”Attila Balogh was the creator of Odyssey instruments, Odyssey were and are, according to those who tried them, the most comfortable instruments to play ever made. Attila Balogh invested all of himself, put every effort into it, and even lost his life. Attila was a unique character and he was a great luthier, completely dedicated to his passion, his life's work: the quest for the perfect guitar.
Lorenzo
It is all too easy to find similarities between Attila Balogh and Mario Maggi but so are the real geniuses: extremely fascinating characters, who live for their vision, so dedicated that you can only admire and love them.
The book “Attila Balogh & the quest for the perfect guitar” by Craig Jones
Attila Balogh was born in Hungary in 1948 into a family of artists who in 1956 chose to leave the country to escape communism and, after a stop in Belgium, they decided to settle permanently in Canada in 1959.
Little Attila grows up inheriting the artistic spirit and open mind of his father and, after having expressed himself in many fields, he arrives in the world of violin making, quickly acquiring an out-of-the-ordinary skill. Still very young he takes the historic decision: all his efforts will be concentrated on the creation of the perfect instrument and according to many, he has come terribly close.
Balogh with Stanley Clarke
In his short life, he managed to found Odyssey Guitars Limited in 1976 in Vancouver and in six years produce about 2000 handcrafted guitars and basses.
As a logo, he chose a small brass disc set on the headstock with a small whisker engraved on it and these instruments were played by some of the greatest musicians in the world.
Then Attila died in his workshop at the age of 34, taking the magic with him and his work ended up almost forgotten until the brand was taken over by his old partners who restarted the manufacture of more common instruments.
But for the story of Attila Balogh we leave you to the book by Craig Jones and we focus on this beautiful BW 500WS bass, one of only 10 fretless models in the world (of the B500 model no more than 50 examples were produced, including the fretless ones. which were built only on request) and certainly the only one existing in Italy.
Equipped with tonal chambers, it is a closed semi-acoustic equipped with a pair of Bartolini passive pickups, very powerful, extraordinary sound.
Produced between 1979 and 1980, the bass is in excellent condition, all original except for the neck pickup which has been moved to the bridge. It is an instrument that is perfectly at ease in jazz as well as in rock and fusion.
The B500s were at the top of the range of the B line, which was produced in the 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 versions. The bass belongs to Armando who, with great regret, decided to give it away.
Interested parties can contact him by email
GUARDA e ASCOLTA la demo di questo ODYSSEY B500 WS
The biggest guitar in the world!
It is worth mentioning one of Attila Balogh’s most curious ideas: the largest guitar in the world.
The gigantic guitar is practically a huge G series and was built in 1977 in 500 hours of work over 6 months by Attila and the two partners Ken Lindemere and Joseph Sallay to advertise the Odyssey and left on display at the Iron Music store in Vancouver and at trade fairs including Namm in Chicago and MIAC in Canada.
This beast, equipped with brass parts, real DiMarzio pickups and piano strings, weighs 350 pounds, It measures 9′ 7″ X 7′ X 3’6″ and is perfectly playable by any giant!
Balogh and partners with the Giant Guitar
