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- OUR CUSTOMERS SPEAK
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Tom A. in NY about his Bambino with Mambo Mute -
"Hi Jill -
It's an emotional thing receiving a new instrument, I can't believe it
actually came on a Saturday :)
I'm probably echoing previous comments, but the bass is even more than
I thought, the woods are gorgeous and the action is perfect. It is
obviously built with a lot of care, and I am honored to have one. Thank
you so much.... I'm so glad I went through and had it made. What you
guys do is special, so special.
I'm going to rehearse with it today, I need to get my chops up!
Wish you guys all the best ...
please tell Steve also.
Thank you.
- Tom"
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Robert H. in Atlanta, GA about his
Ultracoustic BugBass -
"Dear Jill and Steve,
I want to report the Ultracoustic BugBass has taken my bass playing to the next level in just one week of possession.
I played four shows and one jam session so far and the bass is performing beautifully. The ultra-picky bandleader is very happy, and sound men are coming up and saying they can't believe how much clarity and power comes out of this bass. Fans are also telling me they can hear me for the first time very clearly .
Construction wise I really feel that I have an upright bass that is as
tough as any bass guitar I would use on the road. No special treatment is
needed. The setup is perfect and it plays easy as lard is greasy. I'm
blown away by its earthy, woody tone, but at the same time having a
forwardness and a punch to the note. There hasn't been one bit of feedback
and we're usually amplified loud as hell through the house PA system. I'm
using all my extreme effects like overdrive, envelope filters and
modulation and they all work great. Pizz and arco are balanced and even. I
don't have to adjust tones between playing styles. What a pleasure it is to have a punchy pizz tone that still sounds smooth and sweet when you switch
to the bow with no volume jumps or dips. The Spirocore Weich strings sound
really good stylistically for the music we are playing, however I think I
will need a stiffer string to accommodate my technique. I'm going to try some superflexibles next week with a Flexicore high 'C' and see what happens. I'm also learning how to play with that extra higher string. I've been able to fake it so far, however I can't wait to put in some time learning how to really play it.
I have posted some reviews on Talkbass and on HarmonyCentral, websites
which helped inform me of your special basses and service. Please feel free
to pass my name along as a reference. I will continue to provide some
updates in the future as I learn more about what can be accomplished with
this bass.
Thank you for building this instrument of a lifetime for me."
http:myspace.com/doublebasstrouble
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From Wolfgang G. in Germany about his special 5-string Limited Edition hollow-body BugBass -
"Dear Jill, dear Steve,
The time of waiting is over. Yesterday late afternoon the package including my new Azola hollow Bugbass II arrived safely and in perfect condition.
It was an undescribable happy moment for me to open it and to see and feel and hear this wonderful instrument for the first time. I can tell you it is even more beautiful as I had it in mind before. Dear Steve, you are really an extraordinary luthier. It is unbelievable to see what a perfect final object you produced by starting from natural wood and raw things. This bass is more than 100% perfect even in the finest details. It is unique. I like eyeing how you arranged the texture of the wood in a well-balanced manner, I like feeling the soft glance of the natural satin finish. I like the shape of the body and I feel immediately 'at home' when starting to play it. As a double bass player I had not the slightest problem to get orientation on the fingerboard. Everything is on its place where it should be.
Next I plugged it into my amp and produced the first tones. Yeah - great. The combination of body, strings and the true acoustic pickup system results in a powerful and direct and nevertheless warm and pleasing sound with the right balance of punch and sustain. The 3-band EQ is very effective and allows me to vary and adapt the sound in any way I want it. I stayed playing pizz at first. But during the weekend I will spend a lot more time to test arco, too. And not to forget the fifth C string. It opens me a new range of creativity which I will explore during the next months. So I will report you my experiences with that later on.
Dear Jill, I want to personally thank you with all my heart for your competent technical consultancy in the beginning and guidance throughout all the ordering and administrative process later. And - not to forget - for your patience with me when I tended to run out of patience during the months of waiting. Today I can confirm each day that Steve worked on the bass was well invested. It is really as you told me: It takes some time until a new baby is born.
I am looking forward to my next gigs where I will extend my bass sound flexibiliy. Aside my classical double bass my new Azola bass will become a fix partner on stage for me. Who ever will wonder what lovely instrument this is I will tell him with pride and admiration from you. I am proud to be part of the Azola family now. I am embracing you both expressing my deep friendship. Whenever there comes a chance to meet you somewhere on that globe I will do it. Later during the weekend I will call you to thank you in person, too.
Warm regards,
Wolfgang"
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From Mark A. in PA about his lefty Ultracoustic Baby Bass -
"Jill/Steve,
Thank you so much for creating such a beautiful instrument that is also a stunning work of art... I sincerely appreciate the attention to detail (especially with the challenges in creating a Left Handed instrument)... This bass sounds fantastic...It's everything I hoped it would be...the classic styling and true acoustic sound are incomparable.
My oldest daughter assisted in naming the bass... We welcomed "Zuzu Azola" into the bass family at my house... Yes; "It's a Wonderful Life"... :)
Steve, thanks for taking on the task of creating a Lefty.. You are truly an artist.
Jill, behind every great Luthier (and artist) is a great woman (Just ask Linda Shank; Mike Shank's wife:).. I absolutely love her).. Thanks you for your assistance and follow up...
I'll send pics and vids as soon as they become available.
All the best,
Mark Amentt"
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Kevin C. in WA about his solid-body Lightning Bug from Rockit Music-
"Hello,
I've owned my Azola Lightning Bug Bass for a little over a year now and I
wanted to write you to say THANK YOU! I love my upright, the bass has
become a member of the family and it truly is a beautiful sounding and
looking instrument. You make an excellent product and I am very happy with my choice to have you build a bass for me. Thanks again!
Best Regards,
Kevin"
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Jaime in the Canary Islands about his Gypsy -
"Hello Jill and Steve!!!,
The Gypsy bass is at home!!,
All is okay!!!!,... thank you very much!,.. what beautiful bass!,... I am very happy!!. I will tell you more about the bass and will send you some photos!
Jaime"
And later ...
"Hi Jill and Steve!!!,
...I am very very happy with the Bass!,...It is beautiful and very comfortable to play it.
I had the opportunity to play yesterday with some friends in a Canary-Cuban Party!, ... everybody was surprised about the sound of this "small" instrument.
Thank you very much!
Sincerely,
Jaime
www.jaimedelpino.com"
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Vincent H. in NYC about his carved Ultracoustic BugBass and fiberglass flight case -
"Hi Jill,
Yes, I have received the bass, it is fantastic, because moving I couldn't
get online that often.
Thank you again, please tell Steve my appreciation too.
Best,
Vincent"
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Jose Antonio Clemente Concepcion in the Canary Islands about his Vintage-Style Baby Bass -
"FINALLY THE BABY IS NOW AT HOME. I have just received it and I can´t believe it. The waiting has been worth it. It has been PRECIOUS and even if I could not play it with calms and looks like a good bass. You are invited to visit the new home for this Baby in the other corner of the world.Thanks for a job well done."
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Devin H. about his Ltd Ed hollow-body Ltg Bug from NJ Guitar & Bass Center -
"Hey Jill-
How's it going? Well, I am loving the 'bug--done several tours and many shows with it now (and many airports) without a hitch, and am feeling more comfortable on the instrument with every show and learning more about its range and potential. Thanks so much for all your help and attention. Here is a link to some clips on youtube of me playing it on a recent tour with the Nels Cline Singers:
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=65vun8B2KrY&feature=related
There's more than this one, but this song features a broad range of stuff: pizz, arco, fuzz, etc. :)
Thanks again for the great instrument and for all of your kindness-
Best-
Devin"
And later ...
"Hi Jill-
Just writing to let you know that I am going to be using the Lightning Bug on a full recording for the first time this week, in a project that was in part built around the sonic possibilities of the instrument. Been playing it live more as well, and getting all good feed back, even from "purists" who are afraid of eub's.
Just thought I'd let you know.
Thanks again for all your help.
Best-
Devin"
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Roby P. in Milan, Italy about his Ultracoustic Baby Bass -
"Hi Jill,
Hope you and Steve are doing well, after the summer, yes it is over, almost, at least here in Italy……..;-)
I wanted to thank you for putting my photo up on your web site, I now have several better ones, I played with the band in fact last week for the inauguration of a major medical congress (2000+ people) in a large theater, I got so many compliments for the look but even more important for the sound of the bass, absolutely fantastic, with the specific acoustic bass amp I am using.
I am enclosing a few photos, you can use one of them of course to replace that first one….. Lots of good photos now on my Myspace page with the “Ultracoustic Baby Bass” as well as a short video playing it on YouTube that I recorded a couple of weeks after I received it
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwSRzzt-JnM
Thanks for the help and for the beautiful instruments you guys make, I will be certainly over next May to see you.
Ciao!
Roby
www.myspace.com/robyperissin
www.myspace.com/jazzstandardsquintet "
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Osama A. in WA about his solid-body Ltg Bug from Bass Central -
"Hi Jill,
Here is a photo of me playing the Lightning Bug Bass. I love it!!
Here is my bio :
Osama Afifi has been part of the West Coast music scene since 1985 . For
several years he has been the bassist for the B Sharp Jazz Quartet. The
Quartet toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe. They
performed at the North Sea, Istanbul, Nice, Brecon, Umbria, and Monterey
Jazz Festivals, just to name a few. Osama has recorded and performed live
with many other artists, including U.S. and Canadian tours with Yanni,
Vanessa Paradis, John Densmore’s Tribal Jazz and VH1’s show
"Storytellers" with The Doors. He has also worked with Kurt Elling, Nnenna
Freelon, the Fifth Dimension, Mindi Abair, Jeff Kashiwa, The Cadillacs,
Gary Herbig, Debbie Boone, Kei Akagi, Eric Reed, Hugo Jojo, and trumpeter
Tony Guerrero. Since moving to the Northwest he has worked with The Kareem
Kandi Band, Darren Motamedy, David Keys, Hook Me Up, Gail Pettis, Michael
Powers and many others. He also continues to record numerous jingles and TV shows, such as Wild Bills Adventure, Battledome, the new Newlywed Game, Toyota, BET, Lizzie MacGuire, Infiniti, Barbie, Hyundai and Tropicana. His education included studies at the Dick Grove School of Music. He also studied with Jeff Berlin and Gary Willis. He has taught at the Los Angeles Music Academy in Pasadena, California and is currently the bass instructor at Ted Brown Music in Tacoma,WA."
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Chuck B. in NY about his Limited Edition hollow-body BugBass II from Bass Central -
"Hi Jill & Steve,
Just wanted to let you know how happy I am with my new hollow-body BugBass II. It's everything I hoped for and more. As you can see from the attached photo, I was a bit like a deer in the headlights when I first took the bass out of the (very well packed) box, due to the fact that it's just a masterpiece of both woodworking and
simplicity of design ... the quality and beauty of the woods used is
just stellar. What put the icing on the cake though was the sound
that came out of it when I plugged it into my amp. My wife (other
photo, dwarfed by the shipping box) looked at me when the first
couple of notes came out of the amp, with an expression that said
"how is that sound coming out of something so compact?". When I
ordered this instrument, I told you that I was looking for as close
to an authentic upright sound as I could get... all I can say is that
Steve hit the nail on the head (I know, there are no nails in this
thing!) it has the best upright tone I've heard from any EUB .
Thanks for all your help in getting me the bass I was looking for for so long. I'll be in touch!"
And a little later ...
"The more I play the bass, the better I like it. Now I have to get my
playing to a point where I feel worthy of this fine instrument!"
And later still ...
"Hi Jill & Steve,
Just wanted to let you know that I did my first recording with the new hollow-body Bugbass II. The sound (recorded directly with just a United
Audio tube preamp/direct box) was astounding, even with my somewhat limited playing technique. My friend and musical cohort Tom, who is quite a fine woodworker himself (works at the Museum of Natural History repairing
ancient artifacts, etc.) was blown away by the bass, both in terms of
sound, wood and construction.
I will get you a copy of the recording as soon as we finish. Thanks
again, this bass really rocks! Hope you guys are doing well."
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Andry R. in Grenoble, France about his BugBass II with Mambo Mute -
"Hi Jill,
I received the bass last Thursday, in really perfect shape. Everything is allright - the body, the sound. I am so happy I received it! Thank you so much for all you kind support and all your professionalism. Please pass my congratulation to Steve - the workmanship is unbelievable, the instrument is so beatifulll ! Last but not least, the sound is so wonderful. I am playing with a bad electric bass amplifier, but the sound is anyhow great. Warm, powerfull, and also take into account I am not an upright bass player at the moment. I start learning. A good thing, is that as my lesson only starts next week, it is good that I only received it now, as I don't take too much bad habits that will need to be corrected by my teacher. I have a gig in October, I might be able to play with the BugBass, and will send you a picture of me gigging if available. Great to be part of the Azola family.
Sincerly, receive my best regards! Andry from France, happy owner of an Azola Bass."
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Sid H. in Asheville, NC about his Ltd Ed hollow-body Ltg Bug -
"Hi Jill,
Hope all is well with you and Steve and the family. Here is a photo that I
thought would be good for friends and family.
Plato de Mambo is my new band and needless to say my Azola is, well, as my teenage daughter says..."It's the bomb". That means "it's fabulous" in
teenage slang. I love it more all the time. I showed it off to the bass
player in the Waybacks. (we opened for them). He was jealous."
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Dave S. in England about his solid-body Ltg Bug -
"Hi Jill and Steve,
I am in proud possession of a fine Azola Lightning Bug! The Bax people were very helpful and delivered it in one piece.
It's a beautiful work of art - I could just stare at it - or I may just stay up all night and play!
Oh - and my 8 year old daughter loves the cardboard packing box - she has a new den!
Thanks for a wonderful instrument."
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Maria in Spain about the Vintage-Style Baby Bass for her friend Joel in La Media Naranja -
"Hi Jill and Steve,
Thank you very much for your helpness. Everything is OK about the Baby, and Joel, the musician, is very, very happy with it. He is the boss of one band called "La Media Naranja" that played opening the Cachao's concert that took place at Vigo last July 2004. It is funny, isn't it? Last Saturday they played by the first time with the Baby in a Short Film Festival celebrated in Santiago de Compostela because they made the soundtrack of the main film. So, things are going quite well. I will ask to the manager of the band to send to you some information about LA MEDIA NARANJA and its music. Maybe, if you consider it be interesting, could you include the new Baby's owner in your list? It will be really great for us. Thanks again and do not forget that Azola, and specially you, have new and good friends in Spain."
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Peter M. with Streetlight Manifesto about his Ltg Bug -
"Hey Jill!
I'm just checking in with you guys to let you know the bass is working out great so far. I've been playing to basically sold out shows across the country so hopefully people are recognizing what I'm using. Here's some pics of me on stage. Talk to you soon!"
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Pete H. in Solana Beach, CA about his used Original Style BugBass -
"Hi Jill and Steve,
It is with great relief that I finally found your fire status reports. Thankfully you both, your puppies, cat and home with shop were spared. We were told to evacuate also. Car packed and ready to head out. Asked, "What were you going to take?" Reply was, "Leave wife but pack up the Bug Bass!!!" Love the BugBass, especially since it was one of the originals. Many compliments on its sound and the fine craftsmanship. Play it twice a week on gigs, and practice each day. When I am too old to play, shall give it back for the display room. We also have much clean up still. But the best news is that you and factory are OK."
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