Martin Retro Series

[fronobulax]

2012 press release.

What Martin has done, according to my possibly incorrect summary, is taken iconic vintage instruments and recorded them. It has created modern instruments of similar construction and dropped in what I would call a Fishman modeling pickup. You then plug the puppy in and the reproduced sound sounds like the vintage instrument. Anyone actually encountered one? It seems like a tricky idea because at some point you have turned a guitar into a MIDI controller but apparently the modeling pickup is adding to the sound and not just replacing it. I ask because I have a coworker who collects Martins and Gibsons (and acknowledges Guilds but has not been convinced to collect them yet). His collection and expertise is such that he knows what vintage and fine instruments sound like and he has a Retro series and loves the sound. I'm skeptical but I can imagine that if the choice is to mic and gig with a 1941 D-28 or a Retro series the Retro gets close enough. Still, though, it seems like more of a gimmick to me than a tool. Thoughts?

 

[Ridgemont]

I have only played them acoustically. They sound like new Martins when played this way. I have never heard them plugged in live but here is the best comparison I have come across.

http://acousticletter.com/martin-hd...review-mic-vs-pickup-vs-3-easy-mode-settings/

Hope this helps.

 

[chazmo]

Thanks for the pointer on this, Jamie. I had no idea anyone was doing this kind of thing with acoustic guitars (or anyone was interested to).

I guess turning an acoustic guitar into a synthesizer when you plug it in is really not a whole lot different than just running traditional acoustic pickups through a pedal board or an amp with effects.

This actually reminds me of what some modern cars are doing... They're using synthetic noises through cars' sound systems to make the engines sound better / different. A little laughable, perhaps, but somewhat similar in my addled brain.

 

[dapmdave]

I can't say that I've tried one, but isn't this a feature of the Fishman Aura system?

 

[jeffcoop]

I can't say that I've tried one, but isn't this a feature of the Fishman Aura system?

Or the D-Tar Mama Bear box? (Although that is an external device).

 

[jcwu]

I can't say that I've tried one, but isn't this a feature of the Fishman Aura system?

It *is* the Fishman Aura system, modified and put onboard. They are calling it the Aura+.

 

[adorshki]

This actually reminds me of what some modern cars are doing... They're using synthetic noises through cars' sound systems to make the engines sound better / different. A little laughable, perhaps, but somewhat similar in my addled brain.

THAT explains that Rolls Silver Ghost that sounded like a Baja Bug at the stoplight the other day.
And maybe that SmartCar that sounded like a Harley, too?

 

[Christopher Cozad]

2 or 3 years ago (or was it 4?) I plugged an Ovation (Custom Elite) into an external Fishman Aura stomp box and ran it through a Fishman SoloAmp...in my family room, of course. The first time Kathy heard it she protested, 'But I thought your Guild was in the shop?'. ("Your Guild" being my 1976 F-50R, a guitar that my wife has heard played over so many years she can identify it's sound it blindfolded). In this case I had loaded a modeled Guild F-50R into the Fishman, but was physically playing the Ovation. She was astounded when she realized it was a modeled instrument.

About 1.5 years ago I played a Martin equipped with an Onboard Aura system at a Guitar Center for several hours. The sampled instruments available, while not extensive (Edit: 9 models), were impressive. Ironically, I do not recall the model of the Martin guitar I physically held on my lap, but I remember the Aura model I liked the most was an HD28. (Edit: The guitar was a Martin GPCPA)

Modeling may be considered a novel approach to meeting the objective of amplifying an acoustic guitar via a pickup system yet, unless you are mic'ing a guitar (to capture that pure, acoustic tone), why not model one? After all, an Ovation never sounded so good! ;~}

 

[adorshki]

Modeling may be considered a novel approach to meeting the objective of an acoustic guitar pickup system yet, unless you are mic'ing a guitar (to capture that pure, acoustic tone), why not model one?

Yeah, getting back on topic, as you say, why not? It's just another tool in the kit.

 

[Christopher Cozad]

For a mere $500 you can cut a hole in the side of your guitar and retrofit it with this baby (it hold up to 6 models, all downloadable from Fishman's online gallery):

Or, for around $300 you can use this external box (the one that fooled my wife/made that Ovation sound so good):

 

[chazmo]

... Modeling may be considered a novel approach to meeting the objective of amplifying an acoustic guitar via a pickup system yet, unless you are mic'ing a guitar (to capture that pure, acoustic tone), why not model one? After all, an Ovation never sounded so good! ;~}

I completely agree. Once you start talking about electronics in an acoustics, whatever sounds right to your audience (and band) is good. In the case of the HD28 that Jamie's vid shows, it looks like Martin did a nice, clean job integrating the electronics (unless I missed a barn door somewhere) into what's otherwise a fabulous, iconic, acoustic guitar. My big problem with acoustic factory electronics other than the fact that vintage almost always equals "bad," has often been what they physically did to the guitars to integrate them -- Fishmans being among the worst intrusions I've seen.

 

[adorshki]

For a mere $500 you can cut a hole in the side of your guitar....

OK, NOW yer pushin' it. :mad-new:

 

[dapmdave]

I completely agree. Once you start talking about electronics in an acoustics, whatever sounds right to your audience (and band) is good. In the case of the HD28 that Jamie's vid shows, it looks like Martin did a nice, clean job integrating the electronics (unless I missed a barn door somewhere) into what's otherwise a fabulous, iconic, acoustic guitar. My big problem with acoustic factory electronics other than the fact that vintage almost always equals "bad," has often been what they physically did to the guitars to integrate them -- Fishmans being among the worst intrusions I've seen.

Also agree. But the external version is available, so you can choose to make minimal changes to the guitar. And, if the past is any sort of a guide, the whole thing will be mounted in your output jack, controlled wirelessly by an iPad, next year.

 

[markus]

I've seen nice demo videos by Fishman for the Aura stompbox on youtube;
For me it makes sense to make a cheap guitar sound bigger, but not for a "real" guitar that has a good sound on its own.
It reminds me of those: http://www.soundracer.se/?p=98

I also don't like onboard electronics, especially if they need some extra cutting/drilling the guitar. That includes barn doors as well as extra big holes as needed for the lock'n'load systems.
An ordinary 1/4' jack hidden in the strap button is as far as I would go. I think there is nothing that can not be done by an external preamp/stomp box too.

Markus :smile: