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  #1  
Old 03-22-2018, 11:31 AM
GTRGUY005 GTRGUY005 is offline
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Default Babicz guitars?

I don't think I've ever seen one discussed or for sale here on the AGF. Does anyone have experience with them? Just curious....



From their website:

Lateral Compression Soundboard

Patent #7,112,733

When the strings are removed from the bridge and anchored to the top of the guitar, a lateral compression force is created (compression of wood within the soundboard, not compression of tone or frequency).
This creates a fully energized soundboard. The design is extremely strong because the strings are anchored directly to the soundboard, near the outer edge of the top, in a fan-like pattern. The strings tensile forces are almost entirely lateral and are spread out over a larger area. Because there is very little stress on the center of the soundboard (which is the weakest and most flexible part), traditional 'X' bracing can be omitted and replaced with a much more delicate and lighter bracing.
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Old 03-22-2018, 11:47 AM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Played them when MandoBros first took them on; the adjustable neck joint was a good idea in theory, but the guitars themselves sounded dull and lifeless to me - had them hanging around the shop for several years, so apparently I wasn't the only one...
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Old 03-22-2018, 03:57 PM
jaymarsch jaymarsch is offline
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I played one that was owned by a player that I met at Swananoa one year and it was a lovely instrument. It was a jumbo size and shape as I remember, not a dread. It was very balanced with full, clean tone. Spruce and rosewood but I don't know much more about it. I enjoyed playing it.

Best,
Jayne
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Old 03-22-2018, 04:03 PM
Brucebubs Brucebubs is offline
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Check out Steven Wilson/Porcupine Tree clips on YouTube.
He uses Babicz guitars in concert.
I've seen him live and they sounded great.
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1972 - Takamine D-70
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2015 - Kittis RBJ-195 Jumbo
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2018 - Rickenbacker 4003 Fireglo
2020 - Gibson Custom Shop Historic 1957 SJ-200
2021 - Epiphone 'IBG' Hummingbird
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Old 03-22-2018, 05:02 PM
robj144 robj144 is offline
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I've had one for almost 10 years now. It plays and sounds pretty good, but the adjustable neck is really cool.

See my signature.
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Babicz Jumbo Identity
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Old 03-22-2018, 06:05 PM
weisser weisser is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa View Post
Played them when MandoBros first took them on; the adjustable neck joint was a good idea in theory, but the guitars themselves sounded dull and lifeless to me - had them hanging around the shop for several years, so apparently I wasn't the only one...
Stan Jay had a few of them hanging in the "Acoustic Electric Room" when I worked there some years back. I had never seen any before and was totally unimpressed with the feel and sound of them...sort of unfair in that there were so many wonderful guitars to compare them with. I thought the adjustable neck was a good idea and I believe Martin did as well because they used it on one model if I'm not mistaken.

Not one was sold during the four years that I was there.

They do have an impressive website though.....
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Old 03-22-2018, 08:53 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by weisser View Post
Stan Jay had a few of them hanging in the "Acoustic Electric Room" when I worked there some years back. I had never seen any before and was totally unimpressed with the feel and sound of them...sort of unfair in that there were so many wonderful guitars to compare them with. I thought the adjustable neck was a good idea and I believe Martin did as well because they used it on one model if I'm not mistaken.

Not one was sold during the four years that I was there...
Good to have an ex-MandoBro weighing in here - supports my overall impressions - but I disagree about the "unfair" part; those "wonderful" guitars were/are the ones by which savvy players judge all others, and if an upstart maker can't rise to the occasion they're going to fall by the wayside - "Musical Darwinism" for lack of a better term...

BTW, I run into ex-MandoBro Lou Russo (and his lovely wife) on a semi-regular basis on the S.I. local music scene - our band played a show with him a couple weeks ago, and a few others before that...
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Old 03-24-2018, 09:54 AM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Deleted...
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Last edited by Steve DeRosa; 03-24-2018 at 03:16 PM.
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Old 03-24-2018, 12:19 PM
Yendoggy Yendoggy is offline
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Agreed. Had one at the store I worked at for years. Nothing special at all.
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Old 03-24-2018, 12:24 PM
Bax Burgess Bax Burgess is offline
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The scale and dimensions of the Identity dread and jumbo:

ID-DRW-06 25.6 11.35/15.5 4.2/4.75 19.8
ID-JRW-06 25.5 12.25/16.75 3.85/4.8 20

Nice guitars, though, they feel somewhat larger than their dimensions would suggest. A slight bevel around the top edge would make it much more comfortable, even a Pearse armrest would help in that regard. The look is striking and draws a lot of attention, however, the neck and headstock feel more like smoothed pressboard than wood, and maybe they are. I appreciate mine for their sonic signature, but wouldn't know how to recommend them by word of mouth.
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Old 03-24-2018, 08:02 PM
jricc jricc is offline
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Todd Rundgren is another person Ive seen using a black Babicz live.
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Old 03-24-2018, 09:35 PM
stringjunky stringjunky is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jricc View Post
Todd Rundgren is another person Ive seen using a black Babicz live.
He's used them for many years, I think.
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  #13  
Old 04-15-2018, 04:00 PM
1neeto 1neeto is offline
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Been gassing for one of those because they seem like great playing instruments with that adjustable neck. They look very interesting with the way the strings fan out past the bridge and anchor on the outside of the top like that. They claim this gives the guitar better bass tone and sustain on the higher frets because the strings vibrate across the whole top instead of a small area of the bridge. Wish I could pick one up and see if it talks to me, the Spider at a bit over $1100 on their website seems like a very reasonable price. I wish it had a natural spruce color instead of black but I’d compromise that if the instrument is worth it!
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