Acoustic bass (Ibanez)

[isteen]

Any experience with Ibanez acoustic basses? It will not be my main bass, just something to grab for a session with a couple of acoustic guitars.

I plan to plug it in

Ibanez

[neepheid]

They're as useless as any other acoustic bass, I guess 

 

[lemmywinks]

I have the older Artwood Parlour bass which is fantastic, they only do the cheaper PNB14E in that size now. Very well made, nice acoustic tone and sounds great plugged in. Some of them include a Fishman Sonicore piezo element but tbh the near identical in house version sounds the same. Preamp is universal on pretty much all of their acoustics, it sounds good but is geared more towards guitar so doesn't really let you add thump or cut booming bass, fortunately it's quite a controlled sound already.

 

Like all budget acoustic instruments they are rather heavily built but IMO this isn't a concern with bass, especially if you're plugging in and playing with other musicians. Probably preferable tbh and string choice will be your main consideration, some of the Ibanez models come with coated strings which will help subdue that annoying bronze clank acoustic basses are known for. I use nylon coated flats on my full size fretless acoustic.

 

Honestly I'd look at a used acoustic bass, depreciation on them is pretty severe so you can get bargains. A decent outboard preamp is also a bonus if you're playing at volume, I use the Fishman Platinum Pro and Stage models, can use the limited onboard pre as a buffer then do all your eq on a more flexible unit then.

[mikebass456]

17 minutes ago, lemmywinks said:

I have the older Artwood Parlour bass which is fantastic, they only do the cheaper PNB14E in that size now. Very well made, nice acoustic tone and sounds great plugged in. Some of them include a Fishman Sonicore piezo element but tbh the near identical in house version sounds the same. Preamp is universal on pretty much all of their acoustics, it sounds good but is geared more towards guitar so doesn't really let you add thump or cut booming bass, fortunately it's quite a controlled sound already.

 

Like all budget acoustic instruments they are rather heavily built but IMO this isn't a concern with bass, especially if you're plugging in and playing with other musicians. Probably preferable tbh and string choice will be your main consideration, some of the Ibanez models come with coated strings which will help subdue that annoying bronze clank acoustic basses are known for. I use nylon coated flats on my full size fretless acoustic.

 

Honestly I'd look at a used acoustic bass, depreciation on them is pretty severe so you can get bargains. A decent outboard preamp is also a bonus if you're playing at volume, I use the Fishman Platinum Pro and Stage models, can use the limited onboard pre as a buffer then do all your eq on a more flexible unit then.

Some great advice - I had a Takamine acoustic bass a few years ago, but didn't get on with it very well, mainly the size of it, and constant struggling with feedback.

I've since bought the Martin shortscale acoustic, and it's a working well for me. As I plug in, I've had to buy the feedback buster for the sound hole, which has cured the issue I had with feedback (along with setting on my Ashdown acoustic pre-amp). I've currently got coated strings on it, but looking to change soon, so will look out for some nylon coated flat wounds to see if they give me more of the sound I'm looking for........

[JPJ]

Right, straight off I should say I love acoustic basses. I currently own two, although one - my Tanglewood 4 string is currently for sale on here, as my recently defretted Warwick Rock Bass Alien 5 string is my main acoustic squeeze and having recently moved into double bass ownership, I need the space.

 

Acoustic basses vary greatly. At the lower end of the market you are getting basically an acoustic guitar with a longer neck so don’t be surprised if it can’t keep up with a couple of aggressively strummed acoustic guitars. The more you pay, the better they become. There will always be those happy exceptions and I remember playing and being very impressed by a parlour sized short scale Ibanez a few years ago. Most come with an adequate pickup and/or preamp. Higher end models like the German-built Warwicks and the legendary Takamine B10 are a thing of musical beauty and something I aspire to. 

 

Strings-wise, I cannot abide those phosphor bronze strings that acoustic bass manufacturers use. I have always swapped these out for flat wounds as soon as I could and I find that the La Bella low tension flats work great on acoustic bass. 

 

Don’t be put off by the neigh-sayers, acoustic bass guitars have their place. Buy one and enjoy it. 

[mikebass456]

29 minutes ago, JPJ said:

Strings-wise, I cannot abide those phosphor bronze strings that acoustic bass manufacturers use. I have always swapped these out for flat wounds as soon as I could and I find that the La Bella low tension flats work great on acoustic bass. 

Currently struggling to find anything other than the Martins own 24" scale phosphor bronze strings for sale anywhere - any 24" flat wounds out there at all?🤞

[BigRedX]

IME unless it's for noodling at home only, or you have the budget for something expensive with a very large body you are going to have to use it with amplification. This brings with it all the issues of handling noise and depending on the volume required possibly also feedback. Also a lot of the less expensive "acoustic" basses don't sound that great when amplified. I agree that image could be an important factor here, but on the few occasions that I have played "acoustic" gigs I've just used a decent short-scale solid body bass with the treble rolled off and it sounded fine. If image was more important I'd look for a cheap hollow-body with magnetic pickups.

[Franticsmurf]

1 minute ago, BigRedX said:

IME unless it's for noodling at home only, or you have the budget for something expensive with a very large body you are going to have to use it with amplification. This brings with it all the issues of handling noise and depending on the volume required possibly also feedback. Also a lot of the less expensive "acoustic" basses don't sound that great when amplified. I agree that image could be an important factor here, but on the few occasions that I have played "acoustic" gigs I've just used a decent short-scale solid body bass with the treble rolled off and it sounded fine. If image was more important I'd look for a cheap hollow-body with magnetic pickups.

My acoustic bass is always amplified when we do 'acoustic' sessions. I tried it unamplified last week (playing with 2 acoustic guitars and four ukeleles) in advance of an acoustic gig on Saturday and not only could I not hear it but no one else could either. I am now using my hollow body Ibanez which sounds better amplified. I don't think I'll be using the acoustic again unless it's for show.  

[mikebass456]

3 minutes ago, Franticsmurf said:

My acoustic bass is always amplified when we do 'acoustic' sessions. I tried it unamplified last week (playing with 2 acoustic guitars and four ukeleles) in advance of an acoustic gig on Saturday and not only could I not hear it but no one else could either. I am now using my hollow body Ibanez which sounds better amplified. I don't think I'll be using the acoustic again unless it's for show.  

I play mine through a Phil Jones Double Four, which allows me to keep up with an acoustic guitar and fiddle........

[lemmywinks]

20 minutes ago, mikebass456 said:

Currently struggling to find anything other than the Martins own 24" scale phosphor bronze strings for sale anywhere - any 24" flat wounds out there at all?🤞

 

Did it come with the nylon core, bronze coated ones like upscaled classical guitar strings? They're usually standard on that size of acoustic bass now. D'addario make a set for the Taylor Baby Bass and Ibanez use them.

Edited Wednesday at 14:55 by lemmywinks

[lemmywinks]

Sound like this:

 

 

[mikebass456]

2 minutes ago, lemmywinks said:

 

Did it come with the nylon core, bronze coated ones like upscaled classical guitar strings? They're usually standard on that size of acoustic bass now. D'addario make a set for the Taylor Baby Bass and Ibanez use them.

Yep - they're the ones! I have managed to dial out a lot of the brightness without making them muddy sounding, plus I've played the newness out of them anyway. Just wondered if there were any other options to consider.....🤔

[Schnozzalee]

2 hours ago, neepheid said:

They're as useless as any other acoustic bass, I guess 

 

 

+1

[lemmywinks]

48 minutes ago, mikebass456 said:

Yep - they're the ones! I have managed to dial out a lot of the brightness without making them muddy sounding, plus I've played the newness out of them anyway. Just wondered if there were any other options to consider.....🤔

 

 

I don't think there's many options at that scale tbh, those D'addario strings do a great job of getting a solid unamplified bass tone at a decent volume out of such a short length of string, almost physics defying! They just seem to fit right in with other acoustic instruments tonally and occupy a nice space.

 

I did try the Thomastik AB34 on a 34" scale piezo equipped bass (Aria Sinsonido travel bass) but they sounded nothing like the D'addarios.

[mikebass456]

14 minutes ago, lemmywinks said:

 

 

I don't think there's many options at that scale tbh, those D'addario strings do a great job of getting a solid unamplified bass tone at a decent volume out of such a short length of string, almost physics defying! They just seem to fit right in with other acoustic instruments tonally and occupy a nice space.

 

I did try the Thomastik AB34 on a 34" scale piezo equipped bass (Aria Sinsonido travel bass) but they sounded nothing like the D'addarios.

They're 23 1/2 " scale according to the specs, so should be ok for the 24" of the Martin....I'll give them a try and see how I get on with them! 🙂👍

[PaulThePlug]

Likes an Acoustic Bass.

I've got a Harley Benton HBO 850 wearing Adagio Flats... Son has a Cheapy G4M Fretless wearing those Monster Thick Rotosound Tapes.

[Raslee]

I've got a Harley Benton Mini GS Bass (Taylor copy), arriving tomorrow. Looked at the Taylor & Guild models which look absolutely great but opted for the cheapy HB to try it out firstly…my first HB venture too. 

[mikebass456]

33 minutes ago, Raslee said:

I've got a Harley Benton Mini GS Bass (Taylor copy), arriving tomorrow. Looked at the Taylor & Guild models which look absolutely great but opted for the cheapy HB to try it out firstly…my first HB venture too. 

Looking forward to hearing how you get on with it - I nearly got the Guild myself, but really wanted a single cutaway so held out for a good sale price on the Martin. ,😁👍

[JPJ]

2 hours ago, Raslee said:

I've got a Harley Benton Mini GS Bass (Taylor copy), arriving tomorrow. Looked at the Taylor & Guild models which look absolutely great but opted for the cheapy HB to try it out firstly…my first HB venture too. 

When I was working in Holland I had a black Harley Benton 5 string acoustic out there and it was a very good instrument especially for the price. A few rough fret ends and a high saddle but easy fixes that made for a really playable squeeze.

[jd56hawk]

11 hours ago, isteen said:

Any experience with Ibanez acoustic basses? It will not be my main bass, just something to grab for a session with a couple of acoustic guitars.

I plan to plug it in

Ibanez

Two things.

One, pay no attention to the acoustic bass detractors...they're completely clueless.

Two, go with tapewounds or flatwounds and forget all about bronzewounds.

As for Ibanez acoustic basses, the AEGB24E is pretty good.

Not as nice as my acoustic bass, but not many are.

I believe this uses coated strings. Feel good, nice tone.

Edited Wednesday at 23:55 by jd56hawk

[neepheid]

13 minutes ago, jd56hawk said:

One, pay no attention to the acoustic bass detractors...they're completely clueless.

 

I was having a laugh (as indicated by the winking smiley after my text), and I didn't make it personal.  You can stick your "clueless" comment somewhere else - I've owned two, and it was two too many for me, that's my clue, it is derived from personal experience.  If you like 'em, you're not wrong - I'm not going to call you names for liking them, so how's about a bit of respect for those whose opinions you disagree with?

[lemmywinks]

It is always a bit weird when these threads come up, there's usually a few inevitable comments telling the OP how bad all acoustic basses are and how you might as well just use an electric bass. This is itself is odd because there's a ton of times I've seen an "acoustic" performance where the bassist is using an electric and I've wished they'd brought a more appropriate instrument. 

 

ABGs are their own thing; they sound different, feel different, respond differently to technique, have different ways of capturing your playing for amplification etc. The above is one of the reasons why I always post those Ibanez videos and also usually this one:

 

 

It's also a good thing that manufacturers are starting to put more appropriate strings on new instruments at all price levels now, those 'orrible phosphor bronze things will have put legions of bass players off ABGs.

 

 

Edited Thursday at 06:53 by lemmywinks

[jd56hawk]

10 hours ago, neepheid said:

 

I was having a laugh (as indicated by the winking smiley after my text), and I didn't make it personal.  You can stick your "clueless" comment somewhere else - I've owned two, and it was two too many for me, that's my clue, it is derived from personal experience.  If you like 'em, you're not wrong - I'm not going to call you names for liking them, so how's about a bit of respect for those whose opinions you disagree with?

I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about the people who find it necessary to post "You can't really hear them unplugged" and other worthless information every time some starts a thread about acoustic basses.

Edited Thursday at 10:33 by jd56hawk

[neepheid]

3 minutes ago, jd56hawk said:

I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about the people who find it necessary to post "You can't really hear them unplugged" and other worthless information every time some starts a thread about acoustic basses.

 

Well, I appreciate that clarification, but my point still stands.  I don't think it's worthless information - it's true, isn't it?  There have been many a disappointed noob get one of these thinking they can just join in on an acoustic night armed with nothing but an acoustic bass guitar and dreams.  People tangential to this conversation read this stuff after all.  There's no need to get personal about it, and calling people "completely clueless" just because you don't like what they have to say is a bit rum, old chap.

[lemmywinks]

The OP put in his initial post that he intends to plug in.