Xylem Handmade Basses and Guitars

"Hi Anthony,

The bass came in Saturday afternoon. It's far beyond my expectations. The side fret markers came out great. I have no problems navigating the fret board. All the little changes along the way really came out well on this bass. The hardware, pre-amp, pick ups, line-less fret board, all killer.

I am really at a loss of words. I'll just say its pure awesome for now.

I should be able to get some stuff recorded later.

Thanks for the build.

peace out,"

- Hayagawa K.

"Greetings Anthony!

I recently became the proud owner of your Shishito [sic] bass and all I can say is WOW! My friend/bandmate Nick B. over at Avenue N Guitars in Chicago showed it off to me a few weeks ago and I instantly fell in love with it. The overall design is badass, its ultra light weight, it sounds amazing, and when it comes to its feel and playability...wow, just wow. Its so comfortable, it feels like an extension of my body and I'm discovering more about my playing each time I pick this amazing piece of work up. Your attention to detail is incredible and this bass is everything I could have wanted all wrapped up in one. Its perfect for me and I couldn't be happier to not only have crossed paths with it, but to have the privilege to play it everyday. Thank you for your work."

- Dina S.

"Anthony, Just a quick note to let you know it got here, all safe and sound. Looks great, plays great, sounds great; can hardly bring myself to put it down. Hopefully will get a sound clip or two recorded this weekend."

- Jim K.

"Anthony, The bass arrived in perfect condition (excellent packing job). I will send you a full write-up once I sit with it a bit. At this point, all I can say is amazing job. You are a very talented man."

The Full Write-Up - received a couple weeks later…

"Design - I asked for your interpretation of a Carl Thompson scroll bass, and this is exactly what I received. A friend of mine commented that it is hard to tell where I end and the bass begins. Very organic and fluid.

Fit and Finish - Everything is solid. All woodwork is clean. Neck is true. Fretwork is immaculate. Natural oil finish is perfectly applied. Control cavity is well shielded. Like any well-made custom item, I am continually discovering new design nuances.

Playability - Complete fret access. Neck dimensions are exactly as requested. Extremely lightweight; balances well; no neck dive. Low action allows for great response with a light touch (in other words: effortless playability).

Tone - The Nordstrand pickup/preamp, combined with the wood, creates a very true bass tone.

Value - Given the quality and attention to details, this is a great deal (especially for a lefty).

Overall - I am completely satisfied with my purchase. Not only did I receive an amazing instrument, but I had the pleasure of dealing with a true professional."

- Kevin F.

Anthony: "How's the bass treating you?"

Donald Brodsky: "It is going really well. I'm not sure if it's a pick up thing or just a better built instrument.. Or both, but it is a much better balanced instrument from it's highs to low's. Has a great tonal quality and alot of power. I'm loving it and really appreciate all the hard work that went into building it.. It will be played alot and enjoyed by many for years and years :)"

- Donald Brodsky, Bass Player of Woodland

" The bass is great, I've been playing it constantly. The humidity has been really high here the last few weeks, but I haven't noticed any issues with the bass."

- Chad Mowbray, Solo Bassist of Evil Has a Twin

"My initial impressions are Wow!........ It's actually smaller than I thought it was going to be, which is good... Because from the pics on the website I was a little worried it'd be too massive for me... but it's very comfortable and actually light weight for me as well. I could tell just from strumming it the first time acoustically that it resonates through the whole body... Plugged in at a somewhat low volume on my tube head is decent, I think I need to get the volume up more to really enjoy it more as well as a better guitar cable and a boost/overdrive pedal to give me more gain... To metal it up, lol........... I like the tone of the coil split bridge pickup for clean... Especially mixed with the neck pickup. The neck is perfect though man... You nailed the Ibanez 7 string neck perfectly, nice and thin and easy to play. Getting used to playing with that style bridge again is gonna take some time, but it's comfortable.... Just gotta work on hand placement and pressure when palm muting. I've been so used to playing on guitars with tuno-matic style bridges for a long time. I wanted this style bridge though this time for more sustain."

- Chris G.