To say that Anthony merely goes above and beyond for his customers would be an understatement of the century… He makes dreams come true.I’m very honoured to be the proud owner of two of his creations thus far. The first is a 5-string electric bass, (Calypso) which has truly been an absolute pleasure to play over the years. It wasn’t custom built for me, but it feels like it was…. That’s how much I can attest to the quality and craftsmanship of his work.The second instrument is a 5-string Piccolo bass (Gymir) that was designed completely custom for me, right down to the smallest detail. He had the patience of a saint, corresponding with me over the course of several years through dozens upon dozens of email conversations, as my vision of what I wanted evolved throughout the design and construction phase. I’ve had the instrument for almost a couple months now and initially I was just completely blown away by the quality of it. As the weeks went by, I noticed just how much love, care and thought Anthony puts into every aspect of his instruments. The ergonomics and playability of them are unparalleled, in my humble opinion.There is so much more that I would like to say, and I will update this review at some point in the future when I get some more time to do so.Anthony is an incredibly kind person, very patient, and an amazing Luthier. His customer service is second to none. I would wholeheartedly recommend Xylem Basses and Guitars to any person out there.

Not only was Anthony patient enough to listen to my ramblings, he also helped sort out exactly what I was wanting and in turn made the easiest playing, and best sounding bass Ive ever experienced. Im excited to have him build my next and highly recommend him for everyone. Youll no doubt get unmatched quality, honesty, and longevity.Thank you Anthony!

I first bought a guitar from Anthony about 13 years ago when he was still working out of the kitchen in his apartment at the time. Despite being a big fender junkie before purchasing the guitar, by the end of the process I was completely converted to a custom junkie. The guitar I got from him is still my go-to instrument to this day, and I am currently in the process of purchasing my next guitar from him as well. Anthony makes exceptionally high quality instruments that will last decades without running into problems, and he goes out of his way to guarantee that the instrument you ordered conforms to your desired specifications and is of the highest quality possible. All of my interactions with Anthony have been extremely positive, and Ive only ever been offered the highest quality customer service imaginable. I can guarantee that I will be a lifelong customer of Xylem Basses & Guitars.

I dont trust anyone with my guitars except Anthony. He is honest, meticulous, and detail oriented. Anthony does great repair, set up, and wiring work. He is also an awesome custom bass and guitar builder. His pricing is more than fair and I cannot recommend Anthony at Xylem Basses and Guitars enough.

I was referred to Xylem because I was looking to upgrade with a new bass. I brought my Fender Squire 4 string bass in for Anthony to evaluate so he could make recommendations on what to look for in a new instrument, based on what I have been playing and what I was looking for. In addition to a thorough evaluation of my bass, Anthony asked me a lot of questions to learn what type of player I am and my needs. He listened to me and was able to make several modifications to my bass that improved its playability so much that I decided not to purchase a new bass. In fact, several professional bass players have played my Squire and marvel at how well it plays for an inexpensive bass, even telling me they would not replace it if it was their bass! Throughout the process, Anthony was very generous with his time and instruments- letting me try out various Xylem basses to see what I liked. He wanted to make sure I got the instrument I need and one that I can afford. Anthony’s rates were more than fair and he was so thorough in his work. And his basses are beautiful and easy to play, especially for someone like me who prefers a lighter weight instrument that still packs the punch of a big bass. I recommend Xylem for their craftsmanship, attention to detail, and care that can only come from a small luthier. I’ll be back and hope to one day own my own Xylem bass!

Xylem is a great company and Anthonys customer service is outstanding - going above and beyond in making himself available to his clients. My Xylem bass (Shishido) is an extension of my body. Although I didnt have this bass custom built, it couldnt be closer to a build I would customize for myself. Ive played my fair share of high end basses, but always circle back to my Xylem. Looking forward to adding a 5-string Xylem to my arsenal down the road...

I’ve been the proud owner of a custom built Xylem guitar for close to ten years and I couldn’t be happier with it. This guitar is absolutely incredible! It plays great, sounds great, looks great, and the thing is built like a friggin’ tank! It even got knocked off a stand by someone at a show once, landed on the neck, and wasn’t even out of tune when I picked it up. This has been my main workhorse guitar ever since I took possession of it, and never once has it let me down.Anthony is an incredibly talented builder and his customer service is unmatched. In the spirit of transparency I will mention that he is my brother, but I can tell you without a doubt that Anthony treats all his clients with same attentiveness and care no matter their relationship to him. He’s just that professional! I’ve had the pleasure of test driving many instruments that have left his shop, and they are all absolutely top notch. He will work on anything anyone brings in, and I’ve never seen anything leave his shop that didn’t meet or exceed the client’s expectations.In 23 years of playing, I’ve come across very few instruments that have this caliber of craftsmanship put into them.Not only are Anthony’s custom instruments in a class of their own, his repair and setup work is phenomenal too. Whether you just need a minor setup, a re-fret, or you want to make major modifications to an instrument, Anthony is your guy.There are very few luthiers out there that have the talent and professionalism you will get from Anthony at Xylem Basses and Guitars.

Very poor communicator and sub par builder. Instrument electronics failed. Expects some sort of payment for repairs and setups, due to lack of attention to his builds. Not another luthier on the planet that would expect this. Instrument build was not what was ordered and all in all a horrible experience. There are far better builders to get your needs done in a much more professional way especially for what he is charging. Not worth the money. Very unprofessional. In response, never was there such agreement and response from builder is fabricated. Builder became agressive and angry (on christmas day, while I was with family no less) because he refused to meet me to exchange guitar in which he was going to work on, then questioned the guitars state) Go elsewhere for your needs. I stand by my review. Builder simply was angry that I was unhappy with the guitar hence me selling it. Builder then blocked me on Social media simply because he was upset and refused to meet me half way for exchange. Again, Childish and not professional at all. I would NEVER buy this guitar back nor did I say such a thing. Just a unprofessional business all in all.

Hello everyone my name is Raz Sisneros. I have been a musician for about 18 years. This may be a lengthy review but it is worth reading, I promise. At the time ov writing this I want to say Ive known and been working with Anthony for about 6 or 7 years and it has been nothing short ov Spectacular! I live about an hour away and get to visit with Anthony at his shop at least a dozen times per year. Anthony over the years has done countless repairs and setups on my many guitars that have come and gone. He always would go the extra mile to make sure I was completely satisfied with all aspects of any work that was done. In the few instances I had any issues, he would go out ov his way to fix them as soon as possible. Ive actually had the privilege ov playing 2 guitars made by Anthony and did the sound samples for his website, be sure to check those out. First was the Allessandra guitar, the other was the six string with the Fishman fluence pickups that should be getting audio very soon. Both ov these instruments were hands down the Best guitars I have ever played. Ask Anthony, I have had a ton of different guitars over the years. The craftsmanship that goes into these instruments is on a completely different level than what I have seen with almost every other luthier I have researched over the years. I have witnessed first hand how much time, effort, and passion goes into each instrument and it truly shows down to the smallest ov details. I recently placed an order with Anthony for a custom guitar that I have been planning for at least a decade. Anthony has helped me refine my plans and taught me so much and never looked down on me for my ignorance. He did everything possible to help me in my plans and has inspired me to be a better musician and person. Anthony has become a dear friend over the years and is more than a household name. Anybody who knows me as a musician knows about Xylem and how important he is to me. Ultimately, if you need the best custom guitar youll ever have in youre life, Xylem Guitars is for you! My custom should be started in the near future so be sure to watch for it and the review under the project name Zann.

I cant say enough good things about Xylem Basses & Guitars, Anthony has always been nothing but courteous and professional with me. I was lucky enough to purchase one of his basses second hand in 2017 I believe and I was absolutely blown away by the quality and attention to detail. I have had several high end basses Carl Thompson, Pete HIlton, Fodera to name a few and I have to say Xylem is easily on the same level of them if not a league of their own. The quality is absolutely there I cant stress that enough. Shortly after purchasing the Xylem bass I spoke about earlier, I decided to commission Xylem Custom Basses and Guitars, to build me two bass guitars, that is how much I believe in the quality of these instruments. The whole time Anthony has been nothing but professional on every level, with returning emails, messages and phone calls, I honestly cant say ive really ever received that much professionalism with any other company that ive ever used in my life. I honestly recommend Xylem Custom Basses and Guitars to any musician who is looking to get a quality instrument or to have QUALITY repairs done to their existing instruments. I wish I could rate them higher than 5 stars because this is one company and one builder that truthfully deserve it.

I own an 8 string bass built for me by the very talented Anthony Olinger of Xylem instruments.Ive know Anthony since late 2011 and he has always been respectful and attentive to all my questions about a possible build no matter how crazy the questions may have been.So during all the back and forth I asked Anthony to build me a 8 string bass and he did not hesitate to offer his insight and answer more questions.Now I had seen and played a few of Anthonys basses so I was familiar with his skills as a builder so that was why I wanted to possibly have him build such an oddity of an instrument for me but after talking to him over the weeks before I finally decided to go with the 8 string build I felt very comfortable that I would be delivered a top quality instrument.Once Anthony started on the build we were in touch constantly with questions from each other and not one time was Anthony short with his responses to what is a delicate situation when building an instrument for a customer.When i finally got the instrument the first thing I noticed was the overall build quality and then I played it unplugged and it resonated so evenly.The action right out the box was super low and that is how I prefer my action. I was really blown away by how low the action was haha but that meant a lot to me because it showed me that action that low with no issues with fret buzz spoke volumes to me even more so that it reminded me that he paid attention to me mentioning to him the importance of super low action for me.Im not exaggerating the bass played great right out the box.Overall quality is top notch. From 1 - 10 in regards to quality I give the bass a 12 not kidding at all.The neck is built like a tank winch is very important for a bass that will have to endure so much string tension.Anthonys build quality is definitely shoulder to shoulder to Ken Smith, Carl Thompson, Spector and Fodera. Some heavy names for sure but again Anthonys build quality can stand shoulder to shoulder with these legends.Sound is subjective but the bass has punch and mad growl for days. And it plays effortlessly.Ive had the bass for some years now and Anthony has reached out to me over the years letting me know that if I have any issues at all that he would take care of them.So far I have had no issues with the bass and I am strongly confidant that if I do that Anthony will be there for me.Anthony is a very standup business owner and person and he stands behind his product long after it is built and that if very important for any one who is looking to trust in who they give their money to.Bassist Jauqo III X