At long last, please meet my 1984 4003S MG AlemRic

[sowhat]

Congrats, Tony!
Nice avatar, btw.

[elysrand]

Hi Sheena! I see that you changed your avatar. Yesterday you were using the photo of you sighting down your Rick's neck from body to headstock....

I am far too ugly to post an avatar of myself, though. I do not wish to damage your computer with my face

[sowhat]

Hi Elys! Well, yeah, i'm trying to decide... it's so hard to decide, you know.
(i do not consider myself to be a beauty queen, either, but hey, who cares? The avatars are very small, anyway )

[ajish4]

Are those things still going for over $1000 per set? Or is there a discount source for them these days?

Thanks Sheena!

It looks like my other basses will be getting little play time now!

LoL, you like the RIC-O-Smell avatar? I figured this way, my mug is posted, but you don't have to actually see my ugly face!

IF you can find them Elys, the "EPIC" set (the most basic) STARTS at $1300.00 IF you can get Alembic to take the order! I TRIED for over 7 months and couldn't get it done!

THEN, I called Chuck Levin's and spoke to a very nice person who TRIED to order them as well. He called for weeks, and couldn't get it done either.
In all fairness to Alembic, Mica was pregnant and someone else who was a key player was in the hospital as well. I was told that they backlogged in a HUGE way.
I jumped for joy when I found this bass.

I was after the Distillate or Europa setup. $1600.00 was my cost TRHOUGH Levin's. That was the SAME price Susan quoted me over at Alembic. I'm sure SOMEONE out there can discount them, I found brand new superfilters for $700.00 delivered.

I was (and still am for that matter) amazed at just how RIC like the bass STILL sounds like with the Alembic pups and electronics.

I was after this bass for THREE YEARS! It was worth every single minute.

[sowhat]

Thanks Sheena!

It looks like my other basses will be getting little play time now!

LoL, you like the RIC-O-Smell avatar? I figured this way, my mug is posted, but you don't have to actually see my ugly face!

I remember that pic & somehow i suspected that'd be the one you'd choose for avatar.
(and i don't get why do you guys call yourselves ugly, just don't get it... through the years i am here, i've seen no ugly faces here)

[tennis_nick]

A THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR A SET OF PICKUPS?????





My money probably isn't worth as much, because I don't think ANY set of pickups is worth more than 150 per pickup...

[ajish4]

A THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR A SET OF PICKUPS?????


My money probably isn't worth as much, because I don't think ANY set of pickups is worth more than 150 per pickup...

Nick,

I hear you. It was more out of NEED than want.

I play in a old church that has OLD cotton dipped wiring, about 40 Radio Shack home dimmer switches, fluorescent ballasts that buzz so bad they sound like part of the PA system, airport tower just a few blocks away, basically nothing but NOISE and greif when I played my Ric basses. I tried noise gates, filters, getting my basses shielded with copper, you name it, NOTHING worked.

I had a number of Alembic basses besides my RIC's. I prefer the feel of my RIC basses but the Alembic basses were DEAD quiet. SO, I decided to sell off the Alembic basses and just get a set of pickups and electronics to put into a RIC. As it worked out, I found this bass for LESS than the cost of the pickups and electronics. It was like getting the bass for free! But, somehow, my wife doesn't look at it that way!

Sheena:

LoL, you are just SUCH a nice person, you wouldn't say a bad word about someone EVEN if it was true.
Elys, I've seen your picture, you are in the same came as I am!

[elysrand]

Yep, there is no more unpleasant Hummer than old wiring that induces hum in everything. In those cases, you need electronics, not just raw single coil and magnet. No doubt.

Whenever I get stuck in a hall with too much hum, the Ricks with cheap passive electronics go into the cases and out comes the 1990 Alembic Series II ebony and her siblings.... no one has better electronics than Alembic.

With the exception of the 381 JK - that's one quiet guitar!

[sowhat]

LoL, you are just SUCH a nice person, you wouldn't say a bad word about someone EVEN if it was true.

Not quite, Tony, not quite. In fact - and people who know me well will confirm that - i wouldn't say a nice word about anyone if i don't believe it's true.
Gee, the churches in US must be very different from what we have here! I cannot imagine a band playing in an Orthodox church in Russia... here, it's very serious and even frightening at times, and that may be the reason why i am not a regular church goer.

[ajish4]

LoL, you are just SUCH a nice person, you wouldn't say a bad word about someone EVEN if it was true.

Not quite, Tony, not quite. In fact - and people who know me well will confirm that - i wouldn't say a nice word about anyone if i don't believe it's true.
Gee, the churches in US must be very different from what we have here! I cannot imagine a band playing in an Orthodox church in Russia... here, it's very serious and even frightening at times, and that may be the reason why i am not a regular church goer.

Well, until I see otherwise, "i wouldn't say a nice word about anyone if i don't believe it's true", I don't believe it!

As far a churches go, I dont' want to make this a religious post, but SOME are indeed "stiff & scary" and some aren't. It is a LONG story, but you are PROBABLY referring to the Russian Orthodox Church. I've actually visited one when I lived in NY. Yep, they are scary! LOL! They are VERY serious about their religion.

If we can ever BOTH manage to get to a confluence, I'll tell you some of my "chruch stories". I manage to get myself into trouble on a regular basis! I've seen that in the past 10 or 15 years, many of the churches here have "lightened up a bit"....and I try to do MY part each and every day!

[jps]

If we can ever BOTH manage to get to a confluence, I'll tell you some of my "chruch stories"....

I think the Azores may be the best location for that to happen!

[elysrand]

If we can ever BOTH manage to get to a confluence, I'll tell you some of my "chruch stories"....

I think the Azores may be the best location for that to happen!

You changed your avatar too!! I think the other one looked more like you

[ajish4]

If we can ever BOTH manage to get to a confluence, I'll tell you some of my "chruch stories"....

I think the Azores may be the best location for that to happen!

Hmmm, can I DRIVE there?

JEFF, WHY A PANCAKE! I liked the 4005 better....that makes me HUNGRY!

[rickenbrother]

Jeff's avatar looks like a pancake that you would see in a strange dream or after taking a drug that you shouldn't have, maybe even in a David Lynch movie!!

[jps]