Oh yeah...Barcelona!
I had the incredible experience of playing around with a new Barcelona at LAG a couple of days ago. Lemme tell you, it does NOT disappoint! I was so blown away with it, that when Dan quoted me a price of just under a million dollars, I almost didn't even bat an eye (I wanted to pull out my credit card right then and there, but my impending divorce keeps me from spending any money right now)! This is one incredible bass. Here's a link to his fantastic specimen...and, for the record, as beautiful as this is in the picture, it's that much better in person!!!
The piezo is so cool, that no matter how you crank the preamp, you never hear noise, and the treble NEVER gets out of control! Soloing the neck pickup reveals a remarkable acoustic tone, and adding in the piezo accentuates it in just the right way. I haven't been this blown away by a bass any time in recent memory.
Soloing the bridge pickup is crazy. Jerzy's proprietary pickups have an undeniable growl. He has totally gotten the recipe right! There's a touch of acoustic quality with the bridge pickup solo'd, but it sounds like a freakin' dream! Honestly, however, if I were to purchase an acoustic bass, I wouldn't even care if it could produce that Jaco tone on steroids (which it does...in spades).
The construction is as perfect as I could possibly report. Obviously being the "Jerzy embassador", I'm high on his product, but this bass is just absolutely beautiful.
So...what did he do wrong with this bass? He didn't make it in my price range ($0 - given that darned divorce, dammit!!!).
Honestly.
Another thing about Jerzy (as well as few top luthiers in the industry) is that the playability is unmatched...the neck is uncharacteristically comfortable, and the 34" scale manages to produce a VERY tight-sounding "B" string. I still believe in scale lengths making a difference, but a well constructed bass with a 34" can blow away the best 35's...that's no surprise to me, as my Mastery VI has a low "B" I'd put up against ANY.
Okay, so, I give this bass an 11 on a 10 scale. If you're looking for an acoustic/electric bass with no budget, please don't buy this one...I want it!
Dan had other basses I played, some of which were, of course, Jerzy...there's one or two in the stock I'd pick if I had the cash today, but this one introduces a brand new ball game...
Now...if I could justify an acoustic/electric!
I had the incredible experience of playing around with a new Barcelona at LAG a couple of days ago. Lemme tell you, it does NOT disappoint! I was so blown away with it, that when Dan quoted me a price of just under a million dollars, I almost didn't even bat an eye (I wanted to pull out my credit card right then and there, but my impending divorce keeps me from spending any money right now)! This is one incredible bass. Here's a link to his fantastic specimen...and, for the record, as beautiful as this is in the picture, it's that much better in person!!!
The piezo is so cool, that no matter how you crank the preamp, you never hear noise, and the treble NEVER gets out of control! Soloing the neck pickup reveals a remarkable acoustic tone, and adding in the piezo accentuates it in just the right way. I haven't been this blown away by a bass any time in recent memory.
Soloing the bridge pickup is crazy. Jerzy's proprietary pickups have an undeniable growl. He has totally gotten the recipe right! There's a touch of acoustic quality with the bridge pickup solo'd, but it sounds like a freakin' dream! Honestly, however, if I were to purchase an acoustic bass, I wouldn't even care if it could produce that Jaco tone on steroids (which it does...in spades).
The construction is as perfect as I could possibly report. Obviously being the "Jerzy embassador", I'm high on his product, but this bass is just absolutely beautiful.
So...what did he do wrong with this bass? He didn't make it in my price range ($0 - given that darned divorce, dammit!!!).
Honestly.
Another thing about Jerzy (as well as few top luthiers in the industry) is that the playability is unmatched...the neck is uncharacteristically comfortable, and the 34" scale manages to produce a VERY tight-sounding "B" string. I still believe in scale lengths making a difference, but a well constructed bass with a 34" can blow away the best 35's...that's no surprise to me, as my Mastery VI has a low "B" I'd put up against ANY.
Okay, so, I give this bass an 11 on a 10 scale. If you're looking for an acoustic/electric bass with no budget, please don't buy this one...I want it!
Dan had other basses I played, some of which were, of course, Jerzy...there's one or two in the stock I'd pick if I had the cash today, but this one introduces a brand new ball game...
Now...if I could justify an acoustic/electric!
