Introduction
Ellio Martina Basses are made according to high standards of craftsmanship based on more than 30 years of experience in the art of the luthier.
With the first basses presented here being made more then a decade ago, the many years of research and input from professional players have brought the Ellio Martina Basses to the present high quality standard.
Only a limited number of basses are made annually with no sacrifice towards quality in any respect. The building process from the raw material to the completed bass is done with great care and feeling. Each individual bassguitar is completely handmade by myself, thus making it a true Ellio Martina Bass.
At first glance, the design of Ellio Martina Basses in their basic versions, is looking traditionally without any unneccesary thrills and frills. But when taking a closer look, you will feel and discover the perfection put into every small detail. The design is focused on sound and playing comfort with a well balanced respons from the lowest to the highest note.
I offer a range of standard models with a wide variety of different woods to meet your personal demands towards the final sound and appearance. From my experience in building basses and guitars, I can help and advice you in making the proper choice towards the different woods used for your future bass. Several personal adjustments such as, the shaping and width of the neck, can be made without any extra charges.
Construction
I make basses with bolt-on necks as well as neck through body design. In both cases I use laminated necks, except for the JS "Traditional" basses that come with solid hard rock maple necks.
These laminated necks are composed of hard rock maple with either purple hart or padouk stringers. The high resistance towards flexing of these hardwoods, enables me to create necks with a comfortable and easy feel. The obtained stiffness of this construction adds to the tone in the low end and it avoids dead spots.(A neck with the same stiffness made of a single piece of maple, would feel clumsy and uncomfortable.)
I always seek for the right balance of stiffness and size of the neck to create a warm lively tone.
The through-neck is glued into a tight-fit slot in the back of the body. This leaves the front of the body entire.
The bolt-on necks are provided with threaded inserts and fixed onto the body by means of four small bolts.
All necks have "compound radius" fingerboards. The frets are seated into tight-fit slots. They are perfectly hand crowned and dressed after leveling. Dunlop 6150 fretwire is normally used, other sizes are optional.
For five and six-string basses I recommend using an extra long scale of 900 mm. (approx. 35½") This results in a superior tone in the low end caused by the slightly increased tension in the strings because of this extra length.
Electronics
For pick-ups I mainly use Kent Armstrong, Bartolini or Seymour Duncan.
My custom made Kent Armstrong pick-ups are hum-cancelling. These pick-ups have a nice tight bottom. They reflect the acoustic quality from my basses very naturally and they cut through extremely well in both live perfomances and recording sessions.
The BS and BT-series are standard provided with an active Ellio Martina two-band tone control, with following features:
- Independent bass & treble control. Bass ±15dB @40Hz. Treble ±12dB @2K5, 3K6, 4K5 or 6KHz switchable onboard.
- Balance and master-volume control. Tone control also in passive mode!
(Only first grade components are used throughout)
Finishes
I prefer to use satin gloss finishes to enhance the distinctive looks of the woods.It gives a nice feel to the instruments and it is also cost-effective. Of course you can have very lustrous high gloss finishes like transparent or shading colours and bursts of different colour combinations
Specifications
Features applying to all basses
- necks ~ double truss-rod made of a special hardened aluminum
- fingerboards ~ compound radius for enhanced playability. Choice of rosewood, ebony or maple
- frets ~ Dunlop 6150 fretwire standard, different sizes available on request. All frets are hand-crowned and perfectly dressed.
- string-spacing ~ 4-string models: 20 mm. at the bridge, 10 mm. at the nut ~ 5 and 6-string models: 18 mm. at the bridge, 9 mm. at the nut. (Bridges with 20 mm. spacing optional)
- bridge ~ ABM or ETS. Strings can be hooked on easily.
- hardware ~ knobs & straplocks, Schaller in chrome, black or gold
- finishing ~ clear, slightly amber tinted satin gloss acrylic-urethane laquer. High-gloss laquers in different colors, transparent or sunburst colors are optional.
BS Standard Basses
4 & 5-string models
- neck ~ bolt-on design, 5-piece laminated of maple and purpleheart or paduak. Truss-rod adjustable at the body.
- body ~ constructed from a single type of wood
- pick-ups ~ Armstrong, Bartolini
- controls ~ volume, balance, bass & treble and passive/active switch pick-up series/paralel switch (depending on pick-up model)
- tuning machines ~ Schaller BM-type
BT Standard Basses
4, 5 & 6-string models
- neck ~ neck through body design, 5-piece laminated of maple and purpleheart or paduk. (7-piece on 6-string models) Truss-rod adjustable at the headstock.
- body ~ constructed from a single type of wood
- scale length ~ 900 (recommended) or 864 mm.
- pick-ups ~ Armstrong, Bartolini
- electronics ~ EM passive/active, Bartolini
- controls ~ volume, balance, bass & treble and passive/active switch pick-up series/paralel switch (depending on pick-up model)
- tuning machines ~ Schaller M4
BT Custom Basses
4, 5 & 6-string "top of the line" models
- neck ~ neck through body design, 5-piece laminated of maple and purpleheart or paduk. (7-piece on 6-string models) Truss-rod adjustable at the headstock.
- body ~ constructed of two different wood-combinations with top of exotic wood
- scale length ~ 900 (recommended) or 864 mm.
- pick-ups ~ Armstrong, Bartolini
- electronics ~ EM passive/active, Bartolini
- controls ~ volume, balance, bass & treble and passive/active switch pick-up series/paralel switch (depending on pick-up model)
- tuning machines ~ Schaller M4
JS "Traditional" Basses
4 & 5-string models only
- neck ~ bolt-on design, one piece maple. Truss-rod adjustable at the body.
- body ~ alder or swamp-ash
- pick-ups ~ Armstrong, Bartolini, Seymour Duncan
- controls ~ volume, balance & tone
- tuning machines ~ Schaller BM-type
BS Standard and JS Traditional bodies are also available in a Custom-version with a top of exotic woods.
Any of the above models are available as a fretless with either a lined or non-lined, natural rosewood or ebony fretboard. Maple fretless fingerboards come with a superhard wear resistant polyester finish. (Optional for rosewood or ebony fingerboards)
Ellio Martina Guitars
Almenseweg 29
7211 MD Eefde - the Netherlands
Phone/Fax: +31 (0)575-511006
E-mail: ellio@elliomartina.com
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