Martin Sheridan

[Martin Sheridan]

Congratulations and thank you for the new forum. My name is Martin Sheridan and I like the idea of everyone using their real name. It makes it more personal and may help keep a few folks a little more on the level.

I first picked up electric bass in high school when our bass player moved on to college. He was playing and old Kay and I couldn't imagine why anyone would want to play one of those old things when you could pick up a new Fender for $175 bucks or so. I went back to guitar a year later.
In my early 20s I started listening to Jazz and at age 28 took up "one of those old things" and I've never put it down. A couple of years later I needed work on my bass, the guy I found did a bad job, and that started me on my quest to become a bass maker and repairman. I've had shops in Raleigh, NC, Chicago and Fort Madison, Iowa. I'm living in Mexico most of the time now, but new grandchildren and my love for basses and bass players is driving a move back, probably to the Chicago area.
Pictures of Ken's cornerless Storioni bass have reawakened a desire to build something like it and I was struck by Ken's comments on the sound and how comfortable it was not haveing to deal with corners. Time will tell, and if permitted I'll post some pics somewhere down the line. In the meantime I'm going to enjoy this forum. All best to everyone.

[Ken Smith]

Hi Martin. As the host, let me be the first to welcome you. We look forward to sharing experience and information with you and others like you with decades of experience motivated by passion for the art.

[Arnold Schnitzer]

Hey Martin, good to see you here. So how did you end up in Mexico? Do you like it? How's your Espanol?

[Eric Swanson]

Hi Martin. Glad that you are here. Tough change, from Mexico to a Midwestern winter.

[Martin Sheridan]

Originally Posted by Arnold Schnitzer

Hey Martin, good to see you here. So how did you end up in Mexico? Do you like it? How's your Espanol?

We ended up in Mexico by taking a left at Denver.
I've been in Mexico for two years. My wife and I inherited the gypsy gene, I guess. We like it here but we're ready to go back. We will be going from zero to 3 grandchildren in the next few months, so we want to be a little closer. We still hope to escape the Iowa or Illinois winters.

One downside to Mexico is that it's very difficult to finds tools and wood here. So an upside to moving back to the midwest is that I'll be able to get more work done. I've had a two year sabatical and a lot of new projects are awaiting me. I want to make a cornerless bass, and I'm thinking about cellos and violas too.

Mi espanol is terrible. Yo hablo espanol similar de Mexiconos de dos ninos y comprende menos.