Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Going to ebay now for an Alembic . yummy !

Both of the Alembics I used to have were purchased used. I got all my money back on them when I traded them to GC for my first Zon. They thought they were getting a deal and was happy to pay nothing for the Sonus!

I love Zon basses . Wicked nasty tone !

jps wrote:Both of the Alembics I used to have were purchased used. I got all my money back on them when I traded them to GC for my first Zon. They thought they were getting a deal and was happy to pay nothing for the Sonus!

...and you upgraded the visuals, too Jeff.

jingle_jangle wrote: ...and you upgraded the visuals, too Jeff.

No doubt about that!

ilan wrote:

jingle_jangle wrote: ...and you upgraded the visuals, too Jeff.

No doubt about that!

But, do you recognize it?

We are talking pas each other. I refer to the superior look of the ZON over those hobbit forest stump laminations.

I really like Jeff's Zon - can't seem to figure out why:

Jeff, are you talking about your avatar (graphics)? Babylon 5!

bassduke49 wrote:Jeff, are you talking about your avatar (graphics)? Babylon 5!

Yes, Paul B.

I thought your were referring to my avatar, Paul W.!

sloop_john_b wrote:I really like Jeff's Zon - can't seem to figure out why

I like their Scepter shape. Not really into "organic" shapes.

I like Alembics and I like Rics:


Fender? No problem!


I have an affinity for Hobbits too:


Can't we all just get along?

A brief design note here, and call me a snob, but "design professional" is more appropriate...designers can be pros, just like doctors, lawyers, engineers, and musicians...

In terms of product design and engineering, guitars are a special case. The landmark designs were conceived by people with no formal design training, who had "the touch" and hit timeless, grand-slam home runs, seemingly effortlessly. I know of few product designers involved in guitar design; one friend, who was a consultant to Gibson a few years back, now works designing golf clubs. That should give you an insight into where manufacturers and designers are in THAT dance. Another case is Steinberger; those nihilist headless music machines from the '80s have, fortunately, had their short day, although the basses Ned makes now are, simply, wonderful objects of desire!

Perhaps mega-Fender employs some industrial designers, in which case, these guys have to be the most frustrated employees in the plant...being forced to come up with new variations on classic designs that should never have been messed with in the first place, and never being able to design their own home runs!

To the point: One of the most solid criteria for good design is how it stands the test of time. (This has little or nothing to do with how many it sells!). Really great stuff becomes iconic. Real mediocrity (99.999% of what makes it to market, which in itself is .1% of what's proposed to be manufactured...) becomes landfill eventually. Real **** (a minority, but gaining in popularity thanks to the Design Axis of Evil--Wal-Mart and China) makes you choke and continues to stick in your craw, instead of going down nice and easy.

There is an odd corner of mediocre product design, mostly inhabited by naive and self-taught people who either call themselves designers, or dabble in the field because they can fake someone out for a paycheck, which I call "the kiddysketch guys". They can draw something unusual that is oddly, naively appealing, and that quirky object or line of objects will sometimes be embraced by the public and become symbolic, despite itself.

Lots of times, I have trained my sights on a guitar or bass design and shot it down without being too specific; Alembic is one of my favorite targets. This is because their naive and very nasty design ideas are high-priced, very well-made, have incredible sound, were adopted by famous musicians and made very visible despite their product design shortcomings. They remind me of those dreadful, ultra-shiny things made out of sectioned wood tree stumps, like table tops and wall clocks.
If Alembic's products were only not better suited to inhabitants of Virgin Forests! But their product design falls far sort of the mark set by their build quality and electronics, and that's their niche--OK for some, but uncomfortable for me.

While Jeff's Zon is a very attractive design, the "Sceptre" is kiddysketch; given its name with its macho, medieval and heavy-metal connotations, I'd also say there's more than a hint of cynicism in its marketing. Personally, my cynicism detector is set to 11, after working with marketing folks for a couple of decades and even doing lunch with 'em on numerous occasions. I get queasy (thanks to that cynicism detector) and shy away from anything that sniffs of cynicism in its promotion; makes me feel unclean and manipulated, and that messes with my human dignity.

That brings me back to Ricks every time-- the current product line is a good example of designs which are in balance. This in itself can make people uncomfortable, as many things that are near-perfection are wont to do, because some folks dare not consider relating in a one-on-one way with any ideal (whether it be Heidi Klum or a Bentley Corniche coupe)--they feel somehow unworthy, and this diminishes them and pisses them off.
So we Rick people are sometimes called "snobs". This is, of course, untrue and unfair labelling. As individuals, we're just like anyone else, except more so.

Sorry, did I say, "brief"?

You lost me! What were we talking about?