Acoustic Bass

[grogg]

Thinking of investing in an acoustic bass guitar as I play in a band with 2 acoustic guitars, accordion and Cajon. Feel like I'm not quite keeping up appearances. The ones I've tried in the past seemed tonally weak.

Any recommendations? Don't want to spend a lot.

[T-Bay]

Mine has a great tone but the volume can't compete with acoustic guitars. It's ok through an amp obviously but for purely acoustic use it does disappear a bit. Mine is an oddity made or branded 'Rusty Axe'. I tried a couple of Ibanez ones and they were nice but out of my price range. Not sure what they fetch second hand.

[sblueplanet]

I think you will be wanting one that can be plugged in so it can compete and have presence in the mix.
Also depends whether you're wanting to replicate an upright sound or not. Budget will also come in to play.
Plenty to consider.

[Geek99]

Volume (unamplified) will not compete with even one acoustic guitar

[pete.young]

A double bass would be so much better on every level.

[3below]

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1488657967' post='3250903']
A double bass would be so much better on every level.
[/quote]

And so much bigger, size matters

[skej21]

Surely if an upright bass requires a huge sound board to project and produce a good tone, then it's no wonder that the common choice of a cheap, laminate wood acoustic bass guitar with a (comparatively) tiny body/sound board is going to lack projection and a source for decent tone.

I'm yet to play an acoustic bass guitar that A. sounds good unplugged, B. feels nice to play or C. didn't need amplifying to be useful.

Edited March 4, 2017 by skej21

[3below]

[quote name='skej21' timestamp='1488659301' post='3250919']
Surely if an upright bass requires a huge sound board to project and produce a good tone, then it's no wonder that the common choice of a cheap, laminate wood acoustic bass guitar with a (comparatively) tiny body/sound board is going to lack projection and a source for decent tone.

I'm yet to play an acoustic bass guitar that A. sounds good unplugged, B. feels nice to play or C. didn't need amplifying to be useful.
[/quote]

I have managed B, however even an upright needs amplification in many situations so what chance the relatively small body of acoustic basses.

[JazzBass4624]

I play in a band with a singer, guitar player and me on electric bass.
I have tried on acoustic bass but apart from the volume problem it din't appeal to me. So I am using my fender jazz and fit nicely in the mix.
No one considers it a problem.

[Cato]

I was quite impressed with my brother-in-law's harley benton acoustic but I don't think you'd be able to hear it acoustically in a live situation with even one unplugged acoustic guitar and certainly not against an accordion.

Edited March 4, 2017 by Cato

[grogg]

Thanks guys, I agree unplugged is a non-starter. Everything gets PA'd.
Was more concerned with decent tone.

[RhysP]

You're better off just using a normal bass, acoustic basses are a waste of time.

[alyctes]

I agree with other people re. acoustics - someone I know says they are useful to practice with because you don't have to plug them in though.

Semi-acoustic might work well, a Yamaha BEX 4 (if you can find one, mine aren't for sale) or an Epiphone Jack Casady or similar.

Would a viola-style bass work? Harley Benton do a cheap one so you can see if it's a viable option for not very much.

Edited March 5, 2017 by alyctes

[bazzbass]

don't waste your money, all acoustic bass guitars are rubbish. Awkward to play, no volume unless you amp it which defeats the whole point.

Just play a P thru a small rig.

[Grahambythesea]

I totally agree that so called acoustic basses are a waste of space, unless you have to have that full bodied look. You may be better off looking for a solid bodied bass with a piezo bridge like the Fishman. Fender Japan made the HMT with an f hole and a piezo bridge, some Yamaha TRBs also have them as does the Spector Spectorcore which I use. Can get a pretty good "acoustic" sound from it.

[grogg]

Thanks for your comments everyone, you've cured my itch to get an acoustic. Now hollow bodies... That Spector looks lovely.

[CameronJ]

Bass uke?

[Donnyboy]

I'm with most others here. Over the years I've an occasional acoustic itch & had a number of acoustics which I've tried to like .. but didnt.


I had one of these for a while.. the colour was the best thing about it.

[radiophonic]

I'm in this boat. Promoters often want us to do 'acoustic' sets (promoters are mostly idiots), but I don't see the point of an acoustic bass. If you have to amplify it to compete with a guitar, what's the point? Plus they are bulky. I take a fretless Jazz, hide my pedals and inflict my lousy intonation on them. It sounds fine.

Edited March 7, 2017 by radiophonic

[Mickeyboro]

Bass uke?

[Geek99]

[quote name='Donnyboy' timestamp='1488883508' post='3252566']
I'm with most others here. Over the years I've an occasional acoustic itch & had a number of acoustics which I've tried to like .. but didnt.


I had one of these for a while.. the colour was the best thing about it.
[/quote]
Clucking bell!

[Donnyboy]

Exactly. . It's a Kramer Ferring ton. Very rare I'm sure.

[TrevorR]

Love my Faith Neptune Titan. Nice feel and acoustic tone. Great Shadow pickup and preamp. Very simple, one vol, one tone but a shaped EQ rather than just a treble roll off. Seems to go from a scooped tone to a mid boost but at sensible levels across the piece. Then again it sounds great pretty flat.

[solo4652]

I play in an "acoustic" band comprised of lead singer, singer/guitarist, acoustic drums and myself on electric bass. I've been asked to consider an acoustic bass. I said that I couldn't really see the point, for all the reasons given here. The response from the band:

[color=black][size=3]"The original idea behind not just sticking to a full band set up was two fold and you make valid points regarding acoustic Bass. We did mean electro-acoustic and yes agree you would need to be plugged in/amplified (to the desk maybe?). Normal electric bass would work just as well but electro-acoustic bass would fit better with the Electro acoustic guitar image wise and project [ the band's] brand if you like so there is 'The Look' to consider also in this. i.e. we all look like an acoustic band.[/size][/color]

[color=black][size=3]The second reason for originally suggesting stripped down version was it also strips down the amount of gear you need to bring and hopefully allow faster set up/tear down times."[/size][/color]

So, it seems to be predominantly about looks and image. I've never played an electro-acoustic bass and I have no real inclination to do so, being honest. Because of neck and arm pain, I'm picky about what bass I play. My current squeeze is a Fender MIJ Mustang with a waist support belt clipped onto an extra strap pin using one of the neck-plate screws. Switching between basses rapidly upsets my Arthritis. The band knows this, but I'm still being asked to consider an electro-acoustic, and I'm resisting. Mexican stand-off.

[philw]

Loudest one I've ever played is the one I have at the moment - the Fender marketed Olympia copy of the Tacoma. Like this one:

https://reverb.com/item/139838-olympia-ob3ce-acoustic-bass

Happy to let you have a go if you're anywhere near Brighton.

P