seeking the elusive martin B-540 acoustic bass guitar

those of us with g.a.s. (guitar acquisition syndrome) lust after vintage martin guitars. martins are gorgeous instruments that… even as they suffer normal wear and tear… actually get better over time; the woods, lacquers and glues dry completely and settle in, and they ‘open up’. it usually takes 10 or so years before they really start maturing, but the resulting sound is even warmer and more resonant. those in the know crave (and pay) for the vintage martin sound.

although i have several old martins… including a lovely 1942 00-18 inherited from my father… i am mostly a bass player. it’s even worse than that, though. i play 5-string bass… which old school bassists think is somewhat kinky, even though it gives you an additional low B string that significantly expands sonic possibilities.

i first saw a (4-string) martin acoustic bass guitar (ABG) at a friend’s house; at that point i didn’t know that martin even made ABGs, let alone 5-stringers. his bass was strung with thomastik acousticore strings… wound over nylon; instead of the usual acoustic-bass-guitar-strings-that-feel-like-tree-trunks, the thomastiks make you want to touch them and and the guitar sound like an upright bass. i had to get an ABG, just so i could put those strings on it!

i consulted the martin guitar technical reference (by richard johnston, of gryphon stringed instruments, in palo alto), and discovered that martin’s first ABGs appeared in 1989. between 1991 and 1996 they built a grand total of 54 5-string basses… the B-540. this small number is astounding given the almost 2 million instruments spanning 150 or so models the company has built since 1833 (over 175 years), and the many more fans of their instruments. interestingly, johnston and the martin spec sheet refer to the bass as a ‘B-540’… but the guitars are stamped ‘B5-40’; i’ve also seen them called ‘B540’s.

after a number of false (and expensive) attempts to scratch the 5-string ABG itch with guitars from other companies, constant craigslist vigilance finally paid off and i was able to acquire a B-540… the 19th one ever built. although it has minor cosmetic issues and after-market electronics, it is a lovely guitar, with a fabulous neck and sound… classic vintage martin. we couldn’t be happier together!

update: since I originally posted this, I’ve acquired a second B-540, and had a chance to check in with dick boak, director: museum, archives, and special projects, at martin… the man who created the B-540 (and so many other classic martin models). he said that he still has the very first prototype, from 1982, and clarified that while they are indeed ‘B-540’s “the people in production that stamp the serial number do not always get it correct or matched up with what sales and marketing have in mind”.

one additional note for those looking for pickups for their ABGs: my first B-540 had a pickup system that used under-bridge-mounted transducers… a lovely sound, but prone to feedback when amplified. the second one has an under-the-saddle piezo pickup that allows me to play it with a fully-amplified 4-piece americana/rock band with no feedback. i’ve since replaced the original transducers with an LR Baggs Element Active system… easy to install, great sound.