I was chatting with Martin and he mentioned that he’s thinking about making a headless semi hollow bass…someone should definitely jump on that!!
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Show us your Martin Keith Basses
- Thread starter 77stingray
- Start date
Sorry if I wasn’t clear…I mean that he mentioned that it’s possible and the at he’d like to make one. Nothing has been decided beyond that. If I didn’t already have an amazing semi hollow then that would be my next bass for sure
Makes sense — also, curious how you transported the bass on your trip? I did detach the neck on a flight to Germany once, where i put the body in a rollerbag and neck in a backpack, but it was not a particularly elegant solution….
Martin kindly gave me one of these…it’s a perfect fit. I had the body in a carry on and had this around my shoulder…I will definitely be looking for one that’s better padded and has a longer strap..but it got me down here with no stress. This will not fit a neck with a headstock. In the past I used to wrap a neck up in scarves
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Good lord…I definitely could have worded that better! Ha!You mean, like a strength test, or something?
I'm sure there are a few here who have roundwounds on their fretless MK 
Mine (pau ferro board) came with LaBella black tapewounds and it's currently sporting LaBella Gold White Tapewounds (I go back and forth between liking and disliking the thickness of the strings).
I might go with a lower tension flatwound like the Dunlops or LaBella Low Tension flats (I did not care for TI Jazz flats I tried years ago). The nut slots will probably need some filling for the lighter gauge.
I have roundwounds on a G&L L-2500 fretless (ebony board) and I never worry about fingerboard wear (for 7 years it was my main bass and fingerboard wear was light).
As it's my first custom bass and most expensive I'm a little leery, but at the same time I may enjoy the roundwounds more!
Mine (pau ferro board) came with LaBella black tapewounds and it's currently sporting LaBella Gold White Tapewounds (I go back and forth between liking and disliking the thickness of the strings).
I might go with a lower tension flatwound like the Dunlops or LaBella Low Tension flats (I did not care for TI Jazz flats I tried years ago). The nut slots will probably need some filling for the lighter gauge.
I have roundwounds on a G&L L-2500 fretless (ebony board) and I never worry about fingerboard wear (for 7 years it was my main bass and fingerboard wear was light).
As it's my first custom bass and most expensive I'm a little leery, but at the same time I may enjoy the roundwounds more!
Which bass is yours? How many strings? If you want rounds but want your board to wear more slowly, then try the LaBella Ian Allison set of Super Polished strings…or the GHS Pressurewounds. Both great choices. Otherwise just rock your favorite rounds (I’d suggest DR Sunbeams) and just have the board touched up from time to time.I'm sure there are a few here who have roundwounds on their fretless MK
Mine (pau ferro board) came with LaBella black tapewounds and it's currently sporting LaBella Gold White Tapewounds (I go back and forth between liking and disliking the thickness of the strings).
I might go with a lower tension flatwound like the Dunlops or LaBella Low Tension flats (I did not care for TI Jazz flats I tried years ago). The nut slots will probably need some filling for the lighter gauge.
I have roundwounds on a G&L L-2500 fretless (ebony board) and I never worry about fingerboard wear (for 7 years it was my main bass and fingerboard wear was light).
As it's my first custom bass and most expensive I'm a little leery, but at the same time I may enjoy the roundwounds more!
There should be no need to do anything to the nut going to a lighter gauge.
5 string Elfin mid sized with Bartolini Originals. The LaBella Gold White Tapewounds looks quite good on it!
Thank you for the string suggestions! I'll look into them!
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That helps, I thought maybe it did if I went from a 135 low B to a 120 or 125 B.
I had the regular whites on my semi hollow fretless and they were incredible
