I've had my Alembic for 3 years, now, and I can sum up what it does in two words: tube tone. A lot of manufacturers throw a cheap tube stage into their circuit so they can claim to deliver "tube" sound, but this is the real deal. And you pay for it.

You're also paying for real construction. Too many signal processors use relatively cheap components that are soldered directly onto the circuit board. Often it's a major hassle just to get access to what should be a basic pot, jack or switch. Obtaining a replacement can be difficult or impossible. The trend is: complex circuitry that is not practical or financially worth it to get repaired. The Alembic, by contrast, is a fairly simple design. The controls use very robust but common style components mounted directly to the chassis and connected to the circuit board with wires. These controls shouldn't go bad for a very long time, but if and when they do, replacement couldn't be easier. Long story short: this is one of those rare pieces of electronics that your grand kids will pass on to their grand kids.

The Alembic F-1X has a straight input and one with a -6 dB pad, for those extra hot input signals. You get a passive EQ stage with bass, mid & treble knobs and "bright" and "deep" switches. Because the circuitry is passive, each control interacts with the other. Each knob behaves differently if another knob is cranked, or if one of the switches are on. This can be frustrating if you don't understand what's going on.

It helps to remember that the bass & treble knobs act as a boost, while the mid acts as a cut. The flattest setting is bass & treble at 9 o'clock, mid at 3 o'clock and both switches off. I get the best results when I start with this setting and deviate just slightly for the effect I'm looking for. The "bright" switch is good for maximum slice with the highs (and the inevitable electronic noise). I might occasionally use it for slapping. The "deep" switch kicks in some of that "old school" rumble. Good for P basses.

You'll be the happiest with the Alembic if you think of it as a general tone enhancer and not an EQ. You can make vague, "shotgun" adjustments to compensate for strange rooms, but precise and flexible tone shaping is not this preamp's forte. Neither is mid boost. With the mid knob cranked, you can achieve a subtle "frown" curve, but for real electronically induced midrange presence, you'll be wanting to use a different unit. (Many F-1X users report great results with a high quality EQ like the Alembic SF-2 Superfilter or a Rane parametric unit in the effects loop).

What the F-1X does excel at is adding that unmistakable tube warmth to a bass signal. Once you've grown accustomed to it, it's hard to do without. There are other potential sources for top drawer tube enhancement, and when you compare the cost of most of them (high quality mic preamps, high quality tube compressors, top-of-the-line studio consoles) a $600 bass preamp suddenly doesn't seem quite so ridiculous.

The XLR DI output (complete with pre/post and ground lift switches) is very nice to have, both onstage and in the studio. The location on the front panel is very convenient. The crossover is also a nice bonus, if you think you might ever want to try bi-amping. The master output has plenty of gain to drive most power amps.

Adding a power amp and an optional EQ and/or compressor might seem expensive and cumbersome, but the benefits are flexibility, reliability and not least of all... sound! As it stands, my Alembic F-1X plus a lightweight Stewart power amp added up to roughly the same sum as a new good quality high-powered head. They've served me well on hundreds of gigs over the last 3 years. When the power amp eventually wears out, I'll simply plug in a new one. The preamp won't wear out.