Alembic Bass Demo and the History of Alembic

Hey good people, this video is all about Alembic. Did you know this beloved brand didn't start out making basses or even guitars? Let's look at the history of one of the world's most iconic, boutique bass builders and listen to some tone demos on my 1989 Alembic Spoiler.
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Timecodes
0:00 Intro Song
1:45 History of Alembic
2:25 Wall of Sound
2:40 First active electronics
3:16 Stanley Clarke and Series I
3:46 Alembic Players
3:39 Alembic Models
5:10 My Alembic Spoiler
6:33 Sound Demos
9:05 Final Thoughts
#justplaybass #groove #bassplayer

[@Michael-kx2bn]

I am a first-time owner of a 1989 Alembic Elan 4 string bass and am just discovering the range of sounds I can produce with it. It is truly fantastic, and well-built bass and a dream to play! Thank you for the background on these truly iconic basses. This is the most informative background I have come across.

[@DavePorterBand]

Hey Michael, welcome to the very distinguished Alembic club!🙏 ... and thanks for watching!

[@smithjeff3002]

Thank you so much for this very succinct and yet very informative explanation of Alembic instruments: they are truly fantastic.

[@DavePorterBand]

Thanks, I really appreciate you watching!

[@gener2842]

I have a 1986 Spoiler 5 exactly like the one in your video. Bought new at Nadine’s Music in Hollywood.

[@DavePorterBand]

Awesome, they're great basses. Thanks for watching!

[@ZonkerRoberts]

I've dreamed of getting an Alembic bass ever since I first started playing. Finally bought an Epic-4 earlier this year and it's beyond my expectations. :-) Fantastic instrument!

[@DavePorterBand]

I totally agree, thanks for watching!

[@metalavenger23]

I found an epic at a pawn shop for $1400 I couldn’t pass it up. This is their “cheap”, “mass-produced”, bass and is by far the best sounding bass I own.

[@DvDPlaya]

I see now. My parents were always huge Deadheads. My Dad played bass in a band and when he got his Alembic, he always cherished it. NOBODY was allowed to touch it. I see why.

[@popcorny11]

Really nice summary for any uninitiated. Definitely need more Alembic content around. Thanks!

[@DavePorterBand]

Thank you and I appreciate you watching!

[@bassplayersayer]

Sounds great !!!!! You should do a vid with an Alembic 6 string electric guitar, they are equally awesome. Rock on !!!!! I want to add that John Paul Jones played Alembic as well. There is a great vid with Eddie Hazel playing "Maggot Brain" with the Phunkadelics live using his Alembic electric guitar. He sounds amazing. I looked up the video... Maggot Brain-Houston 1978

[@DavePorterBand]

I'll have to check it out, thanks for watching!

[@Last_one_before_I_go]

Admirer (from afar) about these basses. Beautiful works of art. I didn't know about Rick (RIP) was involved in the early days. I can now see where some of his designs could be similar. I have to be realistic and "settle in" with my loved Jazz Bass for the time being. Well done, enjoy your Alembic !

[@bassinbob1965]

Wow!! What a great tune!

[@DavePorterBand]

Awesome, thanks Bob!🙏🙏🙏

[@Lowtone76]

I really enjoyed this video having been a bassist since 1990 and seeing Alembic basses over the years. Great bass rundown and history lesson. Great playing too. The bass sounds fantastic! Another notable player…Jason Newsted on the “black album” tour.

[@DavePorterBand]

Yes, Jason's black Alembic Elan is a really cool bass, thanks for watching!

[@BrooksysBassCorner]

Outstanding work Dave! Great stuff!

[@DavePorterBand]

Thank you, Brooksy!

[@BrooksysBassCorner]

@@DavePorterBand I'm having a mooch around your channel...really great content... very impressed!

[@DavePorterBand]

That's really cool, I feel the same about your channel. Great collection of basses and content. Hope to catch a live stream soon.@@BrooksysBassCorner

[@BrooksysBassCorner]

​@@DavePorterBandCheers Dave, you're always welcome!

[@RamaNatan]

Awesome video

[@DavePorterBand]

Cool, thanks for watching! 🤘🏼🤘🏼

[@6lillium]

Alembic will make you a bass in any shape, with any electronics, with any custom features you may want. The only restriction is your budget. I have a 1990 Elan with A PJ configuration, a master , blend , tone , and q switch. The Elan is the model played by Jason Newsted in his early days in Metallica.

[@DavePorterBand]

That Elan sounds like a great bass, thanks for watching!

[@charlielucas3386]

Such a unique setup and amazing tones and versatility are what I love about the Spoiler. 😎👍🏻 And it’s all thanks to the late great Cliff Burton that I even know about this bass! But is it true that this awesome instrument is no longer available? ☹️😔

[@DavePorterBand]

The Spoiler body style isn't on the website but I bet they'd create one as a custom order.💰💰💰 Thanks for watching!

[@wxb200]

Alembic Basses have killer tone

[@theguitarczar1]

Thanks, excellent. I love your tone at the opening. Could you share what you are using as far as comp, eq, amp. Thanks!

[@DavePorterBand]

Thanks for watching! I was running the bass into a Warm Audio TB12 set for vintage. Then, into my Apollo Twin with a UA 1176 compressor plugin as I was tracking. No amp sims, just some slight EQ on the channel afterwards. 🤘🏼🤘🏼

[@VixCrush]

I'm a Deadhead. Every Grateful Dead follower knows the history of Alembic. It is required to get our Grateful Dead fan membership card. We are all taught about Bear and Rick Turner and Doug Irwin.

[@jamescammack6720]

Great video Dave… thanks… Jim Cammack

[@DavePorterBand]

Wow, thanks for watching Jim!

[@lucmichel7588]

👍👌

[@nahowington]

Beautiful Alembic; I remember seeing it on Reverb. Nice playing as well. How does it sound in comparison with your Warwicks? More or less Hi-Fi?

[@DavePorterBand]

Hey, thanks for watching! Good question about the sound of this bass vs Warwick. Off the top of my head, I'd have to say the Alembic has more clarity in the bottom and top end but I think a video shootout might be a good idea. Thanks for the idea!

[@nahowington]

No prob, I'm in the process of Alembic building me a bass, so I love hearing other players comments/reviews about these instruments. They are rare even by boutique instrument standards, so thorough and thoughtful player insight and playing samples are hard to come by. So thank you so much for sharing.

[@matthewharris2092]

Let's not forget the late great Louis Johnson.

[@DavePorterBand]

Thanks!🙏

[@fletchersletch]

How come the bridge is far from the edge, the distance between 24th fret and bridge is short but it's still a 34 inch scale? This is a question preoccupies my mind in Alembic basses.

[@DavePorterBand]

Great observation! The Spoiler in this video is 32" scale and they make a lot of 30 and 32 inch scale basses in addition to the standard 34.

[@fletchersletch]

@@DavePorterBand that makes sense