Come Visit Us at GFA
2010, June 22-27 in Austin, TX, at the BartolexUSA Booth.
BartolexUSA Classical
Harp Guitars
HOME | PHOTOS & SOUND FILES
| VIDEO REVIEWS 1
| 2
| 3
| EMAIL
| ABOUT
BARTOLEX
Customer Comments About Bartolex Multi-String Guitars
"Just got my new Bartolex SPS8FA el 8-string
alto guitar. I am a guitarist -- but mostly a lutenist -- and
since I really don't want to amplify lutes, I bought this guitar
with the idea of tuning it in g with lute tuning, so I could
use it on gigs where I need amplification. It worked better than
I expected. The guitar is very resonant and sounds fantastic
amplified. And the price was unbelievable for the quality of
the instrument. Only took about a week to get used to the fan-fretting
as well."
Scott Horton
La Folia, Austin,
Texas
SPS8FAel: Solid top / Sound Port
/ Spruce Top / 8-String / Fan Fretted /
Alto / Electronics: BBand A2.2
"I am delighted with my new Bartolex MRS7Cel
seven-string. It sings under the lightest of touches, the top
end is crisp and clear and the bass end is magnificent. The best
guitar I've had in 35 years of playing"
Will Beavan
Whitegate, Ireland
MRS7Cel:
All Solid Woods / Ramirez Fan Bracing / Spruce
top / 7-String / Cutaway / Electronics:
BBand A6T
"The Bartolex SLS10 is an excellent
companion to guitarists entering the wonderful world of 10-string
guitar."
Perfecto De Casto
www.perfdecastro.com
See Perf's Video
Review of the Bartolex SLS10CEL
"I just received the Bartolex 10-String. It's incredible!!
The set-up was excellent -- it played like butter. The notes
were even and smooth, with good volume. The top is beautiful.
The fretboard is beautiful, and the tuning keys appear to be
of good quality. You are 100% first-class in your business!!!"
Leo Joseph
Birmingham, AL
SLS10CEL:
Solid Top / Lattice Bracing / Spruce / 10-String
/ Cutaway / Electronics: BBand A6T
"My second Bartolex 10-string guitar arrived on Friday!!
It's a beauty!! You are correct when you say the the quality
has really stepped up on the Bartolex. The workmanship from top
to bottom is excellent. The finish is beautiful. The fingerboard
is very smooth and the neck is quite comfortable. The volume
is very good, and quite balanced, too. I also appreciate
your first-class service and knowledge!!!!"
Leo Joseph
Birmingham, AL
SLC10EL: Solid Top / Lattice
Bracing / Cedar / 10-String / Electronics:
BBand A6T
"I must say I'm very impressed with this guitar. I took
it to work to teach today and it just filled the room with resonance!
Plus, it freaked out my students when I pulled it out of the
case. I will definitely put up a video soon, as soon as I get
my brain re-adjusted again -- LOL! It's been awhile since I played
anything with more than 7-strings other than oud. BUT I LOVE
IT!!!!! I have nothing but good things to say about this guitar
-- in fact, I like it so much I have just ordered a second one
in All Solid Woods for acoustic recitals."
Nacio de Falla
Watertown, WI
SLS10EL:
Solid Top / Lattice Bracing / Spruce / 10-String
/ Electronics: BBand A6T
YouTbe VIDEO
"I picked up the guitar last night. I have several Eastman
instruments, so I know how good a Chinese guitar can be at this
price point and I had high hopes. This guitar exceeds my expectations
in every way. The tone and volume are great for a brand new spruce
top guitar. It should be amazing once it's played for a while.
The bass strings are strong and clear. It's just exceptional,
especially for the price. Thank you!"
Randy Wimer
www.wimerguitar.com
SLS10CEL: Solid Top / Lattice
Bracing / Spruce / 10-String / Cutaway /
Electronics: BBand A6T
Bartolex All-Solid Wood 10-String Classical Guitar
"About a year ago I purchased the all-solid (Indian RW/cedar)
Bartolex 10 string model. The guitar has exceeded
my expectations - I expected a student grade instrument, not
a guitar with great playability and projection. I should
add that the guitar looks very nice cosmetically and the tuners
have performed very well. The fit and finish are superb.
The bass is profound without being overpowering. I can
make the trebles sing and have no problem keeping the outer voices
of music distinct and focused. I found the set-up to be
excellent. Overall, this is a very satisfying guitar to
play for an advanced player.
My duo partner liked my guitar so much that he rushed out and
purchased a Bartolex 10 string with a spruce top. The spruce
top also proved to be a very good instrument and Len has posted
a review on his Early Romantic Guitar website. I enjoyed
listening as Len played a few pieces by Weiss on both the cedar
and spruce version. The projection and clarity was excellent
for each guitar. There is no reason that these guitars cannot
be used for performance, they sound that good. Thanks to
Neris for having the vision to start this enterprise, he has
done us all a great service in making quality 10-string guitars
that are affordable.
I should add that I just ordered a custom 11-string Alto model
from Stephen Bright who is a well-known multi-bass guitarist
based in Austin. Stephen is now promoting and selling these
guitars in the states."
Donn Dubois
Houston, Texas
"The Bartolex Alto-11 was delivered on Monday and it
arrived unscathed. Once the tuning settled in, it was a
treat to play and adjusting to that one extra bass string was
fairly easy. Very sweet and penetrating sound and the bass/treble
balance is very nice. Surprising projection too,
I played it for my wife and she thought the sound was superb. This
guitar is ideal for renaissance and baroque lute music. I
like the 12-fret to the body design compared to the Bohlin guitars
that are 10-frets to the body. The guitar is elegant looking
and it is definitely going to get played a lot (nice case too)."
Donn DuBois
Houston, Texas
"I just got a new 7 string made by Neris
in his custom shop. This is the best guitar I have ever owned
and as good as the best I've played.. It's a carbon fiber
reinforced lattice braced guitar with a cedar top and carved
rosewood, arched back and rosewood sides, and without cutaway.
It has a double action truss rod and radius fretboard. What a
gem, the finish is French polish and looks stunning. As for the
sound it is nothing short of exceptional! It is rich, loud and
well balanced across the entire range and also has an excellent
wide tonal palette and dynamic range with excellent intonation.
It is neither to bright and brassy nor to dull. These qualities
give it a truly expressive voice making it a great solo instrument
for classical, Brazilian, jazz etc. At the same time it would
be equally happy in a louder ensemble or through a P.A. The other
thing is the guitar has a Fishman Prefix Premium Blend pickup
so can be used amplified with great results. I've tried a lot
of nylon guitars with pickups and this is the best. The combination
of a guitar that sounds excellent acoustically combined with
a very good and versatile sounding pick up gives excellent results.
It sounds far better amplified, especially for a real
acoustic tone, than modern style acoustic electrics nylons (such
as Godin, Taylor etc which I have also owned) and also better
than other great quality classical guitars (with pick ups) I
have tried such as Simon Marty's, though I'm sure the later would
sound great with a better pick up.
"Prior to ordering this guitar from
Neris I'd been looking for a concert standard nylon 7 string,
or even a 6 string for a while. During this time I tried many
guitars including the following, in order of price, which were
all 6 strings, "Admira Elena EC" (good value for
money), "Esteve GR12" (very good), "Jose
Ramirez SP 1" (better), Simon Marty, Greg Smallman, and
some other excellent hand made Australian lattice braced guitars,
student models and concert. All these guitars were good,.
although only up from the Ramirez could be considered real concert
quality. "
"For me Neris's custom guitar fits somewhere between
the Ramirez and the Smallman, I think I prefer it over the Simon
Marty. What I really mean is that this guitar is up there with
the best but has a unique character of its own which is totally
likeable. The other thing is this guitar is brand spanking new
and sounded great from day one. If it didn't get any better it
wouldn't matter, I definitely don't need to wait to be happy."
Greg Macmillan
Christmas Hills, Australia
"I think that Neris Gonzalez has created the definitive
nylon 7 string classical cutaway that every major builder will
someday imitate... this is the best ready-to-perform violao i
have ever seen! the quality of the woods & building materials,
the specs & concept of the design as well as the choice of
the BBand AT5 for it's electonic pickup = it is the best non-archtop
7 string classical i have EVER played! "
Robert A. Short
Gotta tell you I'm enjoying the hell out of my Bartolex.
I'm not good with it yet. But I'm loving the guitar. Which means
I will get good with it.
It's funny how my brain has had no real trouble assimilating
the 7th string tuned to A. But my hands are totally disoriented.
If I try to play an open Am, I'll invariably grab an E with the
left hand. And the right hand isn't much better. Apparently my
hands and eyes have totally absorbed the guitar from the sixth
string toward the floor. But I'll get it.
Sounds great. Plays great. Looks great. And you can quote me.
Great value and lots of fun. And with that B-Band pickup, it's
great to gig with.
Thanks!
Dan Kinter
Please
see my PREVIOUS and CURRENT
Bartolex eBay Auctions
