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Martin BC-15E CUTAWAY ACOUSTIC
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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Average Rating
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100% of reviewers
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None indicated
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9.0
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Description:
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Cutaway J-size body (0000 shape, dreadnought depth) of all solid mahogany or sapele, Fishman transducer pickup with Prefix Pro Bass on-board EQ, rosewood fretboard (34" scale, 1.58" nut width) with dot inlays, herringbone decal rosette, dark mahogany matte finish, chrome enclosed gears. Wooden flattop hardshell case.
on order, expected arrival date unknown
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Author
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tamecat
Registered User
Registered: June 2008
Location: Seattle
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Fri August 13, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Excellent tone, good build quality, good intonation
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Cons:
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plain jane finish and trim
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This is a Martin BC-15E. A 2001 model, mine does not have the preamp controls built into the side. It has the Martin AG series pickup with a Powerjack, which is actually a Martin branded Fishman pickup, installed under the bridge and powered by a 9 volt battery. The control panel on the side became available in October, 2002. According to the Martin data book, fewer than 1200 total of the BC-15E were manufactured. Mine has a mahogany body and top. You can see the full specs at http://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/...BC-15E&p=i
This instrument has a beautiful, warm, articulate tone with nice resonance. It intonates very well, which was somewhat surprising to this electric bass player used to individually adjustable saddles. There are no dead spots on the fret board: all strings make good tone on all frets, if the player's up to it. I find it less forgiving in this regard than my electric basses. You have to fret it precisely to get the best acoustic tone. It's got the "J" for jumbo body, which takes some getting used to ergonomically coming off a conventional four string electric. Despite much whining on the Web about poor unamplified volume for ALL AE basses, I've found it to be sufficient in the living room with two other guitars and voices. It's held its own with guitar and mandolin, too, after raised eyebrows from the bluegrass traditionalists. Won't make the same claim for banjo, but everybody gets blown out by banjos! Outdoors, the audience said the sound was clear, sitting around the campfire as one of four pieces.
Amplified, turning down the gain on the amp gets rid of feedback. It's got a beautiful woody sound with nice resonance. Again, it's more demanding than an electric bass with regard to precision plucking and fretting, apparently because the body amplifies and transmits every sound it makes, intentional or otherwise, in a way that is not true of solid body electrics.
When I first broke it out, two of my bandmates said, "Let's hear that thing," and then listened for several minutes. They liked it. They've never done that with my standard electrics.
I like the bass. It's a keeper. I expect to use it for acoustic gatherings, practice, particularly outdoors, and travel situations where I don't want to or can't plug in an amp. An added benefit is feeling the music vibrating against my stomach.
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