CAPÍTULO II: CONTEXTO EN EL QUE SE DESARROLLÓ LA EXPERIENCIA
2.3. Ginecología y obstetricia
Price | £2,250 Made in | US
Body | Alder Neck | Maple, 34” scale
Neck joint | Bolt on Nut width | 38mm Fingerboard | Rosewood
Frets | 20 Pickups | Nordstrand NJ4se x2
Electronics | Passive Controls | Volume, volume, tone Hardware | Hipshot lightweight chrome
Weight | 3.6kg Case/gig bag included? | Yes Left-hand option available? | No
WHAT WE THINK
Plus | Well-made, great-sounding instrument that addresses most of the physical problems
inherent in bass playing Minus | You may never want to go back to
playing a bass with a ‘normal’ neck! Overall | A top-quality, hand-made bass that your wrists and back will love almost as much
as your ears
BGM RATING
BUILD QUALITY SOUND QUALITY VALUETECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
January 2016Bass Guitar Magazine 053
Little Guitar Works Torzal Jazz£2,250
On the front, the traditional tortoiseshell scratchplate complements both the chrome hardware and the flawless satin Olympic White finish beautifully. On the back, the body is gently recessed in an arc behind the neck join, allowing comfortable access to the 12th fret and above. Helped by the instrument’s lack of mass, balance either when standing or sitting is perfect, again helping to alleviate pressure on your fretting hand.
And so to that neck. It’s made from quarter-sawn maple and has a normal truss-rod system, adjustable from the body end. To add to its rigidity, the fretboard is made from two rosewood laminates. A glance at the fretting and neat abalone dot markers reveals that both are immaculately inlaid and polished. The twist is created by rotating the angle of the neck at the nut in relation to the top of the bass by -20 degrees, while angling the bridge by +15 degrees by setting it on top of a rosewood wedge. This gives an overall twist of 35 degrees, an amount carefully calculated to allow a far more natural position for both left and right hands, reducing tension in the wrists and ultimately lowering the risk of injury.
In keeping with the theme of an instrument that your osteopath and chiropractor will love, the whole bass is incredibly light, something that’s enhanced by the lightweight hipshot tuners and a ‘B’ style bridge.
Sounds and Playability
In much the same way that playing a Dingwall bass with its fanned frets can seem a bit daunting at first, initially picking up and playing the Torzal can be a bit unnerving. But you really don’t need to adjust your playing style at all. Ignore the twist in the neck: you’ll quickly adapt and find that after a short time you don’t even notice it. For me, the most off-putting thing for the first few minutes was that in half and first position I couldn’t see the fingers of my left hand, which was scary, at least for a moment. But once you’ve overcome this initial adjustment, you’ll quickly start to focus on the sound of the bass – and you’ll soon realise that there’s nothing lightweight about that.
The passive circuitry and Nordstrand pickups work brilliantly together and give you a modern interpretation of all those old Fender tones we know and love. There’s the familiar bark from the back pickup when you play hard near the bridge, perfect for soloing, while turning up the front gives you a smooth, warm tone, full of rich harmonics that are emphasised and flavoured by the high quality of the timbers. The simple passive controls work smoothly and without fuss, and give you more than enough scope to adjust your sound. However extreme you set the bass and treble, you never lose that classy, detailed and accurate sound. Championed by companies such as Dingwall and Sadowsky, this kind of simple passive system has become more and more prevalent on high end instruments of late – and when you try it on a bass like this, it’s obvious why.
Conclusion
Without trying a Torzal bass, it’s easy to dismiss the design as the solution to a problem you don’t have. Perhaps if you were to play a bass like this from the start, you never would. But if you already have (or want to avoid) problems with tendonitis, RSI or carpal tunnel syndrome, this could represent a very sound investment – and one that’ll keep you playing bass, rather than spending your time on stage wincing.
Little Guitar Works Torzal Jazz£2,250