Attila Balogh 8-String Bass

8-String bass guitar, made in Canada sometime in the later 1980's, I imagine. Natural wood/flamed finish, wood is _incredibly_ heavy, possibly mountain ash? 24-fret fingerboard, rosewood, with standard pearloid fret markers (no markers at the 24th fret). 1 EMG active split-coil pickup. 1 volume and 1 tone control, as well as a switch that was once probably a coil tap, but now does nothing. The EMG's aren't the stock pickups, it's obvious they were added at a later date, and an onboard pre-amp was probably removed to make way for the fully-active EMG's. Tuners are Schroeller[sp], all mounted on the oversized headpiece, and give a clue as to the bass's age: Made in W. Germany. Custom made 2-piece bridge. Each string has it's own saddle that can be adjusted for intonation individually, but not height: the whole bridge is adjustable for height. Body-style is custom left-handed, similar to a P-bass but larger around and pointier. Neck-through body construction, the neck is huge and round, but not much wider than a standard P-bass neck. A 6 for features cause, despite the extra 4 strings, it's essentially a souped-up P-bass.

Simply unbelieveable. If you've never picked up an 8-String bass (like a 12-string guitar) you don't know what you're missing. The sound is the richest blend I've ever heard, warm and full and strong enough to cut right through anything, but in such a smooth way. I'm a rythm monster, I don't want to take the lead (hard rock, heavy metal all the way), and this monster suits me perfectly. And when you do want to go up high and take the lead, it'll take it in a way that's so unique, you'll never ever forget it. And don't even get me started about the sustain this thing has. Pluck the open E. Then go make coffee...like, go to Columbia, grow the beans, pick 'em, whole nine yards. Drink your coffee. Come back tot he bass. Mmmmm...hear that nice hum?

OK, a confession first of all. Remember how I said this was a lefty bass? I'm not left-handed, so I have to play it upside down. So that affects the rest of this. First of all though, it's _heavy_. Wearing this sucker for any length of time, even with the big thick suede strap I've got, wears a groove in your shoulder. Second non-hand specific flaw: the tuners are all full-sized, and are just a _bit_ too big to all fit on the headstock. So they overlap by about 1mm on each end. Not a killer flaw..but an annoyance. Now, to the problems of playing it upside down. It dive-bombs, being hing from the short post, so the head wants to go down all the time. The output jack is in standard P-bass position, meaning it's right on my right wrist as I play. The tone knob is fine as long as I wear short sleeves...but with long sleeves before long the tone is at max. The volume, fortunately, doesn't have this problem.
As for the rest. The bass was used when I got it: there's a pretty hefty bow in the neck still. Needs a truss rod adjustment, badly. The action is very high...not a fast instrument, it builds up those left-hand muscles pretty fast. And the laquer is just a little bit wrinkled...improper heating while it dried. Personally, I think that adds a bit of character. Give it a 7, it wasn't meant to be played upside down, and does a good job of it.

It's a tank. You could hit a Volvo with it, and I'm betting on the bass, not the car. Live playing, no problem. Bring a set of screwdrivers though in case your 9-V goes dead, the compartment is screw-on. And good luck finding another 8 string backup.

See the review for the Odessey. He's dead, you're screwed.

OK, I'm not the most experienced player. I've been playing bass for just over a year now...when I got it I was about 13 months into my revived musical habits (5 years of piano as a child). So probably this bass is wasted on me. Suck it up, it's mine, you can't have it. Ever. If someone stole this bass, I would kill them. If it was lost in an accident, I would weep like a little girl: it's literally one of a kind. Will I leave it for my kids? Maybe...but I think I'd rather be buried with it. And I got this for less than $600 Canadian?