martin BCPA4 acoustic bass

[glocke]

Does anyone here own one of these?  If so interested in hearing thoughts on the sound and  build quality.  From time to time I think about an acoustic bass primarily for just kicking back with.  Than I go into a music store and try one and come away disappointed in the tone..


No stores near me sell these, so it would be mail order.

[cozmik_cowboy]

Don't own one, but I have played one in the store.  Build quality is up to Martin standards; solid, exceptional detail - just lovely.
The only problem I had with sound was the slightly flabby open E - but I've found that on every ABG I've tried except for a Breedlove.  Every other note I played sounded wonderful.

Peter

[glocke]

Which Breedlove?

[cozmik_cowboy]

It's been awhile; I thought I had a note of the model somewhere, but it seems to have escaped.  I do know the model (whose name was 4 or 5 letters that did not make a word) was discontinued; the current Solo bass seems to be the successor, based on the cedar top (which the one I played had) and the fact that it's closer in price than the Pursuit model.
Given the same woods & same shape, it's possible they just renamed it.

Peter

[hammer]

I'm now playing a Rob Allen Fretless in situations that demand an acoustic sound (no feedback and plenty of sound when amped). However, a while back I had a Tacoma Thunder-chief which from an acoustic standpoint was the best I've heard. Every once in a while they pop up for very reasonable prices.

[LMiwa]

I'm playing a Warwick Alien 5 with an all acoustic group (guitars, accordion, cajon) in local pubs. I'm the only one who is amplified as ABG's can't be heard without an amp. I'm happy with the sound. The Deluxe and Standard versions do NOT sound nearly as good.

[Glynn]

I have two ABGs - Fender BG29 and Fender Victor Bailey (both 4 strings).
Both are great but not made any more. I use the BG29 regularly for folk sessions and with an Appalachian dance side I play for and a Morris dancing side I play for.   (My Alembic Orion 4 is for other different bands I play with).


Any ABG is going to need amplifying - I get away with a Harley Benton rechargeable 30 watt -(also not made any more!) and as it only has an 8" speaker I keep away from the bottom E open.  It does a great job as long as you are aware of the limitations.


In my view there is a danger of expecting too much - I cannot see the merit in going for a 5 string ABG and expecting wonderful low Bs.


Also a pick is out of the question.


I tend to keep the BG29 strings (short scale) on for ages and they acquire a sort of double bass sound (work on finger plucking technique as we all know that a good deal of our sound comes from our fingers).  I can get totally different sounds from plucking by the bridge and then just up from the sound hole.


Both my ABGs are extreme fun to play acoustically on my own after the strings have bedded in.  In the shops I also have tried others purely out of interest and you can soon tell.  If the sound is rattly and trebly then you may struggle to get a good sound.  You may of course be lucky and find ones that have a rounded sound potential like mine.


Hope this helps and that I haven't gone on too much.


Glynn


 

[hankster]

I don't own one but I think from having played them several times that the Martin is an excellent ABG. I like the Breedlove also - they are the only two I do like of the traditional ABG instruments (as opposed to what I think of as the the "hollow body electric" style such as the Rob Allen or the Godin, both of which are find instruments, and I know there are many others in that style as well). The Martin is s bit shorter scale as I recall. It seemed extremely well built and spoke easily and clearly. If I needed one, it's the one I'd buy.

R.

[glocke]

I don't own one but I think from having played them several times that the Martin is an excellent ABG. I like the Breedlove also - they are the only two I do like of the traditional ABG instruments (as opposed to what I think of as the the "hollow body electric" style such as the Rob Allen or the Godin, both of which are find instruments, and I know there are many others in that style as well). The Martin is s bit shorter scale as I recall. It seemed extremely well built and spoke easily and clearly. If I needed one, it's the one I'd buy.

R.

Yup...ordered the Martin but sadly it's on backorder for a couple of weeks.  I'm only about an hour away from the Martin factory also, wish the vendor (sweetwater) could just drop ship it.  The breedlove fretless was tempting as I have been desiring to own a fretless again for some years....

Looking forward to it.  It will be nice to kick back and play unplugged...

Murray, why is a "pick out of the question"?

[Glynn]

Only my opinion but I think it makes the sound even more tinny than it may have started out.  I personally like fingerstyle playing and that is all I do now on ABG and Electric Bass.  I did start out on electric bass some 50 years ago playing a Fender Jazz then with a pick and who knows, if my fingers ever give up, I may have to revert to it!


Horses for courses and all that.


Glynn

[glocke]

BCPA4 showed up the other day.  Nice instrument, acoustic sound is pretty good, but than most other ABG's I've played in the past.  Amplified sound is ok, sounds more electricy bass than anything but thats to be expected and I didn't buy it to plug in. 

I've had it for two days so far and have to admit it's nice to just go pick an instrument up and run through scales/arpeggios/tunes without the need to deal with cables or to have an amplifier sitting in my living room taking up space.

Biggest problem I have (besides guilt over spending that much money) is some fret buzz on the A string at the 7th fret.  Seem like the string is hitting one fret up when i finger at the 7th.  Sweetwater (vendor) claims to do a "55 point" inspection before sending it out so I don't know how they missed this. 

Would have been nice to have something show up problem free but in this day and age thats too much to be expected I guess...of course it's entirely possible this is just something that happened during shipping.  Since Im only an hour away from the Martin factory maybe I'll just schedule a trip there and have them address it.

[edwardofhuncote]

Congratulations & Compliments. Sounds like probably just a high fret, and should be an easy fix. If you haven't already, make sure to go on a tour of the factory and museum while at Martin HQ.

[bigredbass]

Although they're better than they once were back in the early Ovation or Takamine (same electronics, natch), piezo outputs can be quite spike-y feeding into regular guitar amp front ends.  Very high impedance and output (early ones could peg five volts!) which often times results in that 'quite different than unplugged' tone.  Even though most builders buy their setups from the same two or three OEM's, to my ears, they don't often sound buffered.  Taylor went to the expense of engineering their standalone preamp with Rupert Neve, to warm and tone up their very nice guitars and their pickups.  One of my favorites is the BOSS AD8, which will handle anything, has a jack for phones and aux input, and balanced stereo XLR's to shoot right to the board.

 https://www.boss.info/us/products/ad-8/

Joey

[cozmik_cowboy]

Which Breedlove?

Sorry it took 4 years, Greg - but I just came across one online; the model was BJ350/CEm4.

Peter (who kinda hopes this isn't too late - and kinda hopes you found thew ABG of your dreams 4 years ago.......)