BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS
Description: Instrument, String, Guitar, USA
Known For: The first Alembic instrument was a bass made for Jack Casady, then a member of Jefferson Airplane.
Instruments: Guitar
Location: Santa Rosa, California, United States of America
CONTACT DETAILS
Web Site: http://www.alembic.com/
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BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
Alembic Inc
Alembic was founded in 1969 and is a manufacturer of high-end electric basses, guitars and preamps.
Ron and Susan Wickersham founded Alembic, Inc. in 1969. Originally, it was conceived as a consulting firm that worked closely with the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and other bands to help improve the quality of their sound systems and live recordings. Rick Turner also joined the company in that first year, becoming a shareholder in 1970.
Ron Wickersham and Rick Turner designed low-impedance pickups and electronics with greater bandwidth than the high-impedance pickups typical in electric guitars and basses of the time. To boost the low output of these pickups, Wickersham designed an active onboard preamp. In 1969, the first active electronics designed by Alembic were installed in instruments owned by Phil Lesh, Jack Casady, Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia.
Alembic became quite busy installing these new active electronics in players’ guitars and basses.
The first Alembic instrument, serial number 72-01, was a bass made for Jack Casady, then a member of Jefferson Airplane.
In 1976, Alembic made the world’s first graphite neck basses with necks supplied by Geoff Gould, who subsequently founded Modulus Guitars.
Through the 1980s, Alembic introduced several new models. These included the Spoiler, Elan, and Europa basses, and the Electrum and California Special guitars.
All Alembic instruments are made in Alembic’s factory in Santa Rosa, California.
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