Martin Acoustic Bass OO16 GTAE

Mosfed

Hey there Does anyone have experience with these or has played one? 

Martin acoustic bass, solid Sitka spruce with mahogany. Fishman pickup system. I've always wanted an acoustic bass and as my band has been considering doing an acoustic set it could be perfect. 

 On the other hand, general reviews for Acoustic basses tend to leave something to be desired. Any opinions? I found a really great deal on a used one.

ICBM

I've said this before but my main experience with electro-acoustic basses is when they break, and hence I would tend to avoid one for any situation where you don't have a usable backup - the piezo saddle pickups seem to be more unreliable than the ones on acoustic guitars for some reason, and suffer from string balance problems more often even when they're working. (This may just be a coincidence given the fairly small sample I see.)

Or you could do what I did when I had an electro-acoustic guitar, and put a Fishman Rare Earth pickup in the soundhole, it should work fine for bass as well. There's a way to link them to the Fishman preamp so both run from the same battery and through the standard output jack - although it's something you need to work out from the manuals, it's not plug and go.

I really just don't like the sound of piezo acoustic basses either, but that's just personal taste.

If it's a good deal, you can always sell it again for no loss if it doesn't work out.

Mosfed

Yeah man - it seems like your experiences are pretty universal.  Most people seem to think that putting another pickup in is absolutely essential in most acoustic basses.  Which is fine provided you can find one that works.

It's a good deal.  Not an amazing deal once you look around.  About 50% of new.

Not sure what to do.

Jalapeno

Not very good as a plain acoustic - they need an amp - fine for a duo maybe, great for practice.

Mosfed

Jalapeno said:

Not very good as a plain acoustic - they need an amp - fine for a duo maybe, great for practice.

Yup - I am thinking I want it mainly for practice and then for an acoustic set thing that my band is planning.  Will definitely need to be amplified for the latter.

ICBM

Check the size of the soundhole, but I'm almost certain a Rare Earth pickup will fit.

50% of the new price sounds quite a good deal for a Martin - they (or at least the guitars) usually hold value better than that.

I wouldn't try to use any normal 'acoustic' bass guitar as an acoustic, you need something which shifts a lot more air, more the size of a Guitarron or a double bass. I did once have a fretless Eko with a HUGE body that was almost OK, but it still wasn't as loud as an acoustic guitar. And it had an odd-shaped soundhole which wouldn't take a conventional pickup...

Paul_C

Plugged in, the Fender Kingman bass sounds pretty good, and has a nice Jazz Bass neck on it.

Mosfed

I ended up pulling the trigger and I should have it Wed.  Can't wait!!

Thanks for all the advice 

Mosfed

UPDATE - so I received the bass yesterday.  Brought her home and plugged her in.  I was actually really impressed with the amplified sound.  I am struggling with where to do the eq-ing.  I am thinking that the eq on my Genz Benz (I don't think it's an appropriate match with the SVT) is probably better than the eq in the pre-amp.  The good thing is that the mid-range eq on the Genz Benz is very adjustable so if I needed to affect the midrange in 2 spots I could.

I was surprised at how thin the body was.  No major issues with the sharp edge.  Pretty happy I bought it.