Recommend a Semi-Acoustic Bass Guitar?

[thebrig]

My gigging days are virtually over and I'm now in the process of selling a lot of my gear.

 

Old age and back problems have finally caught up with me but I'm still able to play at home, so I'm looking for a semi-acoustic bass that is nice and light, but sounds and plays well.

 

I've played mainly precisions over the years because they worked perfectly with the type of music I play (classic rock/pub rock), now I know I won't get that P sound from a semi-acoustic, but is there one that gets somewhere close?

 

I would prefer the nut to be no more than 40mm, and scale length is not important so long as it balances well on on a strap.

 

I have a budget of around £1000 and happy to buy second-hand.

Edited Tuesday at 17:07 by thebrig

[LeftyJ]

When you speak of a semi-acoustic, do you mean a (semi-)hollow electric bass or an acoustic bass with an undersaddle pickup system? 

[thebrig]

1 minute ago, LeftyJ said:

When you speak of a semi-acoustic, do you mean a (semi-)hollow electric bass or an acoustic bass with an undersaddle pickup system? 

Funny you should ask that question because I wasn't sure whether they are call semi-acoustic, or semi-hollow?

 

But this is the sort of bass I'm looking for.

 

[kristo]

Get the Guild Starfire 1. I have a couple and think they are great. All the things you want; light, play really well and sound P bass ish.  

[Burns-bass]

Epiphone Jack Cassidy bass I found is (pound for pound) the best. Made exceptionally well, look amazing and sound incredible.

[neepheid]

Which scale length would you prefer?  A lot of them are short scale, but there are some long scale options.

[GrahamLeeds]

Do you want it to be able to play without an amp?

If so you might be disappointed.

I've a Gibson 335 bass and while I love it it wouldn't make anywhere near enough noise without amplification...I basically use it as a Thunderbird...

Before that in another band I had a Fender Kingman and an Epiphone Masterbuilt acoustic bass and even those weren't useable for anything other than home practice.

[neepheid]

Just now, GrahamLeeds said:

Do you want it to be able to play without an amp?

If so you might be disappointed.

I've a Gibson 335 bass and while I love it it wouldn't make anywhere near enough noise without amplification...I basically use it as a Thunderbird...

Before that in another band I had a Fender Kingman and an Epiphone Masterbuilt acoustic bass and even those weren't useable for anything other than home practice.

 

None of them produce enough volume to play along with other instruments on their own, and anyone who claims otherwise is frankly speaking, lying.  Beyond a lazy boi practice against some laptop speakers (and yes, my Jack Casady does get used for that and is loud enough), it's a waste of time, you'll be plugging in.

[ahpook]

1 hour ago, thebrig said:

I would prefer the nut to be no more than 40mm, and for the bass to balance well on a strap.

 

I would recommend, as a few have, a Jack Casady, but it fails on these points.

 

 

[neepheid]

8 minutes ago, ahpook said:

 

I would recommend, as a few have, a Jack Casady, but it fails on these points.

 

 

 

Not universally so - my JC balances fine.  Strap choice is important.

Edited December 17 by neepheid

[Cato]

Probably worth pointing out that semi hollow doesn't always equate to light.

 

The bigger bodies combined with the solid centre blocks mean that many of them can be at least as heavy as a standard solid body.

 

There's also bound to be a fair bit of variation in weight even between the exact same models, so if weight is a key issue then it's definitely going to better to be try before buying wherever possible.

Edited Tuesday at 12:23 by Cato

[jd56hawk]

3 hours ago, thebrig said:

Funny you should ask that question because I wasn't sure whether they are call semi-acoustic, or semi-hollow?

 

But this is the sort of bass I'm looking for.

 

Yes, that's a semi-hollow bass, as opposed to a true hollow-body bass or an acoustic bass.

It has a center block for more sustain and better feedback resistance.

Hollow-body and acoustic basses don't have a center block.

 

[thebrig]

7 hours ago, neepheid said:

Which scale length would you prefer?  A lot of them are short scale, but there are some long scale options.

Scale length is not really important so long as it balances well on on a strap, but in an ideal world, I would prefer 32" medium scale.

[Skybone]

What about the Warwick Rockbass Star Bass?

[Maude]

Danelectro longhorn, or whichever Dano suits your needs. 

A Longhorn is stupidly light, sounds fantastic, shortscale but weirdly doesn't feel small. Strap button placement isn't the best but being so light it's not neck heavy. 

Did I mention how light they are? 😁

[Beedster]

Fender A/E, job done 👍

 

[thebrig]

17 hours ago, Beedster said:

Fender A/E, job done 👍

 

Looks stunning, but I've just done some research and the reviews are not good, here's a couple of examples from "Talkbass":

 

Those were an early experiment in combining piezo and magnetic pickups and are rare because they were a bad design that was pulled from the market quickly. 
They just didn't work very well. 
By modern standards the electronics were pretty terrible. It had a master volume, piezo/mag blend and a single EQ knob with a center stop. 
No separate battery door, at least 4 screws to remove to get to the battery. 
Inside, the battery was just sort of flopping in the cavity, wrapped in foam. No clip to hold it in place. 
And they're very difficult to intonate because of the acoustic-style saddle.

 

Since it has just one saddle for all 4 strings, it makes intonating the instrument a game of compromises. Since the saddle is straight, where the length of the strings isn't, makes that some strings will be sharp, and others will be flat. And because it's an acoustic bridge (a piece of wood glued to the top), you can't make any adjustments in terms of intonation when you change for a different brand/gauge/material of strings. I played one, and while not terrible, it wasn't great either. Like mentioned before, the electronics are sub-par compared to contemporary standards, the sound is nothing spectacular (and downright cheap on the piezo), but it's built well, as can be expected from Fender Japan.

[thebrig]

19 hours ago, Skybone said:

What about the Warwick Rockbass Star Bass?

I have to admit that the Warwick Rockbass Star Bass is ticking all the boxes so far.

[Maude]

8 minutes ago, thebrig said:

I have to admit that the Warwick Rockbass Star Bass is ticking all the boxes so far.

They're still not particularly light. Not heavy but not super light either. 

Along the lines of the Fender A/E there's the Yamaha BEX4. IMO they're absolutely wonderful basses, a soapbar pickup (and piezo) but in the P position so very P like tone. There's one on eBay at the mo for a good price but again they're not light. 

 

[meterman]

Ibanez used to make a great twin pickup single cut semi acoustic bass. It was offered in a really decent antique burst finish. I almost bought one instead of my (now gone) Hofner Violin bass, but by the time I realised the Hofner wasn't the best fit for me, Ibanez had discontinued the model I was after. I saw the bassist in a soul band using one at a festival and it sounded lovely, really deep and rounded, but still articulated tone wise. Probably had flats on it as well. Instant GAS moment!

I can't remember the exact model number now but I think it was part of the AGB range. Almost certain it was a 30.5" scale bass, which aren't to everyone's taste, but it would have definitely been to mine. I very rarely see them for sale used, so they're either good enough that nobody wants to part with theirs, or they had some kind of design flaw and they're all in landfill now...

 

 

I don't need for any other bass than the one I've got, but if one of these turned up at a decent price anywhere near me, I'd be tempted to get it, just because...

[casapete]

37 minutes ago, meterman said:

I don't need for any other bass than the one I've got, but if one of these turned up at a decent price anywhere near me, I'd be tempted to get it, just because...

These are the Ibanez AGB 200, part of their Artcore series. Your pic shows the distressed tobacco burst

finish, but they’ve also done them in violin sunburst, a dark cherry/ brown, white, greyburst, natural,

and also still currently available in matt black!

They are easily confused with the AFB200 from the same series, which has a deeper body and a

wooden bridge. Again, still available in any colour so long as it’s black! 

[thebrig]

9 hours ago, meterman said:

Ibanez used to make a great twin pickup single cut semi acoustic bass. It was offered in a really decent antique burst finish. I almost bought one instead of my (now gone) Hofner Violin bass, but by the time I realised the Hofner wasn't the best fit for me, Ibanez had discontinued the model I was after. I saw the bassist in a soul band using one at a festival and it sounded lovely, really deep and rounded, but still articulated tone wise. Probably had flats on it as well. Instant GAS moment!

I can't remember the exact model number now but I think it was part of the AGB range. Almost certain it was a 30.5" scale bass, which aren't to everyone's taste, but it would have definitely been to mine. I very rarely see them for sale used, so they're either good enough that nobody wants to part with theirs, or they had some kind of design flaw and they're all in landfill now...

 

 

I don't need for any other bass than the one I've got, but if one of these turned up at a decent price anywhere near me, I'd be tempted to get it, just because...

I owned one of these a long time ago and whilst it was a nice bass, I found the nut width (42mm) and neck a bit too wide and chunky for me.

[Norris]

If you can, have a try of a Hofner violin bass. Ok, it won't sound like a P bass, but it's small, light and loud enough for noodling on the sofa. Plus they are great fun to play and the cheap ones are only about £300.

 

You may not like it, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was when I bought one for my lad. (And I'm used to "proper" basses 😂) Shame he took it with him when he went off to university - I miss it

[thebrig]

15 hours ago, Norris said:

If you can, have a try of a Hofner violin bass. Ok, it won't sound like a P bass, but it's small, light and loud enough for noodling on the sofa. Plus they are great fun to play and the cheap ones are only about £300.

 

You may not like it, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was when I bought one for my lad. (And I'm used to "proper" basses 😂) Shame he took it with him when he went off to university - I miss it

I did try one some time ago, but I think that I would prefer the Hofner Club if I did go down that route.

[Grahambythesea]

I think the idea that semis are lighter is an illusion. My Peerless Bassmaster (identical to the JC by the original makers) weighs the same as my Precision. I used to own a ‘66 Gibson EB2 and that was over 9lb. I think this is because the bodies are wider and there’s probably just as much wood in them. Many, but not the JC, have a centre block to cut feedback.