F1X (alembic)

[KingOfAmps]

So what's the lefty consensus on these? I know this is an OLD offering from alembic and I have seen a few for sale around town in my time but no exp. hands/ears-on whatsoever.

Always hear they're alembics take on "the Fender tone stack" blah blah.

I'm sure there's more to the story...?

Are they really good? Are they worth $600+?

Are they really like a Fender tone stack?

Is one smarter to just get an actual Fender tone stack?

My expectation (prolly wrong) would be towards sterile city, NTTAWWT.

Which doesn't exactly square with Fender-esque...

[andrew]

LOVE THEM.

You shouldn't need to pay over $500 for one. Great classic preamp.

[Basshappi]

^THIS^

[KingOfAmps]

Y'all have one?

What does it do best? How does it stand out or alone from all the rest?

[Basshappi]

I don't have one and I've never owned one.
Back in the day I had a friend that had one and I played through his rig a time or two. I was also recorded in a studio that had one, unfortunately that recording was lost a long time ago. The Alembic F1X isn't the be-all-end-all device, it's just a very good sound preamp built on the Fender tone stack.

John Kallas has a nice little write-up about it here (along with a few others in his collection);
http://johnkvintageguitars.homestead.com/Preamps.html

There are quite a few other pres that are quite nice. Like all things musical, it just all comes down to personal preference.

[KingOfAmps]

thanks happi,

that's some good info.

Somehow I landed on this vid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOOFHFvXNT0

[Jeroen]

John Kallas has a nice little write-up about it here (along with a few others in his collection);
http://johnkvintageguitars.homestead.com/Preamps.html

Awesome collection, and nice reviews. I have both Ampegs but I've never been able to try the Alembic. I did try a Trace Elliot V-type preamp, which is also based on the Fender tone-stack and sounds great. Very round and beefy. You might be able to get very similar results to an F1X, but at a lower price.

There are still a lot of preamps out there that I'd like to try once, like the Fender TBP-1 and those Demeter preamps, and the F1X is definitely high on my list too

[Basshappi]

I'm also very fond of the Yamaha PB-1. I've come close a buying one couple of times and promised myself that the next time I see one, if I have the money, I won't hesitate again.