Alembic F1-X

For solo and studio use, this is a plug-and-play unit. Sounds great at flat EQ (3-8-3 low/mid/high). Just a touch of bass or treble boost is all that might be needed to add some rumble and sparkle. For gigs, however, a sweepable mid EQ would definitely help. Note: the power switch cannot be accessed from the front of the unit.

I use a Pedulla active bass and Yamaha fretless passive bass. The EQ is set flat with full range cabinets. For tweeterless cabinets, I use the bright switch. For recording, just a touch of bass and treble boost. The F1X adds low-end fullness and top-end sparkle. Quiet, tons of headroom, great sounding unit.

Had it for five years, never a hint of a problem.

No comment

Great for funk, jazz, soul, blues. Not enough grind for rock. I've been playing for 5 years. I would buy one again. No bells and whistles, just a great piece of musical equipment. My previous amp was an SWR Workingman's 12, which had a comparable sound. Does not ever get in the way. I wish it had a tuner out.

Very easy to use but takes some tweaking to produce my "ideal" tone. The EQ is "interactive" (if you need more mid-range punch, play with the bass and treble controls . . . not just the mid . . . each adjustment shapes the sound differently).

This pre produces warm, fat tones with lots of clarity and punch. I play a 5-string Alembic Essence strung with DR Lowriders (45-130) straight into the F1-X straight into a Crown K-1 (~1300 watts bridged mono) into an SWR Goliath II. The rig sounds amazing!!! I open the Crown up all the way for maximum push-pull, and keep the F1-X volume fairly low (between 3-5 depending on the venue). The result is clean, warm, dynamic tone.

Haven't had any problems in two years and haven't heard of anyone else having problems with this unit.

They're still fairly home-spun, so sometimes it takes a while to get the info. you're seeking. However, they're also very friendly and willing to help. Ron helped me figure out the best way to EQ the rig for my particular sound.

This is the only pre-amp I'll ever need. I might end up adding Alembic's SF-2 super-filter to have even more tone-shaping capability, but it sounds excellent on its own. I've played a variety of rigs over the past twelve years and finally found a combination that really punches you in the chest while maintaining high-end clarity.

A snap,though the eq section take ssome getting used to and I am using it for a guitar.

I am running Peavey ultra-tube4x10 out of eff.loop>F1-X>preamp>eff.return.The tone is superb,though I have only had it a couple days it"s evident this was an incredible find .

Only had a few days

n/a

I play a little of everything and have not found a sound this thing couldn't make so far,this thing sounds so good I haven't turned it off since Ibrought it home.

Simple, i like to run everything flat. i also use the deep switch.

I use a Kinal custom 5 string with bartolini jazz p/u's and a Demeter onboard preamp. I keep the settings fairly constant and it always sounds great! I also use a 61 pre with flat wounds. For this bass I boost the bass and mid a bit. I did a small A-B-C experiment with this preamp. I played the same bass line over a drum loop with my Kinal on three different tracks. for track 1 i used my Alembic; Track 2 i used an Eden World Traveller 300; Track 3 i used a Peavey head (for some reason the name escapes me). Review: both the eden and the peavey were nice and big and warm and sat nicely in the track. However, the alembic provided the most presence in the track and in particular on the bottom end (in addition to being warm).

yes, no worries here. great reliability.

Have not needed it.

I have been playing for twenty years. I play a lot of pop, funk, and gospel. I only use the Alembic in the studio and a lot of engineers love the fact that they, for the most part, don't have to EQ me.