BACCHUS REVIEW (handmade series) by Joe Creighton Nowadays many major guitar manufacturers have what they term as 'The Custom Shop'. As I understand The Custom Shop was created to make guitars customised to a players specific needs. For that service there would of course be a specified fee. But now the custom shop's main task seems to be to re-create guitars and basses the way they were made in the fifties, sixties and seventies but charge the earth for them with the main production output being of inferior mass produced quality to that. The point I am trying to make is that what they now term as 'Custom Shop' was in fact in the 60's the normal production line quality. What has happened since? Progress? My first impression of Bacchus basses, manufactured by the Deviser company Japan, was the attention to detail in the quality of their instruments. The finish is of impeccable quality and on my Woodline Classic J is nitrocellulose lacquer in Lake PlacidBlue, every fret is set perfectly with no gaps or unevenness. The pick-ups are clear and punchy. By the standards of today I would have to conclude the that the whole Bacchus factory is in fact a 'Custom Shop'. Or maybe they are just making guitars and basses the way they should be made, and in fact the way they were made back in the good old sixties. I own a couple of these old 60's instruments but they are now too valuable to take on the road. Can you imagine my delight to find a company that make instruments of this same quality but at an affordable price. Let's face it we all want that 'Custom Shop' quality instrument but sometimes the price might be just out of our reach. Now I am telling you there is a company that makes guitars and basses of 'Custom Shop' quality and these instruments are available at a fraction of the cost of major guitar manufacturer's prices. I am constantly traveling all over Australia every weekend a different state, so I constantly drag my basses through all kinds of different climate changes. Many basses do not respond well to these kinds of changes and need constant adjustment and setting up to compensate. Bacchus is a different story. To give you an example, in the past few months touring with The Black Sorrows I have taken my Bacchus Woodline Classic J over to Perth(dry), all the way up to Broome and Derby(hot and humid), back down to Karatha and Perth, back to Melbourne (cold!) then up to Cairns(hot and humid) all through country NSW (varied) and of course in all this time in and out of aeroplanes, in the back of Taragos, air-conditioned gigs and hotels, all kinds of possible changes. The bass has not needed one single adjustment in that whole time. Which brings me to the conclusion that the wood selection is also of incredible quality. Every time I walk past this bass I have the urge to pick it up and play it for a while ( you know that feeling?) I now have a Woodline Classic P which I am about to drag around the country as well. I am now very confident in the reliability of these instruments in our extremely diverse Australian environment. ...... Joe Creighton 2007