NBD: S. Martyn 30" Fluence 5. Astonishing!!

[taowin]

Over the summer I happened to catch some mind-blowing solo bass vids by this Brazilian Robson Albuquerque.

He plays a 27-inch bass made by someone I'd never heard of, S Martyn. The tone was deep, rich and full, not what I expected from such a dinky axe.

I wrote to S Martyn for prices. He said it would be year before I could get a custom but that he had a 30" Fluence bass that would be ready in a few months. $1700 for a five string. The GAS surged up in me and I went for it.

I had always wondered whether my left-hand speed was hampered by string length, but I wasn't willing to lose tonal richness. I mostly play jazz, funk and world music.

The bass arrived yesterday. I couldn't be happier. This thing sings, growls, burbs, thumps and snaps as good as any bass I've owned. And I can play far faster than on any of my 34" basses. It's light and comfortable. The two bridge pups add diversity. The B sounds excellent. The strings are tight and bright. A very slappable 30" neck. I'd had a short-scale Ibanez EHB for about a month. No comparison. I don't know what S. Martyn is doing to make this bass sound so good. But it SOUNDS GOOD!

I urge you to check out these basses by an undersung luthier at least in the US (I'd never heard of him). His customer service was perfect. His basses are perfecter.

S. Martyn: S.Martyn Custom Basses

And check out Robson Albequerque on Youtube. He holds a deep pocket.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

That's a beautiful instrument, congrats!

 

[allexcosta]

Great looking bass.

That looks like his Blaze model, though.
He's been making great instruments for a while now with several options of scale length, including fanned.

I did try a 5 string fanned Blaze last time I visited his shop and it was one of the best basses I've ever played.

Few sound bits here:

 

[Lackey]

Wow that's awesome, strong LeFay vibes. Congrats!

 

[libanass]

Wow that's awesome, strong LeFay vibes. Congrats!

You think so?

Can't really see the ressemblance with my Le Fay!

 

[libanass]

Nice bass, not really sure if I would personally dare going as low as 30" scale for the B strings, but some luthiers can do wonders today...

If it's fanned and the B string is at 34" then why the heck not! I wouldn't want less for the B but that's just me.

 

[Lackey]

You think so?

Can't really see the ressemblance with my Le Fay!

View attachment 4471927

Heh. Alrighty.

 

[MrLenny1]

A nice GAS attack. That's a lot of bass for the money.
Brazil has a lot of great bass players.
Check out Sergio Groove. I saw him live at clinics
and he blew my mind.

 

[nonohmic]

Beautiful , congrats! I like his little man bass too.

 

[daveonbass]

I've been following S Martyn and Robson Albuquerque for a while on Instagram. I have a fanned fret 5 I ordered about a year ago coming soon I hope. He's a great player. The basses look cool, too. I think Robson might have his signature 5 strung E-A-D-G-C but not sure on that.

Robson Albuquerque signature model: S.Martyn Custom Basses
S Martyn Instagram: Login • Instagram
S Martyn Facebook: Log into Facebook
Robson Albuquerque Instagram: Login • Instagram
Robson Albuquerque Facebook: Log into Facebook

 

[Pablo Primo]

Over the summer I happened to catch some mind-blowing solo bass vids by this Brazilian Robson Albuquerque.

He plays a 27-inch bass made by someone I'd never heard of, S Martyn. The tone was deep, rich and full, not what I expected from such a dinky axe.

I wrote to S Martyn for prices. He said it would be year before I could get a custom but that he had a 30" Fluence bass that would be ready in a few months. $1700 for a five string. The GAS surged up in me and I went for it.

I had always wondered whether my left-hand speed was hampered by string length, but I wasn't willing to lose tonal richness. I mostly play jazz, funk and world music.

The bass arrived yesterday. I couldn't be happier. This thing sings, growls, burbs, thumps and snaps as good as any bass I've owned. And I can play far faster than on any of my 34" basses. It's light and comfortable. The two bridge pups add diversity. The B sounds excellent. The strings are tight and bright. A very slappable 30" neck. I'd had a short-scale Ibanez EHB for about a month. No comparison. I don't know what S. Martyn is doing to make this bass sound so good. But it SOUNDS GOOD!

I urge you to check out these basses by an undersung luthier at least in the US (I'd never heard of him). His customer service was perfect. His basses are perfecter.

S. Martyn: S.Martyn Custom Basses

And check out Robson Albequerque on Youtube. He holds a deep pocket.

Hi there, i have a few ready available in US, please search it in Reverb and you will find me there!

 

[Pablo Primo]

Nice bass, not really sure if I would personally dare going as low as 30" scale for the B strings, but some luthiers can do wonders today...

If it's fanned and the B string is at 34" then why the heck not! I wouldn't want less for the B but that's just me.

I have a 30", 6 strings with Mandolin frets, it sounds thunderous!!