill Risby, Gordon Rytmeister, Tony Azzopardi, Craig Walters) - 8:30PM, The Basement

Tues 08 March - Sydney Bassist Meetup with Steve Hunter - 7:00PM, Bass People
Welcome back!

If you were lucky enough to see the recent tour by Return to Forever, you would have seen Stanley Clarke pull and amazing range of sounds from two signature Alembic basses. So it seems like a good time to devote a newsletter to Alembic.

Alembic single handedly invented the concept of "high end" basses in the early 1970s. Since then they have continued to raise the bar in terms of construction quality. In my opinion Alembic are currently the best built basses you can buy.

The best in the world cars, houses, paintings are millionaire territory. So an Alembic for $5k to $15k looks like good value for money.

On Tuesday, 8 March we are hosting the first Sydney Bassist Meetup for 2011. Aussie living legend of bass, Steve Hunter will be talking. Hope you can make it.

Read on.

David

A brief history of Alembic

Alembic was started in the late 1960s by Ron and Susan Wickersham. Originally it was a consulting firm that worked closely with the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and the like to help improve the quality of live sound and recordings of live concerts.

 

In the late 60s Ron Wickersham designed new pickups to be low impedance to increase the bandwidth. This also made the pickups low output and so he had to design an active onboard preamp to boost the signal. They were, in fact, the first low impedance pickups and preamps ever seen on an instrument.


Alembic became quite busy installing these new active electronics in player's guitars and basses. This eventually led to manufacturing their own line of guitars and basses from start to finish.


The instruments 

In 1971 the very first Alembic bass, number 001, was made for Jack Casady, then of the Jefferson Airplane. The bass cost more than four thousand dollars - an unheard of amount at the time. It resembled nothing that came before it and has had a profound impact on bass design ever since.

 

Years of experience modifying and repairing other instruments were distilled into that first instrument. (An "alembic", by the way, is a type of still.) Although considered radical at the time, history proved Alembic to be right on the money. Key design elements from #001 are still present in Alembic's instruments today - as well as those built by many high end bass makers that have since sprung up.

 

In 1976 Alembic made the world's first graphite neck bass - for John McVie (Fleetwood Mac) - with a neck supplied by Geoff Gould, who subsequently founded Modulus Graphite. Alembic continued to build graphite neck instruments until 1985.


Another more far-reaching development in 1976 was the delivery of the first ever 5 string bass with low B string to Jimmy Johnson. Jimmy's relationship with Alembic continues to the present and he can be heard with a wide range of artists, including Allan Holdsworth and James Taylor.  

 

The players 

By 1973 Alembic was established as the instrument maker of choice amongst all the influential US west coast bands, including the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, New Riders of the Purple Sage and others.

 

In 1973 Stanley Clarke (pictured) acquired his first Alembic. Stanley released his first solo album in 1974 and started getting really famous. Alembic's fame had well and truly spread beyond its West Coast roots.

 

At this time no one else concentrated on making finely crafted basses and Alembic became the "must have" instrument for many of the leading bassists of the era.

 

Greg Lake (Emerson, Lake and Palmer) played a number of Alembics, including an eight string bass (four pairs of strings) ordered in 1976.  

 

This instrument was subsequently sold to John Entwistle (pictured) who worked with Alembic to develop the Exploiter body shape - a cheekily named derivative of Gibson's Explorer. John ordered 15 Series II Exploiter body basses over the years in a variety of woods. Most had note names inlaid as position markers on the fingerboards and sterling silver spider web inlays on the body.

 

John Paul Jones (pictured) drove the development of the Triple Omega body shape. JPJ can be seen using both 4 and 8 string Alembics in the Knebworth concert on the Led Zep DVD.

 

Funk players were quick to pick up on Stanley's percussive playing style, to which the clear, extended high end response was well suited. Legendary funk bassist Louis Johnson can be heard playing an Alembic Series 1 on classic tracks by the Brothers Johnson and Rose Royce. Jermaine Jackson (The Jacksons), "Skeet" Curtis (Parliament / Funkadelic) and Wyzard (Mother's Finest) also played Series 1s.

 

Into the 80s Mark King continued the Alembic slap fusion tradition, while the heavy rock connection was ably continued through to the 90s by Metallica - with both Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted (pictured) playing Alembics. Alembic made a dozen instruments for Jason - typically stained darkly so that, from a distance they look black while up close the wood grain can still be seen clearly.

 

In the 90s Flea fused the slap and rock traditions - recording most of One Hot Minute with an Alembic Epic.

 

 

Alembic Stanley Clarke Signature
Speaking of Stanley...this bass is quite similar to the ones he played in concert at the Opera House.

Its is a short scale (yes Stanley plays short scale) 4 string with a flame walnut top, mahogany core and maple and purpleheart accent layers.

The neck is m
ade from three layers of maple alternating with two layers of purpleheart. It has an ebony fingerboard with abalone oval inlays.

The neck also has red LED side position markers. Each LED is mounted in a sterling silv
er collar, so when switched off they look just like normal position markers. The LEDs have a separate battery to the active electronics.

Electronics comprise two Alembic pickups with master volume and pan and two low pass filters with Q switches. 


The bridge, nut and tailpiece are all made by Alembic in polished brass. The bridge rests on a brass block in the body. The is known as a sustain block. 
  • Clarke Signature Standard 4: $8,690
  • Side LEDs: $1200
  • 2 x purpleheart neck laminates: $400 
  • Abalone oval inlays: $200
  • Custom fitted hard case: $350
  • Total: $10,840

We have this at an excellent price: $8,290


 

Alembic Elan a la Newsted
This is a bass that we have been lusting after forever! It is just like many of the basses that Alembic made for Jason. As you would expect the sound is HUGE.

The neck is made of seven layers of maple and purpleheart. It has an ebony fingerboard with mother of pearl oval inlays.

The body has a flame maple top and maple core. The finish is a very dark tint with high gloss polyester finish. Alembic call this "Sheer Black". From a distance it looks black but up close you can still see
the wood grain.


We keep s
aying it - but Alembic does the best finishes of any maker.

The HUGEness is courtesy of thee Alembic pickups in a J/P/J configuration. Each pickup has its own volume control and there is a single low pass filter with Q switch.

As with the Stanley, bridge, nut, tailpiece and sustain block are all made by Alembic in polished brass.
  • Elan 5: $8,990
  • 3 x purpleheart neck laminates: $600 
  • Extra pickup: $200  
  • Sheer Black finish: $1000
  • Custom fitted hard case: $350
  • Total: $11,140

You can get this bass of a lifetime for: $8,890

 

 

Hours:
Tuesday to Friday, 10AM - 7PM
Saturday 10AM - 5PM
Sunday & Monday by appointment

31 Parramatta Rd, Annandale, NSW 2038
Tel: (02) 9516 1975
info@basspeople.com.au

Best for bass
String Club
You've probably got a ticket from your favourite coffee shop that they punch each time you buy a coffee. The Bass People string club is a bit like that - buy ten sets of strings and you get a set free - and you don't even need an annoying little card to lose.

Just make sure we have your details on our system and that your string purchases are recorded against your name. After you've purchased ten sets of strings, we'll give you a credit towards your next set of string of one tenth of the total amount spent. Easy.

 
It's Easy!!