OK, it's here!
It appears that Martin omitted my unit number, but no big deal, it was only a one-day delay. Package arrived with some dents and holes in the cardboard courtesy of UPS, but none were a problem because Martin's packing job was as good as I've seen.
To begin at the beginning: bass ordered in August. The original estimate was that I'd be in a batch going out in December, but apparently Martin became much busier than expected, and that is fine with me: I'm glad I didn't have to pay the balance during Xmas, and there was also no worry about shipping in freezing conditions. Really, 8+ months is an acceptable turnaround time for a top-quality custom build.
Specs:
Custom headless doublecut
Poplar body, maple neck/board
Miami blue body, vintage tint neck
Black hardware
Nordstrand Big Rig pickups with series/parallel switch for each
Richter preamp (Martin's rec for sweep mid): volume/pan, treble/bass, midrange/frequency
Playability: out of the box, the bass is slightly but evenly fret-buzzy in standard pitch. No big deal, new instruments can shift. I actually requested setup for half-step down (most of my bands play in that tuning, unfortunately), but that was late in the process and there was a minor hiccup with the painter, so I don't mind that it was overlooked. Action is stupid low now. Fretbuzz is kind of fun, actually, but I'm confident that it'll play beautifully (and action will remain low) even after I eliminate the buzz. Neck profile is wonderful, satin finish feels great.
The Big Rig pickups sound amazing (in either mode!), but that's no surprise. After I requested them, Martin said they were his favorites from Nordstrand. I can tell that I will love the Richter pre. It's quiet, clean, transparent when set flat. The sweep mid goes from upper bass to around 700Hz, give or take. I like the treble and bass controls, and EQ changes are musical.
Looks... I'm totally blown away.
First off: Martin warned me that his camera didn't fully capture the color. My camera hasn't either: there's more saturation and "pop" to it in person, and there's also a slight hint of green washed out by both our cameras. It's defintely NOT seafoam green; Miami blue is much bluer. Bottom line: it's exactly what I wanted.
Also: I did not specify figured wood for the neck, but both neck and board have some nice bling! The "K" inlay looks especially nice against it. Again, my camera doesn't do it justice.
I'm really thrilled with how the binding turned out. Note the arm bevel -- this bass won't cut you like a Ric 4001 will.
Srsly, it's comfortable! With the horn going to the 12th fret, ergonomics and balance are perfect for me.
More thoughts later once she's set up. Here are pix:
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Estimated delivery still shows as today, but status is now "On the way" and not "Out for delivery", so I think UPS is full of BS. Sigh.
Thank you for listening.
Also: I've only done a quick check so I'm not quite ready to say "no dead spots", but if any exist they are insignificant.
