NBD: Martin BC15E

[velalv]

Hi All:

Even though I have been a working adult the better part of 10 years and in my mid 30's, my father graciously wanted to get me a new bass for Christmas even though he is a man of very, very humble in means. As many of you know, I have been after an acoustic bass for a while. I tried convincing him to just get me a Takamine or Boulder Creek acoustic bass, but he refused (somewhat angrily), saying he wanted to get me a sweet instrument that could last a lifetime and told me to get the most expensive acoustic they had at Southpaw, and ended up getting this Martin (which I had wanted) from Southpaw as an early Christmas present. Apparently, it had been purchased a few years earlier, and the person traded in to Southpaw to get another.
I had spent a lot of time with the Martin acoustic basses when I visited Houston twice this year and loved them, so this was not a sight unseen purchase.

Took it to me luthier who gave it a thorough once over and declared it good. Jimmy told me that this was the only Martin lefty that had an upgraded gloss top, and also gave me a great deal based on his remembering some conversations we had earlier. Light bass, beautiful tone. Looking forward to many years of enjoyment.

Ok, enough droning, more pictures. No more acoustic bass threads from me (I think).

http://www.southpawguitars.com/b15.html

[AzWhoFan]

Congrats on the early Xmas present! Your dad is one 'upright' kinda guy. (pun intended)

[Matt R.]

Congrats. I absolutely loved my Martin acoustic.

[velalv]

Thanks both. Matt, if you don't mind me asking, what happened to it and why? I would imagine that it would work really well for you when you go up to Nashville for your work. Just curious of course.

Also, did you ever try TI Flats on it? I have a set sitting around my house, and am tempted to put on when the new bronze strings it came with lose their tone.

[Matt R.]

I ended up selling it to fund another axe a few years ago- cant remember which. As for strings, I just used D'Addario .45-100. Low tension and last much longer. I hate bronze strings. I bet a set of chromes would be nice on it.

[Matt R.]

Oh I know what it was- I sold it to fund my first Höfner. As much as I love ABGs, Höfners satisfy my acoustic cravings much more (although nothing comes close to an upright for that purpose).

[andrew]

Congratulations, what a nice present!
Big fan of the darker wood top. Mahogany?

[Frenchy-Lefty]

Congrats those Martins are fantastic! Your Dad is some classy gentleman

[velalv]

Thanks Andrew and Frenchy! My dad is a great guy.

The top of the bass is Mahogony, the sides are Sapele. Extra gloss was applied, hence the shininess of it.


The Mahogony sounds a bit darker then the Cedar/Spruce top. I don't think a dark sound is bad for a bass, that's just me though.

[Frenchy-Lefty]

If not using roundwounds on an ABG it is super nice to use Nylon Taperwounds. If you lived by me i'd led you a set of those to try

[fivebass52]

I bought an Ibanez acoustic through the forum awhile back, and put some chrome flatwounds on it. After about six months or so, I noticed a lot of fret buzz... turns out the increase tension of the flatwounds had pulled the bridge towards the neck, creating a small dip in front of the bridge, which ended up lowering the action. Not sure what I'm going to do about that, but for now, it's unplayable.

I'd be careful about putting flatwounds of any kind until you, or your guitar tech are satisfied that the top bracing is strong enough to resist the pull and increased tension of the strings you choose. A set of low-tension flats, as suggested by Matt would certainly be the way to go. I'd hate to see your beautiful Martin warped - like mine did..... the tapewounds sounds like a good suggestion as well.... Enjoy that awesome new bass, and give your Dad another big hug, because your own private Santa!