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Little Guitars in the News

Bass Guitar Magazine | Winter NAMM 2003 | Smithsonian Institue | American Basses |
Boston Globe | Christian Science Monitor | Daily Hampshire Gazette | Amherst Bulletin |
Torzal neck on a Klein electric guitar | Open Wings: Xavier Padilla

Bass Guitar Magazine

Bass Guitar Magazine Page 1 Bass Guitar Magazine Page 2
Review published in Guitar World's Bass Guitar Magazine, June 2007
Audio files referenced in article (Ed Freidland playing):
  • Track 1: With the midrange set at 400 Hz and boosted about halfway, the Torzal gets a meaty fingerstyle tone that punches through the mix.
  • Track 2: Boosting the lows and highs, the Torzal easily achieves the clasic "smiley face" EQ curve that screams, "Slap me!"
  • Track 3: Using just the neck pickup with the mids and lows slightly boosted, you get a thick, fat tone that still has plenty of definition.
  • Track 4: With just the bridge pickup, the Torzal has a nice clear voice. This example had three overdubbed bass parts: a funky fingertsyle bass line, a chord part, and a melody. The rounded, punchy tone blends the parts well while preserving the separation between each voice.
You Tube links referenced in article:

Gipsy Kings live in London (Xavier Padilla playing his custom Torzal)

Xavier solo on custom Torzal

Ed Freidland review

Winter NAMM 2003

Dave Pomeroy goovin’ on his Torzal at the GHS booth, Winter NAMM 2003:
Dave Pomeroy   click to enlarge

Smithsonian Institute

Paul Reed Smith checking out the 1st prototype Torzal at the Smithsonian Institue, 1996 :
Paul Reed Smith   click to enlarge

American Basses

American Basses: An Illustrated History and Player's Guide by Jim Roberts (Author)
American Basses Cover American Basses: Little Guitars   click to enlarge

Boston Globe

Adding innovation to injury
Getting hurt can lead musicians to new ways of playing
By Nicholas Thompson, Globe Correspondent | July 18, 2004
Boston Globe Page 1 Boston Globe Page 2 Boston Globe Page 3   click to enlarge

Christian Science Monitor

Prizes Help Young Inventors Get Their Creative Juices Flowing by Peter N. Spotts, February 1997
Christian Science Monitor   click to enlarge

Daily Hampshire Gazette

Daily Hampshire Gazette in Northampton, Mass. December, 1996
Daily Hampshire Gazette   click to enlarge

Amherst Bulletin

Amherst Bulletin   click to enlarge

Torzal neck on a Klein electric guitar


Open Wings: Xavier Padilla