D'Alegria
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D'Alegria is a Brazilian company specialized in manufaturing custom-made electric basses and guitars, all handmade with the best woods in Brazil.
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[edit] History
After 10 years of work in the telecommunications area, two engineers who graduated at PUC university in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992, Daniel Alegria e Rodrigo Werneck, decided to join forces and begin a new and unexpected business venture considering their professional past: the manufacture and distribution of top notch, custom-made bass and electric guitars.
Totally handmade in Brazil with non-endangered certified Brazilian woods of high quality and beauty, the D'Alegria instruments are different from many others by their high level of customization. The 15 plus years of study and practice of woodwork contributed for the development of techniques that allow them to obtain the maximum in terms of visual and technical characteristics from several types of woods. The special care when choosing the woods to be used combines the aim for an odd sound and the need to help the protection of our environment. It's important to mention the use of new wood species not traditionally chosen in the manufacture of musical instruments, such as the Andiroba (recommended as a substitute for Mahogany), the Ipê (one of the most stable and stiff wodd species), the Freijó (typically used for fine furnishure), the Muiracatira, the Purpleheart, the Cumaru, the Garapa, the Marupá, the Tauari amongst others, contributing at the same for the obtention of specific tones and the dissemination of a culture that will relieve the pressure on endangered species.
All that helps to include the Brazilian woods among the preferred ones as standards in the manufacture of such instruments, putting Brazil in an important position in the international market for the volume of its reserves. This process has already happened with the Brazilian Rosewood and the Mahogany in the past, for example, although the uncontrolled extraction and illegal exportation have put them under extinction risk. The controlled use of Brazilian materials of low cost will help the industrialization process in this segment making the country play an important role as Korea has been doing for years, and now China.
Among the direct musical characteristics we should mention the search for a perfect project and manufacture of D'Alegria bass and guitars, aiming the creation of eclectic instruments that will work in all musical styles. The exclusive D'Alegria active preamps allow adjustments as specific as the choice of woods used for each instrument, and all that together should be in fine tuning to provide the ideal sound for each musician.
[edit] Models
- Dart - 4, 5 or 6-string bass, with the Dart, A-Dart ("Acoustic Dart") and Double Dart variations
- Defender - 4 or 5-string bass, with the JB, JB Deluxe, and PJ variations
- Dragster - 4 or 5-string bass
- Dynamo AG - 4-string bass, with a shorter fingerboard (32 inches)
- Discovery - 4-string electric upright bass (EUB), with piezo pickups
- Dimension - 6-string electric guitar
[edit] Musicians who play D'Alegria instruments
- Felipe Andreoli (Angra and Karma)
- Trevor Bolder (Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash and David Bowie)
- Zuzo Moussawer (Conservatório Souza Lima)
- Geraldo Vieira (EMT - Escola de Música & Tecnologia)
- André Neiva (Marcio Montarroyos's band, and Cama de Gato)
- Bruno Migliari (Roberto Frejat's band)
- Arthur Maia (Gilberto Gil's band)
- André Vasconcellos (Leila Pinheiro and Hamilton de Holanda's bands)
- Ako Kiiski (Wishbone Ash)
- Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69)
- Dudu Lima (Stanley Jordan's band)
- André Gomes (Pepeu Gomes's band, and Cheiro de Vida)
- Pedrão Baldanza (Som Nosso de Cada Dia)
- André Carneiro (Fernanda Abreu's band)
- Rodrigo Montanhaur
- Luciana Requião
- Francisco Falcon (Fruto Sagrado)