Jerzy Drozd Excellency 6
This is a great bass from Polish luthier Jerzy Drozd.
Jerzy is now based in Barcelona, and along with a small team of carftsmen, they build some of the most sought after basses in the world.
This is an "Excellency" model, one of the most affordable in Jerzy's catalogue. It is a bolt on, but the neck actually extends up to the neck pickup. It is based on the Basic model, but with an added top, in this case zebrawood, with matching headstock.
The neck is joined to the body using 7 bolts. Every aspect of this bass is designed for the most confortable playing experience ever. The small and ergonomic body rests easily on your lap, and the extended upper horn reaches out until the 12th fret, so the bass balances perfectly with a strap and your left arm does not have to stretch as in some other small bodied bass with shorter upper horns.
The neck has a flat profile to it, and is wide enough to feel roomy yet compact at the same time. Jerzy is a design master, something you feel as soon as you pick up the instrument.
The maple neck sports a beautiful piece of ebony for the fingerboard with 24 medium frets-
The pickups might look unnusual that is because they are unnusual. Jerzy makes his own pickups in house in order to make sure that he can control every aspect of the bass from wood selection to the final sound. The pickups are quite flat sounding, and will just reproduce what the bass is doing acoustically, which makes perfect sense. The onboard Aguilar 3 band preamp is powerful enough to make the bass cover any style you might need, from Marcus to Jaco and everything in between.
This bass has one of the most comfortable 6 string necks we've ever tried, wide enough for any technique, but not so wide it feels cumbersome. the High C has a very nice singing quality to it that actually invites you to explore melodies and chords, without ever losing a great midrange growl for those powerful grooves.
This bass produces a direct and aggresive sound thanks to the bolt-on construction, but this does not mean it lacks bottom end. Quite the opposite; you can go from a tradicional quasi Fender tone to a more extreme one that will fit right in with the most demanding modern music. The top provides it with a more articulate and complex tone. Although Jerzy offers humbuckers and splittable humbuckers, we are huge fans of his Single Coil pickups, as we feel these offer a broader frequency response with some nice warmth to them.
The pickps are also an excellent thumb rest.
As always, this bass has one of the best low B's in the market: strong, loud and clear. This is in part thanks to the 35" scale, but also due to Jerzy's expertise on ERB's (Extended Range Basses)