Great news! Very excited to hear how it shapes up.
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Show us your Martin Keith Basses
- Thread starter 77stingray
- Start date
Great news! Very excited to hear how it shapes up.
Yeah man, you're a good/bad influence! I'm stoked, though. For many reasons I think this bass makes a looooooot more sense than shelling out for a Wal, even though it may be even more niche overall. And who knows, by the time my number comes up on the Wal waitlist, I might have the dough for one of those too.
If money isn’t an issue n the choice. Then those two basses couldn’t be more different, and it’s easy to justify both basses/sounds
Well, it's an issue right now, lol, but maybe not someday. The Wal is a bucket list item, the Keith will be my main player. I'm doing a little rededication to fundamentals and working through some of Janek Gwizdala's books so that when the Keith arrives I'll be able to use it more to its full potential.
Had an absolutely lovely chat with Martin on the phone and he completely gets what I'm looking for. The bass is spec-ed out and even the timing is right, he mentioned it would be best if the deposit was placed after the first of the year. This is happening.
As an aside, based on our conversation, I'm going to drop in some original series Barts and switch to LaBella black tapes on my current fretless Jazz.
As an aside, based on our conversation, I'm going to drop in some original series Barts and switch to LaBella black tapes on my current fretless Jazz.
I’m working on some new solo material for a gig next week…and am using my MK semi hollow bass…this was just to document this idea so I didn’t forget it…but gives a good idea of what mine sounds like (I do have something between the strings at the bridge that’s muting the notes a bit)…..basically it sounds like the perfect bass guitar…lol (no, but really)
Andrew Dow on Instagram: "Working on some new solo ideas…. @keithguitars @nordstrandaudio @labellastrings #brooklynbass #digitechwhammy #counttofive #electronicaudioexperiments #makesoundsloudly #redpandatensor #preparedbassguitar"
Andrew Dow on Instagram: "Working on some new solo ideas…. @keithguitars @nordstrandaudio @labellastrings #brooklynbass #digitechwhammy #counttofive #electronicaudioexperiments #makesoundsloudly #redpandatensor #preparedbassguitar"
Some of you have already seen this bass but I figured I would pop in and share my thoughts on it. This bass has been a dream to play! The tone, ergonomics and looks of this bass is just out of this world! My other basses are still great to jam on but the Elfin makes me want to creating an imagine! It really is quite the bass and I can’t wait to play on it more!
It really is a masterpiece! I’m soooooo grateful that Martin took on such a project and delivered such a MAGNIFICENT bass!
@just_chill I saw your bass in person at Martin's shop and was so enamored with it that I had to re-think some things with my own build! I also think pics don't do that holly justice...it was even more amazing in person.
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That is awesome you saw the bass as it was being built or when it was done! I wish I lived close enough to see the process! Martin made one heck of a bass!!! He was also very helpful when it came to spec’ing it out! I had a good idea of what I wanted but Martin definitely helped me refine those specs.
What are the specs of the bass that you are having built?
I saw it when it was maybe 75% done? No hardware yet but all the major wood working seemed done. I know it didn't have a finish on it yet as Martin commented on how holly can react to different finish types. My bass will also be a 6 string, though headless. The body was originally going to be a darker finish and/or dark woods, but seeing that holly in person changed my mind. Your bass made me re-think two things, the overall color and the ramp.
I probably looked at every picture of finished holly on the internet after I left his shop. Martin warned me that even though I was so taken with it in person in its raw state, it would change a bit and likely get warmer and/or yellowish after even a clear finish went on it. He also mentioned how challenging it can be to actually find a clean and large enough piece of holly to cover a whole top, so I could be waiting a while for him to hunt another down. I think he said they usually have black flecks throughout, and you guys got lucky with your top as the few it had could be strategically placed where the knobs were getting drilled. So I eventually passed on that idea but we stayed white-ish instead of dark. It's going to have a poplar burl top with a transparent white finish to try and get a surface of the moon vibe. I shared a bunch of pics with him and he thinks it's doable.
I was on the fence about a one-piece ramp until I saw your bass in person. I don't currently have a bass with a built-in, but I've tried adding a carved piece between pickups on a few. For whatever reason it's one of those things that I'm very hot and cold on. I don't like the look of the added piece between the pickups, and most of the built-in's I see don't look quite right. The only maker I've seen that consistently cranks out one's I love is Adamovic. I can't really say why though, it's a totally emotional response, devoid of any logic lol. When I saw yours though, I really liked the way Martin executed it and how it didn't seem to disrupt the line of the instrument, so that sold me on it. It will probably be Aguilar Super Doubles with exposed poles, though I'm on the fence with exposed vs. covered, mostly due to my tendency to dig in hard and run the risk of arcing the poles. I think it will come down to the pole and string alignment. I recently got a bass with Super Doubles (stock casings) and I'm about to have a re-worked instrument with a solid ramp and exposed Zen Blades, so I'm hoping the combo of the two will help me decide ahead of Martin needing the final verdict.
Speaking of, it's been just over 7 months so I'm sure things are moving along. He hit me up a few weeks ago to confirm some things about the fretboard he was working on. So at the very least there's a new neck in my future
I saw it when it was maybe 75% done? No hardware yet but all the major wood working seemed done. I know it didn't have a finish on it yet as Martin commented on how holly can react to different finish types. My bass will also be a 6 string, though headless. The body was originally going to be a darker finish and/or dark woods, but seeing that holly in person changed my mind. Your bass made me re-think two things, the overall color and the ramp.
I probably looked at every picture of finished holly on the internet after I left his shop. Martin warned me that even though I was so taken with it in person in its raw state, it would change a bit and likely get warmer and/or yellowish after even a clear finish went on it. He also mentioned how challenging it can be to actually find a clean and large enough piece of holly to cover a whole top, so I could be waiting a while for him to hunt another down. I think he said they usually have black flecks throughout, and you guys got lucky with your top as the few it had could be strategically placed where the knobs were getting drilled. So I eventually passed on that idea but we stayed white-ish instead of dark. It's going to have a poplar burl top with a transparent white finish to try and get a surface of the moon vibe. I shared a bunch of pics with him and he thinks it's doable.
I was on the fence about a one-piece ramp until I saw your bass in person. I don't currently have a bass with a built-in, but I've tried adding a carved piece between pickups on a few. For whatever reason it's one of those things that I'm very hot and cold on. I don't like the look of the added piece between the pickups, and most of the built-in's I see don't look quite right. The only maker I've seen that consistently cranks out one's I love is Adamovic. I can't really say why though, it's a totally emotional response, devoid of any logic lol. When I saw yours though, I really liked the way Martin executed it and how it didn't seem to disrupt the line of the instrument, so that sold me on it. It will probably be Aguilar Super Doubles with exposed poles, though I'm on the fence with exposed vs. covered, mostly due to my tendency to dig in hard and run the risk of arcing the poles. I think it will come down to the pole and string alignment. I recently got a bass with Super Doubles (stock casings) and I'm about to have a re-worked instrument with a solid ramp and exposed Zen Blades, so I'm hoping the combo of the two will help me decide ahead of Martin needing the final verdict.
Speaking of, it's been just over 7 months so I'm sure things are moving along. He hit me up a few weeks ago to confirm some things about the fretboard he was working on. So at the very least there's a new neck in my future
Nice! Still pretty cool that you saw the bass in person while it was being built! I will agree that the Holly top has a warmer tone to it now. I still dig it though! I became interested in that type of top when I saw a few Fodera basses with a Holly top. I fell in love immediately!
The moon vibe/looks sounds preeeeeetty epic! I can’t wait to see it! Also, Martin’s ramp design came out VERY well in my opinion! I think you, too, will love it! It looks so awesome; so uniformed! I agree that it doesn’t throw off the lines of the bass.
I have to run back to work now. I will do my best to reply to more once I get some more time.
Zen Blades look awesome and I assume they sound pretty aggressive! I wanted those pickups (or a pickup with a similar pole design). I don’t think anyone makes them in 19mm string spacing so I had to go with a different option. I currently have Aguilar ashore Doubles with a Flexcore (Pope) 4 band. I really really like the tone shaping capabilities and I also really like the sound of the bass with the EQ all the way flat (the “natural” tone I guess). Also, Adamovic basses are pretty good looking to me as well! I also love their ramp style! The other bass brand that I have seen with a pretty good looking ramp design is Skjold. If I am not mistaken he does a similar ramp design that incorporates a cavity into the bass.
I think you could have gone with the Zen Blades if you wanted them, Nordstrand says the maximum string spacing for them is 19mm.
Oh dang! You are right! That was totally my fault then. I think I initially asked about the Big Blades which only goes to 18mm. I don’t think I even looked at the Zen Blades as an option now that I think back. I probably assumed that since the Big Blades’ max is 18mm that the Zen Blades was the same spec. Thank you for that correction! I’m still happy with the Aguilar Super Doubles but I will definitely want to try the Zen Blades in the future!
Big Blades will be more aggressive. The Zen Blades are more mellow/less aggressive/have a more airy top end
Nice, I thought I recalled Martin saying your bass was getting the Aggies. That may have even been when and why he recommended them to me. I have a Pope pre with Seymour doubles in another bass from Martin, which I really love the tone and options of. I’m been waffling back and forth about active vs passive for this new bass. I love the simplicity of passive with just a blend and tone knob for most of my gigging, which I really reconnected with this season. OTOH I’ve been finding myself using basses with active electronics when I record. To be fair it could be the basses and not the electronics. Obviously I could go active with a passive bypass…need to make my mind up at some point
