Martin Iz tenor

Skinny Money McGee said:
Hey, it wasn't you that caused the stir. You asked a very simple question.
You don't mention where you are located. If you are anywhere within driving distance of Elderly Instruments in Lansing Michigan, you would most likely be able to try out all the Martin ukes including vintage, in one visit. I know a few IZ ukes have trickled out of the factory, but the general buzz is December deliveries.

http://elderly.com/search/elderly?terms=martin+ukulele&x=0&y=0
Ask for Andy if you call...
Click to expand...

Thanks, I've been looking at the Elderly website and it's' listings. I'm on the East Coast - CT - so a trip out there would be a lot farther than going to PA. I've been looking at various music shops in NY, Mass, NH and VT, but no one seems to have much in stock right now. Maybe they are all waiting for Dec. shipments.
Appreciate the referral to Andy, helpful to have someone specific to talk to.
 
Thanks, Skinny! Funny, I called there last week (Andy was not there) and they didn't have any and weren't sure when they were coming in. They must have followed up and/or delivery coincided timing wise. Some of the other dealers I've talked with also either have gotten them or they're in transit....at least they're obtainable now. Meantime, I've explored and bid a couple of vintage Martin tenors......decision time is nigh.....
 
Thanks for asking .....none of my bids on vintage Martin tenors prevailed and could not locate any within driving distance to try. As it worked out, I was not able to get to the Martin factory either...

I found an Iz in stock, ready to ship on line at Maury's Music in PA (thanks to some posts by Scooter35). I contacted them, found it was actually there ready to go...and bought it. Maury's was a pleasure to work with and I had the Iz within a couple of days. Didn't get back here to announce or post pics, Cigar Fan (Dennis) posted gorgeous pics of his anyway, which I couldn't possibly replicate. Mine looks as fantastic as his.....
I've been enjoying it for the past few months. Beautifully made, elegant "vintage" look, and great sounding! I am thrilled with it!
 
Well that is just plain ole' fantastic! Congrats!

I know I love mine. Think about IZ every time I pick it up. Enjoy!
 
Sorry for the late reply, I'm new on here. I own an IZ edition along with a Martin 2K and a Taylor Builders reserve mahagony. I bought mine not as an investment but just to play. The IZ sounds more like the one that IZ played than anything else I've come across. I think I need to take mine in to have the frets smoothed a little and the action lowered. I'm not sure if I'm crazy about martins new gear tuners. They look like the old friction style but are supposed to be geared inside. It has a more traditional sound than the Martin 2K which in in Koa.

Thanks,
Woodman
 
Woodman175 said:
Sorry for the late reply, I'm new on here. I own an IZ edition along with a Martin 2K and a Taylor Builders reserve mahagony. I bought mine not as an investment but just to play. The IZ sounds more like the one that IZ played than anything else I've come across. I think I need to take mine in to have the frets smoothed a little and the action lowered. I'm not sure if I'm crazy about martins new gear tuners. They look like the old friction style but are supposed to be geared inside. It has a more traditional sound than the Martin 2K which in in Koa.

Thanks,
Woodman
Click to expand...


do you play the IZ one with the low G?
I'm not sure if he always used the low G
but i was curious if you tried that on the IZ tenor
and got a very similar tone to his uke.
 
I have not put a low G on it yet. I've been planning to take it in to have the action lowered and the frets smoothed by the shop I bought it from. The shop asked me to play it for a while to let it settle before i had the work done. I plan to do that this week and will have them install new strings with a low G he when they do. I will let you know what it sounds like after. Even with the high G, it still has the most similar sound to the martin IZ played of any of my ukes. If only I could play it like IZ LOL.

I have two Kanile'as in Koa, a Taylor builders reserve Mahogany, a Martin 2K in Koa and a Kala in mahogany. The only one I have the Low G. On is my Kanilea Tenor.
 
Woodman175 said:
I have not put a low G on it yet. I've been planning to take it in to have the action lowered and the frets smoothed by the shop I bought it from. The shop asked me to play it for a while to let it settle before i had the work done. I plan to do that this week and will have them install new strings with a low G he when they do. I will let you know what it sounds like after. Even with the high G, it still has the most similar sound to the martin IZ played of any of my ukes. If only I could play it like IZ LOL.

I have two Kanile'as in Koa, a Taylor builders reserve Mahogany, a Martin 2K in Koa and a Kala in mahogany. The only one I have the Low G. On is my Kanilea Tenor.
Click to expand...

awesome. I'm sure it will be fun to experiment with the low G.
Martin in general is just an amazing brand for ukes, I miss my martin (i had to sell it to pay rent some years ago).
 
Woodman175 said:
Sorry for the late reply, I'm new on here. I own an IZ edition along with a Martin 2K and a Taylor Builders reserve mahagony. I bought mine not as an investment but just to play. The IZ sounds more like the one that IZ played than anything else I've come across. I think I need to take mine in to have the frets smoothed a little and the action lowered. I'm not sure if I'm crazy about martins new gear tuners. They look like the old friction style but are supposed to be geared inside. It has a more traditional sound than the Martin 2K which in in Koa.

Thanks,
Woodman
Click to expand...

Welcome to this forum. Never too late to chime in on any topic.
I am happy with my IZ in high g; I guess I'm lucky I haven't had any problems with the action or frets. I would be curious about the change to low g when you get that done.

I have been interested in the Martin 2K as well. I imagine the sound must be uniquely different than the IZ.
 
Maiden Uke said:
I have been interested in the Martin 2K as well. I imagine the sound must be uniquely different than the IZ.
Click to expand...

Congrats on your IZ tenor.

I'll be doing my new 2K review in about a month with some of the style 2 and T1K. Just learning some classical music pieces right now to make it interesting. You will be able to hear the difference and possibly compare with your IZ tenor.

cheers,

Petey
 
That sucks about having to sell your Martin. We've all been there a time or two. I think the wife would tell you that I had promised her to sell something when I bought more. I haven't been forced to yet but do have a couple I don't play much and should probably let someone else enjoy them. I did get the IZ set up and put on a low G. I was quite surprised how much it change the sound of it with the Low G. It does have that IZ sound now. As well as I can make it! LOL

Nice project you have there! Be interested to hear what it sounds like!
 
Aloha and thank you for the warm welcome! I recently put a low G on my IZ and had the action lowered and frets smoothed a little. Compared to my martin 2K (Koa) the IZ was not quite as well set up when I got it. It is now though and I love it. It really changed the sound quite nicely. I only had a Low G on a Kanilea that I have and love it but of course it being Koa sounds a good bit different that the Mahagony IZ. I really think it sounds much more like the one IZ played than any of my other Ukes. Although I do have to say, I think the martin 2k was my favorite for ease of play.
 
Just wanted to add that I used a classical guitar D string on recommendation from a local shop and I prefer it as opposed to the regular Low G. Being a recent convert from guitar and banjo, I'm still learning!��
 
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