Bass of the Week: Alembic Series II “Leap of Faith”
Alembic’s basses have been a big influence on custom builders, and it’s easy to see why. They started in 1969 as a live sound consulting operation. Founders Ron and Susan Wickersham then moved into instrument electronics, creating low impedance pickups and what would become first set of active electronics for a guitar. Their first bass was built in 1972 for Jefferson Airplane’s Jack Casady, and Alembic has been pumping out high end instruments ever since.
This week we’re checking out a custom Series II model called the “Leap of Faith”, which got its name from a customer taking chances on their boutique bass.
“When we talk to a future Alembic owner that has little or no experience with our instruments, we are sometimes a tad nervous,” the Alembic website states. “Will they like the choices they’ve made? Will we live up to their expectations? When someone takes a “Leap of Faith” and purchases a tricked out music machine on reputation alone, it is a humbling experience for us here at Alembic. [The customer] convinced us that he knew exactly what he wanted and he was also open to suggestions from Susan’s experience to shape the specifications into a bass that would last a lifetime.”
The bass is built with neck through construction featuring a seven-piece maple, purpleheart, and ebony neck matched to a mahogany body topped and backed by a gorgeous selection of bookmatched buckeye burl. The matching headstock is inlaid with the Alembic logo made of buffed bronze with mother of pearl and blue-hued paua abalone shell. “The rays are mixed paua and red abalone shell,” the company writes. “The inlay is below the surface of the finish, and is like a beautiful jewel atop the crown peghead.” Its ebony fretboard is adorned with Black Tahitian mother of pearl ovals as well as a custom inlay at the 12th fret.
The neck is also souped up with blue LED side markers that are powered by the same batteries as the electronics. Pickups include a pair of Alembic SC-1 with a comprehensive set of controls: a pickup selector switch, two volume knobs, two filter knobs, two CVQ knobs, a master volume, and a mono/stereo switch. “[The] CVQ [is] the continuously variable Q control,” says Alembic. “The Q is an attribute of the low-pass filter, affecting the frequency you have the low-pass filter tuned to. You can dampen the Q to near zero by turning the control all the way down, or get extreme with a 15dB boost at the maximum, plus all the subtlety in between.”
For more, check out the Alembic website.
Alembic “Leap of Faith” Series II Bass Specs:
| Strings: | 5 |
| Body: | Mahogany, Purpleheart and Maple Accent Laminate |
| Top and Back: | Bookmatched Buckeye Burl |
| Neck: | Maple, Purpleheart and Ebony |
| Fingerboard: | Ebony |
| Inlays: | Black Tahitian Mother of Pearl, Custom Initial Inlay at 12th Fret |
| Side Markers: | Blue LEDs |
| Pickups: | Alembic SC-1 |
| Hardware: | Gold-plated |
| Tuners: | Gold Alembic-Gotoh |
| Bridge: | Alembic Bird of Prey |
| Origin: | Made in Santa Rosa, California |
In his time with No Treble, Kevin has met hundreds of amazing bassists and interviewed icons like Jack Casady, Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, Marcus Miller, and more. He's a gigging bassist performing jazz in Northern Virginia and bluegrass with The Plate Scrapers up and down the East Coast. Kevin appreciates all genres of music, from R&B to metal and everything in between. Connect with Kevin on Facebook and check his performance schedule on his website.
Very nice write up on a masterpiece from ther masters of the electric bass! One nit to be picked, however; there are 2 options for powering it: A 5-pin cable carries seperate signals from each p/up, as well as powering both the electronics and the LEDS. Or, you can use batteries – but there are seperate batteries (and compartments) for the sonic power & the LED power.