Modifying an Alembic

[1960strat]

All,

The new Alembics (both Further and Tribute) guitars go not appear to come with the standard electronics that Garcia used. That is Super 2's, SD-1s etc. Also not clear to me that there is a OBEL or buffer in their either. Has anyone modded these guitars to get it to more Jerry spec? is it possible? Kinda wanna know before i shell out the 8k.

Thanks

[Tennessee Jedi]

All,

The new Alembics (both Further and Tribute) guitars go not appear to come with the standard electronics that Garcia used. That is Super 2's, SD-1s etc. Also not clear to me that there is a OBEL or buffer in their either. Has anyone modded these guitars to get it to more Jerry spec? is it possible? Kinda wanna know before i shell out the 8k.

Thanks

Yo man dude
Check with Jonarob ....
He had a post where he described working on them.
Thats a lot of dough dude !

[playingdead]

They flat out refused to put the "standard" Jerry wiring into one when I was thinking about building a lefty Further about four years ago. They are very into their proprietary electronics. And I couldn't see butchering a brand new $8000 guitar.

I was only considering the Further, because the Tribute never looks right to me, the shape is off somehow and by the time you put any inlays or anything on the neck or the body to make it comparable, you are way up into 5-figure territory.

There is an effects loop on the standard guitars, not sure about the "stage-ready" cheaper versions.

I know a guy in Boston who bought a $10k Further, the guitar had a nice Jerry sound to it, not really like the TIger, but more of a 76-77 vibe the way he was playing it (into a Twin with E-120s). It's a very small guitar.

[waldo041]

for that dough you could probably get a moriarty wolf or rosebud or the same from andrew olson. you can do a search here for there addresses. but even thomas lieber's new guitars might be right up your alley for a lot less.

alembic will not put anything other then their electronics on it if you go there route.

peace,
waldo

[jeffm725]

gotta echo the sentiments here, obviously it is your dough and are absolutely licensed to do what you want, but if you don't want the alembic electronics, (and I can understand why people don't) then I personally wouldn't shell out for the alembic guitar.
To buy an alembic for 8-10000 dollars and then still have to mod it is kind of a circuitous route in my mind........for the dough to mod it after buying it you could get a builder to make one EXACTLY how you want it and still have a bunch of scratch left over, depending on the builder.

I would love to own an Alembic furthur someday (even with the alembic electronics), but I agree with Vic, the Tribute: not so much. I am sure it is a lovely guitar (as are all alembics) but the body shape on the tribute just doesnt do it for me. Would I refuse one if given to me? Absolutely not! But for 10000 grand for a tiger like guitar, I am going to Moriarty or Lieber or resurection or some of the other very capable builders with a proven track record. (not implying alembic doesnt have a proven track record, theirs is probably one of the highest of all time...just not for a Tiger and that is just my personal taste)

[mijknahs]

Have you checked out Thomas Lieber's American Beauty '10?
http://www.lieberguitars.com/guitars/am ... lassic-10/

It has the Tiger shape (which he designed when he worked for Doug Irwin) and starts at $4500. You can change the woods around to your liking and add a carved top for additional $$ but still under 8K.

Jim

[strumminsix]

Simply put don't do it.

You can get a good custom guitar built for about $2-3000.

More, of course, for proprietary designs that good folks like Thomas Lieber use.
And of course the crazier you get with design, finish, electronics the more, of course.

But think simple Strat with your choice of every component from say Warmoth and assembled by a good local tech will have you well under $3K.

But that will be your guitar 100% exactly how you want it.

Also be mindful that people don't bond with every guitar.

8K is alot of dough for a potential non-bonding experience.

[deadguise]

They flat out refused to put the "standard" Jerry wiring into one

Exactly, I mentioned to Mica Wickersham when I bought my used Further at Guitar Showcase (She was there to drop off a collection of Alembics) about changing out the electronics and it was if I spoke of blasphemy. It does have a mid-seventies tone to it but I usually favor the single coil pickup (at the neck position). It would be real cool if there was a harness package someone can design for an easy swap out...

[Laytonco]

I agree wholeheartedly. I have a Tribute I bought in 2005 and I love it. But it gets the Bobby tones for me better than anything. And I didn't pay anywhere near 8-10K. Gguitars in CT hooked me up nicely for much much less. It's a great playing guitar and I love the fuckedupedness of playing Bobby with a more jerry looking guitar. The looks from the crowd when we crank up some times is everything! LOL. Our lead guy played my guitar a little one night at rehearsal and it sounded great. But dont but it if you want a real Jerry setup, tone.

Peace,

Gil

[jonarobb]

I recommend looking elsewhere for a faithful recreation of any one of Garcia's guitars. Alembic quite clearly missed the mark with the electronics. More importantly there are some serious structural differences as well as the overall build technique.

There really are many talented guitar builders out there that could do a much better job for the bread....

All,

The new Alembics (both Further and Tribute) guitars go not appear to come with the standard electronics that Garcia used. That is Super 2's, SD-1s etc. Also not clear to me that there is a OBEL or buffer in their either. Has anyone modded these guitars to get it to more Jerry spec? is it possible? Kinda wanna know before i shell out the 8k.

Thanks

Yo man dude
Check with Jonarob ....
He had a post where he described working on them.
Thats a lot of dough dude !

[Rusty the Scoob]

Alembic is more of a bass company IMHO. And I will own one someday.

[jdsmodulus]

I would be happy just owning a Tshirt from Alembic!

[Rusty the Scoob]

http://alembic.stores.yahoo.net/tshirts.html

[jeffm725]

http://alembic.stores.yahoo.net/tshirts.html

Tshirts are $700 dollars with a 20% yearly base price increase

[Tennessee Jedi]

http://alembic.stores.yahoo.net/tshirts.html

Tshirts are $700 dollars with a 20% yearly base price increase

Good one !