Naetharu Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Well here it is – after all the waiting my new Maruszczyk Elwood X turned up yesterday afternoon! And what a bass she is. The first thing that hit me was just how beautiful the finish looks when you see the bass in person. It looks nice in the photos but they don’t quite do justice to how beautiful the matte red-burst is. Oh and perhaps a bit strange but it feels beautiful to touch. The pick-guard is very well made from a solid bit of maple with some lovely grain. It was the one feature of the bass that I was a little unsure about when ordering – I was almost tempted to ask for a standard black guard. However, now I have it I totally love it – it just seems to pull the whole thing together and add a bit more interest to the look of it without being over the top. Neck wise it feels beautiful to play. It feels a little fatter than a standard Jazz neck – the closest I can think of is a modern Stingray – sleeker than a P-bass but still with a bit of chunkiness to it. As with the body the finish on the neck is perfect, with an excellent finish on the frets and some very pleasing rolled edges to the fret-board itself. The action is very low yet there is no buzzing or un-wanted noise at all. It felt a little odd at first but I’ve grown to love it quickly. It’s just so easy to play. All of my energy is used making music (or at least funky noise ) rather than fighting the strings. And then there is the weight. I have no idea now they have done it but the bass weights about the same as my Ibanez SR300 – which is to say it is very light indeed. Add to that the balance is perfect – there is no neck-dive at all – and it’s fair to say that I am rather impressed. The hardware seems fantastic too – the Delano humbucker offers a warm think sound. It’s a bit softer than the typical Music-Man tone but beautiful all the same. The neck pickup is very mellow and easy to get a smooth tone from perfect for a bit of jazz. The EQ seems great too with lots of very usable sounds. I went for a Delano pre-amp in the end on Adrian’s advice (he recommended it over the Glockenclang as in his opinion the pots on the Delano one are a b it better quality). The two-band EQ seems great with lots of scope for some nice sounds. What surprised me is that the bass still sounds nice with the treble control all the way up – it adds lots of nice presence without sounding brittle or harsh. There is the option of passive too but to be honest I have not really bothered with that since the sound is the same albeit without the option of the full EQ settings. Finally a couple of minor features that I feel are well worth a mention. Given that this bass has 24 frets it has a slightly deeper cut-away than you would find on a standard Fender Jazz body. Added to this is a beautiful heel which is cut in such a manner that it makes getting to the very top frets a breeze. And then there is the battery compartment. Unlike other active basses that I have played, where the battery is connected by one of those little clip-on connectors this bass has a neat little slot-in design. No more struggling to remove a battery while trying to not pull on the wires. They battery just pops out and the new one slides in sideways for a quick and seamless swap. It’s a minor feature but another great little thing that just adds more to this wonderful instrument. On top of all this Adrian was kind enough to fit the bass with Schaller strap locks, and provide me with a very high quality real-leather strap and a lovely gig-bag all to go with the bass. I was lucky enough to have a band practice last night so I got to take the bass along and try it out ‘in the wild’ right away. It sounded fantastic and the tone got a lot of love from my band-mates. We play prog-rock/metal and the bass just seemed to love finding its place in the mix. It’s very articulate and somehow cut through the two guitars a lot more than any other basses I have used. In all honestly Adrian could have charged me twice the price he did for this bass and I would still think it was an absolute bargain. I don’t have my camera to hand right now but I’ll take some photos tomorrow in good light to show you all the bass in detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mal2404 Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 That's really brilliant, delighted for ya! What a beauty!! Fantastic description of all aspects of the bass, happy playing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funky Dunky Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Wow, that's sexy! Congrats. Would love to hear it in action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madshadows Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 That's lovely John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowhand_mike Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 (edited) very nice Elwood you got there, the wood pick guard is different but works Edited September 18, 2015 by lowhand_mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 I didn't know they offered 24 fret necks as an option! That's me now [b][i]very[/i][/b] interested... Lovely bass BTW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuNkShUi Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Looks great Congrats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrammeFriday Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 [quote name='Conan' timestamp='1442565466' post='2867768'] I didn't know they offered 24 fret necks as an option! That's me now [b][i]very[/i][/b] interested... [/quote] Same here! Nice one, mate - congrats and enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyder Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Fantastic bass. Welcome to the Maruszczyk bass club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Beautiful!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 [quote name='Conan' timestamp='1442565466' post='2867768'] I didn't know they offered 24 fret necks as an option! That's me now [b][i]very[/i][/b] interested... [/quote] Anything else... just ask them. It looks to me like they would pretty much do anything you could think of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Apple Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Looks lovely. Very nice colour and a good choice with the PG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naetharu Posted September 19, 2015 Author Share Posted September 19, 2015 [quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1442621154' post='2868340'] Anything else... just ask them. It looks to me like they would pretty much do anything you could think of. [/quote] Yep, treat the website as a collection of suggestions rather than a set range of options. Each bass is hand made to order so there is pretty much no limit to what you can ask for. Adrian sends out a nice little booklet with the basses that gives quite a bit more detail about the different custom work they do and from the look of it they're willing to do whatever they can to accommodate your needs. If you've not had a look yet its well worth browsing through the Maruszczyk Facebook page (there is a little link in the upper right corner of the Public Peace website) as there are loads of great pics on there of the basses that they have been making for the past few years. It gives you a far better idea of just what is possible that they tiny pictures on the main site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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