This is by far the best video explanation of how to operate an Alembic bass. The Alembic company should be ashamed that they don’t have a video explaining things as comprehensive as yours!
Actually, I like that they are like that, not into social media as much, not going to Namm, not being so much iout there. It's a small family business and it should stay like that. Too many companies went on a road of economic growth, but they all ended up as companies that lost their quality over quantity.
One of the best sounding Alembics... defined, balanced, sweet, if need be aggressive, with a huge range of tonal color... exactly it has to be an Alembic.
Very comprehensive explanation- the best demo of these I’ve seen so far-two thumbs up! The only problem I see with these is that the neck is set soooo far to the left ( on the old body style ). I can understand why some folk mount the strap on the back and play them almost upright.
My friend's early series 1 (?) has maple body frame & neck splices. The horns are equal length & the battery plate is square. Not sure what the front plates were. I say 'were' - because I replaced them with book matching plates of figured US black walnut. It had been water damaged, all split & had some damp rot. The fingerbrd fell off. I had one week to restore it before they went off on tour. This would be nearly 20 years ago. The neck/headstock has been cracked & repaired several times (touring/air shipping issues)... a thin delicate neck. Only gets used on one sound - NECK & notch filter. IT STILL ROCKS.. HEAVY... I love a challenge & love does indeed hurt.
Fantastic bass, fantastic playing! I have an Essence 5 but it's a relatively simple instrument compared to the Series I ;-) But yes, it does have that Alembic tone!
Goran, the stripes on the back are polished purrpleheart wood ,not mahogany or bubinga that has been painted or stained , lovely guitar the sound of led zep and the who live . there was a flying V ALEMBIC USED BY JOHN ENTWISTLE IN 1980 ,it sold for only 4,000 pounds at auction ,which is surprising a would have thought it would have been worth much more.
Great review. I'd bet the dark stripes in the neck are purple heart. I had a few Alembics back in the early 80's and they all had a booklet that listed the specs for the bass. Mine were maple and purple heart for the neck woods. Email the folks at Alembic and ask for a copy of that particular instrument's specs. Those folks are the best! Again, your review was very thorough and easy to follow. Gosh, now I really miss my Alembic 8 string styled like Greg Lake's. That bass was as heavy as a grand piano but sounded incredible. Unfortunately, it was stolen in 1981 when I was in Atlanta.
You are right it's purpleheart. I didn't check the papers when I was making a vid, thank you so much for kind words. And yes, Alembics are different basses by far and folks at Alembics are great. So sorry to hear about you bass. Do you have a pic of you 8 string, maybe you should post that on Alembic forum, hope you find a bass in near future.
Rogue is better balanced and makes the neck feel shorter, so for comfort the Rogue is the way to go. I like the look of the Balance K a little more, and you have options for things like a heart omega, but for pure comfort, the Rogue still beats it.@@gorandelac
Great demo and very nice playing. Good to hear that fantastic funky sound you can get from Alembics. Have you still got this bass, because you should do more videos with it.
Nice review, or a little bit more. This is the only useful Alembic review. Lot of other Alembic owners on youtube, who has even the most expensive cocobolo top/back series I or even II made cheap review by a smartphone in a room. Very annoying.
That's why I did this, I wanted to hear what actually Alembics can do and couldn't find any clip that shows this, so I just did what I wanted to see... thanks
Could you please make a demo where you start to combine the filter settings on both pickup? So do not set the equal (as you did here), just for example open the neck, close the bride tone filter and vica versa. Or set the Q switches differently. Thanks in advance
As far as I know, you can scope out the famous King sound with the series I, even if King had the series II. Ok, he had a series I too , in his early Alembic era (87-88), but he set that bass to a very narrow sound, as he did with the later series II normally. So the so-called Mark King sound is available with both of the series I and the series II as well.
Hey, thanks... I use Markbass Big Bang amp and Barefaced Big Baby 2 cabinet... Check Barefaced, they sound great. Btw, the sound is from direct out from the amp.
hey sorry for late answer, well on alembic it's always 40-60-80-100 maybe last 95. I try to have light strings on it, but do experiment, loving the Series sound. And learn to adjust it for yourself.
Where do you play? That's capture my attention 'cause an alembic bass is really, really expensive... So I don't know how you could afford a bass like this.
This is by far the best video explanation of how to operate an Alembic bass. The Alembic company should be ashamed that they don’t have a video explaining things as comprehensive as yours!
Actually, I like that they are like that, not into social media as much, not going to Namm, not being so much iout there. It's a small family business and it should stay like that. Too many companies went on a road of economic growth, but they all ended up as companies that lost their quality over quantity.
Excellent demonstration!
Thank you so much!
This review is soooo nice. You do a great job finding the best tones that thing has to offer.
One of the best sounding Alembics... defined, balanced, sweet, if need be aggressive, with a huge range of tonal color... exactly it has to be an Alembic.
Very comprehensive explanation- the best demo of these I’ve seen so far-two thumbs up! The only problem I see with these is that the neck is set soooo far to the left ( on the old body style ). I can understand why some folk mount the strap on the back and play them almost upright.
Or.... totally head heavy!!
Thanks for sharing your Alembic, sounds great!
Never ceases to amaze, everyone submits the same review.
Nice review. And great sounding bass.
My friend's early series 1 (?) has maple body frame & neck splices. The horns are equal length & the battery plate is square. Not sure what the front plates were. I say 'were' - because I replaced them with book matching plates of figured US black walnut. It had been water damaged, all split & had some damp rot. The fingerbrd fell off. I had one week to restore it before they went off on tour. This would be nearly 20 years ago. The neck/headstock has been cracked & repaired several times (touring/air shipping issues)... a thin delicate neck. Only gets used on one sound - NECK & notch filter. IT STILL ROCKS.. HEAVY... I love a challenge & love does indeed hurt.
Can't remember Ser No off the cuff... but 77 in it
Nice demonstration of the LPF capabilities, a real rarity in most demos of these instruments, thanks!
AWESOME playing of a truly awesome bass guitar. I owned two Series IIs and they were epic. PERFECT video.
Super dobro, dear Goran! I enjoyed this video a lot... : )
Such an amazing bass ! Great video and I love the talking 👍⭐️👏
Thank you so much
I own a couple Alembics and I live 20 minutes from the Mothership. Alembic and Peavey Cirrus basses are my favorite.
Sounds excellent with the town rolled off! Ballsy how a bass should be. Too bad they cost 6k
What a beautiful sounding series bass.Great review.
Thank you Rouge
Cool video, good work sir!
Fantastic bass, fantastic playing! I have an Essence 5 but it's a relatively simple instrument compared to the Series I ;-) But yes, it does have that Alembic tone!
Goran, the stripes on the back are polished purrpleheart wood ,not mahogany or bubinga that has been painted or stained , lovely guitar the sound of led zep and the who live . there was a flying V ALEMBIC USED BY JOHN ENTWISTLE IN 1980 ,it sold for only 4,000 pounds at auction ,which is surprising a would have thought it would have been worth much more.
"You have to talk a lot WHEN ALEMBIC IS HERE" 😂 Great review bro, thanks for making the video 👍
thank you so much
Great review. I'd bet the dark stripes in the neck are purple heart. I had a few Alembics back in the early 80's and they all had a booklet that listed the specs for the bass. Mine were maple and purple heart for the neck woods. Email the folks at Alembic and ask for a copy of that particular instrument's specs. Those folks are the best!
Again, your review was very thorough and easy to follow.
Gosh, now I really miss my Alembic 8 string styled like Greg Lake's. That bass was as heavy as a grand piano but sounded incredible. Unfortunately, it was stolen in 1981 when I was in Atlanta.
You are right it's purpleheart. I didn't check the papers when I was making a vid, thank you so much for kind words. And yes, Alembics are different basses by far and folks at Alembics are great. So sorry to hear about you bass. Do you have a pic of you 8 string, maybe you should post that on Alembic forum, hope you find a bass in near future.
One of the better explanations of the Series I Alembic. Great tone well recorded.
Thanks a lot Trevor, I loved also you video of balance K body MK... I'm in a need of 5 string so seeing you Rouge made me think K body or Rogue?
Rogue is better balanced and makes the neck feel shorter, so for comfort the Rogue is the way to go. I like the look of the Balance K a little more, and you have options for things like a heart omega, but for pure comfort, the Rogue still beats it.@@gorandelac
@@trevorlindsey580 thanks for advice!
Great review! The unmistakeable beefy, punchy and articulate tone of Alembic! Awesome! Too bad that a Series one is an unobtanium for me!
Damn excellent bass
Nice review and awesome bass!
ramon709 thanks Ramon
What a tone monster!
Although you haven't bought my Alembic MK, this is great!
andrew13758 yea but that doesn't mean I won't buy it in near future
😊
Too cool, Goran! Did you have to rewire the DS5 to 240 volts or did it come already correct?
andrew13758 already was wired for EU
Worth every penny
Gorgeous
thanks a lot!
I saw how that bass had been put down in the thumbnail and had to come here to SCREEAM.
Great bass, but dude nice chops!!
Is that middle black thing in the middle another pickup? Or is it just a compartment that houses something?
Nvm I just watched the video haha
Great demo and very nice playing. Good to hear that fantastic funky sound you can get from Alembics. Have you still got this bass, because you should do more videos with it.
Yea I still have it, I'll do more. Thanks a lot for kind words
goran delac Is it a short, medium or long scale? Where did you get it? Have you done any recordings with it that are available?
@@Rondoggy67 it's along scale, found it used on Alembic forum. I have to check if I have some recordings with it
Nice review, or a little bit more. This is the only useful Alembic review. Lot of other Alembic owners on youtube, who has even the most expensive cocobolo top/back series I or even II made cheap review by a smartphone in a room. Very annoying.
That's why I did this, I wanted to hear what actually Alembics can do and couldn't find any clip that shows this, so I just did what I wanted to see... thanks
Could you please make a demo where you start to combine the filter settings on both pickup? So do not set the equal (as you did here), just for example open the neck, close the bride tone filter and vica versa. Or set the Q switches differently. Thanks in advance
Sure, just give me a few days
As far as I know, you can scope out the famous King sound with the series I, even if King had the series II. Ok, he had a series I too , in his early Alembic era (87-88), but he set that bass to a very narrow sound, as he did with the later series II normally. So the so-called Mark King sound is available with both of the series I and the series II as well.
What is that small bass amp your using. Sounds pretty good, for a fantastic sounding bass.
Hey, thanks... I use Markbass Big Bang amp and Barefaced Big Baby 2 cabinet... Check Barefaced, they sound great. Btw, the sound is from direct out from the amp.
Bro your clips are funny
Thanks mate!
Hi from Germany.I own a 77 Series 1. But it must be adjusted. What kind of Strings do you use? Especially the thickness... THANNXXX KAI
hey sorry for late answer, well on alembic it's always 40-60-80-100 maybe last 95. I try to have light strings on it, but do experiment, loving the Series sound. And learn to adjust it for yourself.
You should buy AC line filter for the tram noise
Oh thanks, but I don't know what that is.
@@gorandelac Schaffner FN2080-16-06
More bass porn please! Love the Alembic basses, former owner of an Alembic Orion 4. Great vid.
I have another video with Alembic, check it out.
@@gorandelac interesting
lol, that e string sure flaps:))
Its a Preamp Bass
Predator 2 reference that's an instasub.
Everything is insta when we are around Arnie!
😊
are you a troll ? jajajaj nice video
Where do you play? That's capture my attention 'cause an alembic bass is really, really expensive... So I don't know how you could afford a bass like this.
Not worth $12,000