Martin???

[jps]

I knew they made some electric instruments at one time but this is the first I have seen one being played, and a fretless one at that!



Note the Roland GK-2 pickup mounted to the bass.

[teb]

The tone is pretty interesting (in an acoustic/standup sort of way) but there are a couple spots on the neck that just drive me up the wall.

[blueflamerick]

That's an EB-18. I have a fretted one. Nice sounding basses with a Babe Ruth-sized baseball bat of a neck.

[woodyng]

I played a fretted one in a Memphis store some years ago,but didn't find it very compelling. (probably the fat neck)

[jps]

Did Martin actually make these electric instruments, or contract out?

[blueflamerick]

Made by Martin in good ol' Nazareth.

[iiipopes]

Oh, I'm getting old! These and the matching solid body guitars (with frets, of course) were advertised in Guitar Player magazine when they were new -- in the late '70's.

[cassius987]

The tone is pretty interesting (in an acoustic/standup sort of way) but there are a couple spots on the neck that just drive me up the wall.

Sounds to me like the action is a smidge too low, or the fingerboard a bit unlevel, around the 5-10th frets of the upper two strings. But a little bit of that fingerboard buzz is what gives fretless its character, or so some folks say.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._F._Mart ... pany#EB_18