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Post subject: alembic strat
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 7:07 am
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i have a 75/76 american strat with a ambelic switch on it,this was my brothers strat,i got it after he passed away,just what does this thing do?is it a pre-amp?do i need a battery?please help,i know it used to blow away everyone else,also do i need a passive amp/any advice would help.


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Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 9:01 pm
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Yes I used a Strat with an Alembic in it in the past. It's a passive built in pre-amp that really boosts up decibles quite much & makes the Strat growl when the switch is turned on. I loved the sound of this thing, and it does need a battery, but the drain on the battery is very low so you shouldn't have to replace it that often.

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Post subject: alembic strat
Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 6:46 am
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hey thanks,i will unscrew the cover and take a look,i hope this does the trick.


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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:35 pm
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Hey that Alembic is a great thihg. It kicks nuts and was so powerful on a stock Strat! I coudn't beleve power that the Alembic had thihking getting one for my my new 70's Stratocaster. Alembic is an all quality pre-amp that wil turn your Strat into a monster, believe me, I loved it! You won't need to change pickups unlike a lot of these other guysl This will definitely tear the balls off your Stratocaster and knock your socks off. The year I tried one was back in 72!












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Last edited by abombaci on Thu Aug 21, 2008 4:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: alembic strat
Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 8:43 am
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well, i unscrewed the switch,and found no battery conection,im wondering where it may be(the battery conection)mabee under the pick gaurd?or mabee disconected compleatly,all of the switch was there,but it really dont look like a battery could fit in it anyhow,i did take some fotos of it,now if i can figure out how to post them.


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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 9:37 am
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Couple of things. First, I don't know when you lost your brother, but my sympathies to you over that. I too lost my brother: losing anyone is terrible, but there is something particular about brothers that means your life is changed forever. Deep condolences.

Because of its significance you will want to look after that guitar. Do you play already or are you taking it up in your brother’s memory?

To the point: I’m not familiar with the Alembic pre-amp you apparently have, but a good bet is to search for a battery somewhere round the back, likely under that plastic cover over the tremolo springs. Might be a specially routed compartment somewhere in there, or the battery might just be stuffed under the springs.

Last thing, to everyone generally. I don’t know this Alembic passive pre-amp – anyone got any info on that? How does it work? Probably a totally dumb question, but why does a passive circuit need a battery?

Cheers - C


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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 10:24 am
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Ceri wrote:
... why does a passive circuit need a battery? ...

Yeah. I, too, am not familiar with the pre-amp in question. But it clearly must be a harmless misnomer. It has gotta be an active pre-amp ... hence, the battery.

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Post subject: alembic strat
Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 1:03 pm
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hey ceri,thanks for the nice words,yeah losing a brother is very hard,and he was my twin,so it still hurts,something you never ever get over,me and him was playing guitar when we were 10 or 11 years old,did everything together,school,military,tattoo's,harleys,and work machine shops after the war,he left us in 1982----------it was fate only that i got the guitar and his a.c fairbanks banjo(1890 model)and hoyer 12 string.all in all they are only wood and steel not flesh and blood.it took me years to relize that,then all of a sudden they were dropped in my lap.so yes i am a daily player with abt 14 to 24 guitars,gibson's, fenders, epi's, mandolins,dobros,auto harps,ukes,dulcemers, jews harps,accordians ect...(and three strats tattoo'ed on my back)(red white and blue with flames ala jimi)
ne-ways.i did unscrew the switch last nite,no battery,and i looked under the springs,no battery,so i will destring it and unscrew the pick guard and see if it aint in there.i would never sell it for nothing.i did sell the banjo(it was a wall hanger anyhow,but i got enough $$$ to buy another fender tele++i know he would have approved as he was a fender lover for sure.
i dont know diddly abt alembic and want to thank ya'll for the info.sincerly m walker


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Post subject: alembic strat
Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 7:02 am
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well i unscrewed the pick gaurd last nite and there is was,a vintage (era)1980's 9volt battery,complete with green acid all over it,yes it broke (the wire)when i was cleaning it with pepsi(i didnt have no ckoe)and qtips,so looks like a lil'o' soldering is in order.now why would they put it under the pick gaurd is any ones guess,lack of room i would guess.i'll keep ya's posted.


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Post subject: Re: alembic strat
Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 7:37 am
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reklaw eel ekim wrote:
hey ceri,thanks for the nice words,yeah losing a brother is very hard,and he was my twin,so it still hurts,something you never ever get over


Being twins, and by the sound of it very close, must make it even harder.

My brother and I were close, though very different to each other. He was a massive Pink Floyd fan, me not much. But his enthusiasm carried me on a little, to the extent that we went to that last Division Bell tour together. He died in 2001 and I inherited his v-a-a-ast Floyd record, video, book and memorabilia collection (including about 100 bootlegs - of which I highly disapprove, but there we are) and found myself listening more and more. Eventually I started playing some of those tracks, and have more recently put together my own muchly re-arranged cover of Wish You Were Here as a kind of sentimental fraternal tribute...

He'd be delighted with that - it's all the things you want to share and can't that hurt such a lot, isn't it? I was toying with the idea of that Gilmour Signature guitar as an even more sentimental gesture - luckily the price point brought me to my senses on that one!

So look after that guitar, man! Your brother would love you for it.

I trust other members will forgive this digression from the main business... - C


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Post subject: alembic strat
Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 7:01 am
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IT'S ALIVE!!!! well all i ended up having to do was replace the battery connection,no soldering at all,just a few twists on the connecter and 6 new strings later(ghs 11---50's) i have to remind myself that this switch is 1970's technology and not to expect too much, no noise or humming so far,and it does increase abt 10+db's.i left it under the pickgaurd,you could run the thing under the backplate but you would have to remove all but the outer springs,or go to a hardtail bridge or both.its like having a new guitar.


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Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 8:26 am
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I've heard that those keep similar tone throughout the volume spectrum. You can turn the volume knob on your guitar from high to low and keep the same tone. I'm glad you got it working!


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Post subject: alembic strat
Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 7:01 am
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yep,it seems to keep the tone with no change that i can tell,i checked the numbers last nite,my strat is a 1975 model.


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