Daniel's bass was spectacular. If I were a workmanship judge on the panel I'd not have given it the gold though, that would have gone to Grubaugh and Seifert for their wonderful Italianate bass. Hatchez is going through a very rough time right now with his wife gravely ill, and I wouldn't take a thing away from him. Just saying there is always room for differences of opinion and taste. I congratulate him on a stunningly beautiful sound from this bass, which I had the good fortune to hear on the Wednesday morning stage then again in a hallway between the shop rooms in the hands of a guy who was just grinning as he played it.
The award for customs is a tongue-in-cheek comment I believe. He actually won a silver medal for tone with his bass. But for about 11 days the bass was tied up at US Customs because someone on the other end of the line at the ISB said something to the tune of 'I have no knowledge of this item and take no responsibility for receiving it' when getting a call from Customs. For the first 9 days Benedict had been told it was because the ebony fingerboard he'd bought from India was suspected of being endangered... but that turned out to be a red herring. It's a lot complicated, and I suggested to him that he should write an essay on it for publication in the ISB journal or on his site at least. Poor guy was putting up such a brave front, trying to make the best of it and have a great time, but I know that had to sting like heck having such a wonderfully well made instrument stuck in a warehouse somewhere through the competition entry deadline. At least it all came out well. The 6 judges re-convened and ran it through the paces and came up with a silver for tone, and that's something pretty neat for the maker to take home.
The award for customs is a tongue-in-cheek comment I believe. He actually won a silver medal for tone with his bass. But for about 11 days the bass was tied up at US Customs because someone on the other end of the line at the ISB said something to the tune of 'I have no knowledge of this item and take no responsibility for receiving it' when getting a call from Customs. For the first 9 days Benedict had been told it was because the ebony fingerboard he'd bought from India was suspected of being endangered... but that turned out to be a red herring. It's a lot complicated, and I suggested to him that he should write an essay on it for publication in the ISB journal or on his site at least. Poor guy was putting up such a brave front, trying to make the best of it and have a great time, but I know that had to sting like heck having such a wonderfully well made instrument stuck in a warehouse somewhere through the competition entry deadline. At least it all came out well. The 6 judges re-convened and ran it through the paces and came up with a silver for tone, and that's something pretty neat for the maker to take home.
