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Show us your Martin Keith Basses
- Thread starter 77stingray
- Start date
Finally connecting with Martin on the possibility of creating a wide-spaced 5 from @emjazz ’s hollow body Elfin. We are discussing the Graphtech piezo saddles vs adding a magnetic bridge pickup. The magnetic pickup would require a new top on the bass with new bracing, which I’m not exactly keen to do since it has what looks like a lovely old cedar (aged spruce?) top on it now. Anyone have experience with the Graphtech piezo saddles on a hollow or semi-hollow bass?
Oh MAN. This makes me so happy!! I still miss that original bass, but with 6 strings and the old bridge design the bridge kept lifting.
Mike, the pickup placement it has now with a piezo bridge would be incredible. The pickup right up against the neck has more definition than you would imagine. Maybe just choose a mag pickup that has a more narrow aperture so it's less wide and more focused.
The top is a very old piece of redwood. He made a guitar with it years ago, and when I asked about it, he was able to get another piece from the same source. It also has bracing internally from old railroad ties I believe. OLD. There's a lot going on with just that body.
Edit: ...the other half of that bass, the neck, is on my semi hollow MK....so you'd be keeping bringing back to life a part of something that I play every day (no pressure!)....but I'd love knowing that you'd have it!
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Thanks for the additional background! I though that the current top wood really looked like something special, so it's good to know the details! There's a crack between the sound holes that he thinks is stable, and I encouraged him to preserve the existing top if possible.
Looking at a mahogany neck with the same graphite reinforcement as yours, and ebony board--essentially your neck with 5 tuners on it, I suppose
. Since it will be fretted, he though the individual saddle bridge design would work better while still allowing for piezos.
I'm very excited about this project, but Martin's construction timeline is much faster than previous builds from other makers (especially since it's half built already!) so I'm going to have to get to work saving my pennies....
Looking at a mahogany neck with the same graphite reinforcement as yours, and ebony board--essentially your neck with 5 tuners on it, I suppose
. Since it will be fretted, he though the individual saddle bridge design would work better while still allowing for piezos.I'm very excited about this project, but Martin's construction timeline is much faster than previous builds from other makers (especially since it's half built already!) so I'm going to have to get to work saving my pennies....
Yeah, I haven't heard from him lately, so I know he's been busy working!Thanks for the additional background! I though that the current top wood really looked like something special, so it's good to know the details! There's a crack between the sound holes that he thinks is stable, and I encouraged him to preserve the existing top if possible.
Looking at a mahogany neck with the same graphite reinforcement as yours, and ebony board--essentially your neck with 5 tuners on it, I suppose
I'm very excited about this project, but Martin's construction timeline is much faster than previous builds from other makers (especially since it's half built already!) so I'm going to have to get to work saving my pennies....
The hybrid neck is miraculous. Great choice!
The new bridge is a huge improvement, so I'm glad he suggested that!
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Looks like we'll be keeping the redwood top with just a refinish, which makes me happy!
You have 33" scale with 26 frets, it looks like? I suspect that the move to 34" is going to give something like 28 frets, which brings to mind the custom Nordstrand SCs we both had. I haven't really asked bout that, just looked at the pictures of the original bass on Martin's website.
Not sure what pickup we will end up using, but I think you're right, it needs something with a little narrower aperture and more focus. I have no experience with the Citron pickups. I like the BigRig on my fretless, but it's very "broad" in the neck position and a bit more focus might be better. What pickup were you using on the original bass?
You have 33" scale with 26 frets, it looks like? I suspect that the move to 34" is going to give something like 28 frets, which brings to mind the custom Nordstrand SCs we both had. I haven't really asked bout that, just looked at the pictures of the original bass on Martin's website.
Not sure what pickup we will end up using, but I think you're right, it needs something with a little narrower aperture and more focus. I have no experience with the Citron pickups. I like the BigRig on my fretless, but it's very "broad" in the neck position and a bit more focus might be better. What pickup were you using on the original bass?
Hey Mike...that's amazing news!!! I'm super happy that the top will stay!
Yeah...it was originally a 33" scale with 26 frets.
The original pickup was a hum canceling version of their '51 P, and it was fantastic. Think of a narrower version of your BigRig. It was a great fit for that bass. I'd suspect a Zen Blade or just a hum canceling single coil would be wonderful as well.
I wouldn't suggest the Citron for that bass. It's wider sounding, and has a rolled off top end. Not ideal for a neck position only bass imo.
This is really exciting!!
Thanks! The Zen Blade certainly crossed my mind as an option, and you know what a big fan I am of Carey's work!
The Zen Blade would be great. Super even and clean. Nice.
Whatever you choose, I'd put that order in soon. Stew told me they are getting CRAZY busy again. It may take some time for them to get that pickup to Martin.
I'm not sure about for your specific application, but I love the sound of the four Citron pickups in my Martin Keith basses.
I'm not sure about for your specific application, but I love the sound of the four Citron pickups in my Martin Keith basses.
This would be in the "end of the neck" position on a wide 5 that Martin would make for me based on the body from @emjazz 's prototype acoustic 6:
Given the location and hollow construction, it probably needs a pickup that's more focused and not quite so "big" sounding as something you'd use for a solid body with pickups a bit closer to the bridge
If the blade on the standard Zen Blade is wide enough, Martin could probably just put the standard version in a wooden cover. Heck, with the blade pole piece, it doesn't even matter if it's a 5- or 6-string pickup.
Carey could do that too. My red bass has P and MM Nordstrand pickups in big (plastic) shells, so I'm sure that could be done with the Zen Blades. Either way, it may give you the option of having the pickup all the way forward or towards the back of the shell (if working with narrow aperture pickups). I've never played through the Zen Blades though.
(Edit) Hot take: Citrons are great, but one might be a bit too big sounding in that location.
Longer: On the Citrons, I have two Citrons with piezos in my chambered fretless bass, and I do like the sound of the more neck one solo with piezo. They're very full sounding and solid in the low mids and perhaps a bit scooped in the higher mids which is great for defined individual notes, but less for punch in a busier mix. I'd worry that they'd be a bit too fat all the way against the neck like that. I love them more towards the bridge. Perhaps an oversimplification, but I like the Nordstrand pickups (I have FatStacks in one of my Keith basses, and love their clarity) more with electric instruments but Citrons for pretty playing solo or with acoustic instruments, like here (although we can't see the settings, and this might be more biased towards the piezos). My bass with Citrons is fretless and currently has flats installed, so it's not the best candidate for showing you what they sound like.
(Edit) Hot take: Citrons are great, but one might be a bit too big sounding in that location.
Longer: On the Citrons, I have two Citrons with piezos in my chambered fretless bass, and I do like the sound of the more neck one solo with piezo. They're very full sounding and solid in the low mids and perhaps a bit scooped in the higher mids which is great for defined individual notes, but less for punch in a busier mix. I'd worry that they'd be a bit too fat all the way against the neck like that. I love them more towards the bridge. Perhaps an oversimplification, but I like the Nordstrand pickups (I have FatStacks in one of my Keith basses, and love their clarity) more with electric instruments but Citrons for pretty playing solo or with acoustic instruments, like here (although we can't see the settings, and this might be more biased towards the piezos). My bass with Citrons is fretless and currently has flats installed, so it's not the best candidate for showing you what they sound like.
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Finally got a chance to listed to this video of the Citron AE5, and I do really like the way it captures the "acoustic" nature of the instrument, though as you say, it's hard to know what the mag/piezo blend is on the video! I know that a lot of folks here really like flats or tape wounds, but I have to admit that Jonas Hellborg is one of my main influences in imagining what an acoustic bass should sound like, so I may end up trying the GHS pressure wound bronze strings that I favor on my Martin and Taylor acoustics...
I went to Harvey's place many years ago. His basses are world class. I tried one with his pickups and they are super wonderful, but smperry described them perfectly. I just think for the sound that you want, and with the limitation of where the pickup is on that body, something else would suit you better. The good news is that the pickup route is for a P2 shape I believe, so you can always put something else in there.
Thanks! Martin was trying to remember whether or not it was a standard pickup size or not, but a P2 gives tons of options to work with!
And for what it's worth, Citron has another video of the same player (Moto Fukushima) playing a piezo-only Steve Swallow custom 6, and the tone is very similar, so I'm guessing that the first video is mostly piezo rather than the Citron pickups.
And for what it's worth, Citron has another video of the same player (Moto Fukushima) playing a piezo-only Steve Swallow custom 6, and the tone is very similar, so I'm guessing that the first video is mostly piezo rather than the Citron pickups.
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