Rick's Fine '52 Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 I've always fancied one of these, more out of curiosity than anything else, so i bought one (The one with the tone & volume control - not much use without i think?), when it arrived, it looked fab, despite the fact that it weighed about a quarter of a tonne, so could only be played sitting down, which is fine for my purposes. Anyway, i tried to tune it, which was fine, i thought, until you started playing it, after the 9th fret, the intonation went completely, and the bass, was essentially unplayable. I contacted the seller (A shop), and the bass was returned/refunded without fuss or drama. Are they all like that, or did i get a bad 'un?? Are they actually playable basses, and do they offer anything different to an acoustic bass? Before wrapping it back up for sending back, i made a point of assessing the volume of it acoustically (As it is marketed as being very loud!), and i didnt think it was as loud as my 'regular' acoustic bass? Any comments from owners/players? (Apologies if this subject has been done to death, i've only been on here a week - if it has, and someone has a link to the thread, that would be great) Contemplating getting another, but unsure. I think its one i'd regret!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 I have a fairly early version of their normal acoustic bass and after a neck tweak earlier this year it plays quite well. I think for anything other than home use you will still need to plug it in, I know a few folks with resonator guitars and there not much louder than a regular acoustic either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 I went to a shop with money in my pocket ready to buy the one they had in stock. I had been gassing for it since I had seen it on my previous visit and loved how it looked. When I tried it however - it was heavier than my '81 "QE2 anchor" heavy-ash precision, It had hardly any volume acoustically and the bridge saddle was fixed, so changing to a set of TIs could possibly have resulted in way-off intonation. I went home with the money still in my pocket and no regrets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Intonation will always be a bit hit and miss with a normal acoustic style bridge. The timbers on my normal one are very nice I just wish it was a 5ver now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick's Fine '52 Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 [quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='1256900' date='Jun 4 2011, 10:17 PM']I went to a shop with money in my pocket ready to buy the one they had in stock. I had been gassing for it since I had seen it on my previous visit and loved how it looked. When I tried it however - it was heavier than my '81 "QE2 anchor" heavy-ash precision, It had hardly any volume acoustically and the bridge saddle was fixed, so changing to a set of TIs could possibly have resulted in way-off intonation. I went home with the money still in my pocket and no regrets.[/quote] Thanks for the reply, thats enough for me, two replies, decision made. Too heavy. No louder than regular acoustic. Difficult to tune/intonate/adjust. Sorted. I'll pass. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 I have never been a fan of resonators anyway, Regular acoustic is nice for noodling on at homeand the odd open mic night other than that electric is the way forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 I also have an Ozark acoustic bass, from the late 90s i think, the one with just passive volume and tone sliders.. No problems with intonation despite the basic bridge, i've had the bronze strings and a few different sets of black nylons on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick's Fine '52 Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 [quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1256904' date='Jun 4 2011, 10:23 PM']Intonation will always be a bit hit and miss with a normal acoustic style bridge. The timbers on my normal one are very nice I just wish it was a 5ver now.[/quote] I have a cheap Takamine acoustic bass, with a normal fixed bridge, and must say the intonation is perfect, unless i just got lucky. Its slightly higher strung than i'd like, but its fine. I always find half an hour playing on this before i pick a Jazz up, and ithink i'm the dogs bo**ocks, as its so much easier to play! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 [quote name='lemmywinks' post='1256923' date='Jun 4 2011, 10:42 PM']I also have an Ozark acoustic bass, from the late 90s i think, the one with just passive volume and tone sliders.. No problems with intonation despite the basic bridge, i've had the bronze strings and a few different sets of black nylons on it.[/quote] Mine has rotary knobs and a 9v battery I think it's about a 1996. Intonation is fine on mine too, has yours got nice wood? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 [quote name='Rick's Fine '52' post='1256927' date='Jun 4 2011, 10:47 PM']I have a cheap Takamine acoustic bass, with a normal fixed bridge, and must say the intonation is perfect, unless i just got lucky. Its slightly higher strung than i'd like, but its fine. I always find half an hour playing on this before i pick a Jazz up, and ithink i'm the dogs bo**ocks, as its so much easier to play![/quote] Yeah I do that, I'm Billy Sheehan for about 3 mins after Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick's Fine '52 Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 [quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1256910' date='Jun 4 2011, 10:28 PM']I have never been a fan of resonators anyway, Regular acoustic is nice for noodling on at homeand the odd open mic night other than that electric is the way forward.[/quote] Couldn't agree more. I've never been a big fan of acoustic bass (Not upright, thats different), always thought it sounded a bit hollow. I bought mine for 'home noodling' as you say. On MTV's unplugged series, most payers chose an acoustic, because they felt they had to for the gig. Other than Nirvana, where i think Krist played an acoustic perefctly, and the fact that they changed their songs arrangements, to suit the acoustic feel, no-one else did a good job basswise. Pearl Jam all played acoustics on their session, and their bass player played an electric bass, which, whilst the purists will say it's cheating, i'd say its making the bass sound its best for the gig, if that means electric, then so be it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick's Fine '52 Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 [quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1256933' date='Jun 4 2011, 10:50 PM']Yeah I do that, I'm Billy Sheehan for about 3 mins after [/quote] Not just me then!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 I love that Nirvana unplugged album its great! Might have to dig that out. The Meat Puppets were cool on it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 [quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1256932' date='Jun 4 2011, 10:49 PM']Mine has rotary knobs and a 9v battery I think it's about a 1996. Intonation is fine on mine too, has yours got nice wood?[/quote] The front and sides are quite plain but the back is really nice, all just laminates though. Mine has seen better days but it's had loads of use - it went with me everywhere during my youth. It's de-fretted now and the dot markers have been removed and filled with rosewood dust. Also it's got a repaired bridge and input jack due to having to bodge it whilst living on a campsite in Devon when i was 18. I think it's been used much more than the average acoustic bass though! [quote name='Rick's Fine '52' post='1256935' date='Jun 4 2011, 10:51 PM']On MTV's unplugged series, most payers chose an acoustic, because they felt they had to for the gig. Other than Nirvana, where i think Krist played an acoustic perefctly[/quote] Yeah i always liked the bass sound on those recordings, the bass he played was a huge bodied thing too IIRC. That unplugged album is the reason i bought my acoustic bass although mine doesn't sound as deep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick's Fine '52 Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 [quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1256938' date='Jun 4 2011, 10:56 PM']I love that Nirvana unplugged album its great! Might have to dig that out. The Meat Puppets were cool on it too.[/quote] Its my favourite 'MTV Unplugged' of them all. Its very bare, and raw, and real. Kurts intensity is at its most exposed, and his passion is incredible, his vocal delivery on 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night', is just incredible, one of those songs that gives you goosebumps (Can i say that on a testosterone forum like this?) everytime you hear it. I love it, i'm gonna dig it out too. The band i used to be in, around '95/'96, we used to do an acoustic version of 'About A Girl', just like Nirvana's on that album. Dead simple, always got a huge audience reaction. One of only 3 or 4 covers we ever did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick's Fine '52 Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 Yeah i always liked the bass sound on those recordings, the bass he played was a huge bodied thing too IIRC. That unplugged album is the reason i bought my acoustic bass although mine doesn't sound as deep. [/quote] I think it was a Guild F-50 or B-50. I may be completely wrong though. I seem to recall it had that kinda arrow shaped, Guild script on the headstock. Somebody will no doubt correct me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sawtooth Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Hello! ... See here >>> [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=124978&hl=resonator"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...mp;hl=resonator[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sawtooth Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 It's nothing fancy, but I always enjoy the (electro) acoustic bass by the Violent Femmes ... Recorded version ... Live version ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.