April 2001

Bright Eyes
Matt had planned his Alembic guitar, and after careful consideration, he decided on the Orion model. Since he was already using a Roland GR-33, he also asked us to install a Roland GK-2 Sythesizer Driver (pickup) on his dream guitar. Since it wasn't an afterthought, we didn't have to use the kit version with the electronics mounted externally. The result is a clean, clear and extremely versatile instrument.


Matt's Guitar
electronics cavity

 Here you can see the Roland module in the main electronics cavity of the guitar. The battery for the Alembic electronics is in a separate compartment. Normal installtion requires the multi-pin output jack and the 1/4" output jack to both be plugged in to get the mixed signal. This is because the active electronics require the instrument to be plugged in to turn on the batteries. Ron decided to modify the circuit to allow the mixed operation (Alembic and Roland pickups combined) when only the multi-pin connector was in use.
On the front of the guitar is the GK-2 pickup, with a separate sensor for each string. It fits neatly between the bridge and the bridge pickup. In the guitar are threaded metal inserts to allow height adjustments without stripping the wood. This picture best shows the top wood, gorgeous Bird's-eye Maple with a lightly quilted pattern in the background. Just stunning! bridge up close
3rd fret inlay
Not easy to see in the overall picture, Matt also wanted fancy abalone inlays on the fingerboard. This is the third fret inlay, a mix of blues and greens and tightly swirled figure.
electronics
front back

SPECIFICATIONS

  • 6-string Orion guitar
  • Bird's-eye Maple top
  • Abalone oval fingerboard inlays
  • Roland GK-2 pickup and electronics
  • 25.5" long scale

Price available on request

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