Alembic instruments have always commanded attention for their clear, direct sound. We were the first to bring active circuitry to basses and guitars way back in 1969 -- even before we made instruments. You could say that Alembic pioneered the replacement pickups and electronics industry.

You may be accustomed to active electronics sounding "sterile." While this may be true for other manufacturers' electronics, Alembic Activators produce rich, natural tones. The Activator pickups and electronics systems feature a simple straightforward design that accurately reproduces the motion of the string, including your own subtle fingering techniques. Unlike traditional pickups where the coils are used to "voice" or color the sound, the Activator pickups serve only to translate the string motion into the corresponding electronic signals with the highest fidelity possible. The pickups reject magnetic hum and are completely sheilded with an expanded copper Faraday cage to eliminate noise.

Ease of installation

Connector picActivators are designed for easy installation. In fact, most models can be installed without woodworking or even soldering -- they simply plug together with friction-locked connectors. The contact surfaces are goldplated to ensure a long, reliable life.

We also have convenient collet knobs available. Using a conical sleeve instead of set screws, the collet knob grips the shaft of the pot equally from all around. The knob is also automatically centered.

Please note that some installations, Fender P basses in particular, require additional routing to make room for the 9V battery. You may not want to add Alembic Activators to valuable vintage instruments if routing is required for the installation.

Why Filters?

Low-pass filter picThe heart of the system is the active electronics preamp/low-pass filter module. You can adjust the gain with a small trimpot located on the preamp board. The tone coloration is adjusted by the frequency control which tunes the low-pass filter section giving you a wide range of usable tonal effects.

We selected this unique low-pass filter for our tone control through our own research that showed the low-pass filter to be the closest electronic equivalent to the waveforms of naturally resonating acoustic instruments. This yields a sound that is unlike any other pickup system on the market and lets you create music with these "natural" sounds.

Any musical style can benefit from the clean, clear Alembic sound. It rounds out jazz, cuts through grinding distorted guitars, and articulates solo performances. Activate your instrument!

Selecting Your Activator

With Alembic Activators, it is possible to improve the tone from instruments you already own without routing. With the variety of pickup shapes available, you can design a system that fits your instrument and your playing style.

Pickup shapes for basses:

  • Fender P shape
  • Fender JZ neck shape
  • Fender JZ bridge shape (slightly longer than neck)
  • Gibson Humbucker shape
  • Rickenbacker neck shape
  • Rickenbacker bridge shape
  • Alembic AXY series
  • Alembic MXY series
  • Custom shapes available
  • Fender, Gibson and Rickenbaker are registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Simply select the pickup shape or shapes that fit the existing routing in your bass. Then consult the price list for models and prices. Thats all there is to it! JZ/PVF pic
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