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NBD! Martin Keith Elfin Plus 5
- Thread starter Fuzzbass
- Start date
Belated thanks for the gorgeous closeups, Jeff. Yours are stunning! I felt a little bad asking Martin for non-boutique aesthetics, but I'm a non-boutique player (so to speak) and don't really feel comfortable wearing elegant figured wood.
I actually came back to give an update. Speaking of aesthetics: the pearl red paint looks really cool under quality stage light. Green light turns it brownish (no surprise), but red and blue make it glow like crazy! I'll post photos if/when I get 'em. I also owe the thread some better audio/video.
More importantly, it plays like a dream and sounds sweet with any genre. I've mostly been playing it with my loud rock band... they get more gigs than my other bands. I realized that the reverse P pickup sounds especially good for modern-ish hard rock (Metallica, Seether, Nickelback, Alice In Chains etc), and of course the MM pickup is perfect for Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine. With that band I dial in some tube-ish overdrive, but not enough to overwhelm the tone of the bass.
I actually came back to give an update. Speaking of aesthetics: the pearl red paint looks really cool under quality stage light. Green light turns it brownish (no surprise), but red and blue make it glow like crazy! I'll post photos if/when I get 'em. I also owe the thread some better audio/video.
More importantly, it plays like a dream and sounds sweet with any genre. I've mostly been playing it with my loud rock band... they get more gigs than my other bands. I realized that the reverse P pickup sounds especially good for modern-ish hard rock (Metallica, Seether, Nickelback, Alice In Chains etc), and of course the MM pickup is perfect for Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine. With that band I dial in some tube-ish overdrive, but not enough to overwhelm the tone of the bass.
This thread hasn't been bumped in a while?
Anyway, I like the concept of zero frets (Elrick was the 1st like this that I ran across).
Concepts don't always count for a lot in the real world (sometimes), just wondering if you notice a difference or not with your Elfin +?
I had an MTD 535 with zero fret. I can't say that I notice any difference, either tone or playability-wise... it only affects open notes, after all.
Come to think of it, I've never thought much about why it's done, but I have a couple of guesses. First, it might make open notes sound more like fretted ones. Second, far less worry about strings grinding the nut slot too low and messing with the action... that is, a fret is more durable than the typical nut. The nut is still there, but it's to maintain string-to-string spacing, rather than both spacing and distance from fretboard.
Come to think of it, I've never thought much about why it's done, but I have a couple of guesses. First, it might make open notes sound more like fretted ones. Second, far less worry about strings grinding the nut slot too low and messing with the action... that is, a fret is more durable than the typical nut. The nut is still there, but it's to maintain string-to-string spacing, rather than both spacing and distance from fretboard.
Might as well re-update while I'm here: I've still been using this bass frequently with my hard rock band. Perhaps a nice benefit to 34.5" scale is that it seems to handle Eb tuning very well: the feel reminds me of a 34" bass tuned to standard. Or maybe my brain invented that because it seems logical. 
Regardless... I still love everything about the bass -- tone, playability, ergonomics, appearance -- and it sounds fantastic with my killer new amp, the Reiner Studio 1200, which is amazingly transparent.
Pixie:
Regardless... I still love everything about the bass -- tone, playability, ergonomics, appearance -- and it sounds fantastic with my killer new amp, the Reiner Studio 1200, which is amazingly transparent.
Pixie:
Yes. it really only affects the open notes (& the nut)...dang; yeah, what you said!!!
Yeah, I'd love to hear that combination!Might as well re-update while I'm here: I've still been using this bass frequently with my hard rock band. Perhaps a nice benefit to 34.5" scale is that it seems to handle Eb tuning very well: the feel reminds me of a 34" bass tuned to standard. Or maybe my brain invented that because it seems logical.
Regardless... I still love everything about the bass -- tone, playability, ergonomics, appearance -- and it sounds fantastic with my killer new amp, the Reiner Studio 1200, which is amazingly transparent.
Pixie:
Martin Keith said the same thing on Facebook when I posted that pic to his wall. Pretty sure you both would love it, too! The Reiner takes the amazing Keith tone and adds a hint of tube magic to make it even more awesome.
Thought I'd throw in an update. Close to 2 years later, I still totally thrilled with this bass! I was pretty much convinced it would be a keeper when I got it, but there's no longer any doubt.
Also: the pearl red was kind of an experiment based on another bass I owned decades ago. In regular light it seems muted when compared to my candy apple red bass (which is fine), but just as I hoped, the pearl can glow beautifully under stage light. This pic captures it pretty well.
EDIT: my pic became a broken link so I'm adding another. This one's just so-so (the bass is not remotely pink!) but it'll have to do for now.
Also: the pearl red was kind of an experiment based on another bass I owned decades ago. In regular light it seems muted when compared to my candy apple red bass (which is fine), but just as I hoped, the pearl can glow beautifully under stage light. This pic captures it pretty well.
EDIT: my pic became a broken link so I'm adding another. This one's just so-so (the bass is not remotely pink!) but it'll have to do for now.
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I couldn't agree more, as far as more builders moving their pup locations back a smidge. And, as far as P pups go, reversed P pups is THE ONLY WAY for me. When reversed, the tone absolutely o-p-e-n-s up, and let's your tone breathe more, if that makes any sense.
