Electro acoustic bass guitar

[pettyman]

Hey guys.

Anyone suggest some good makes or shops (online probably) where I can browse? So far the only ones I've found are Crafters and Tanglewoods at Eagle Music Shop- any idea what these are like?

Cheers
Matt

[Steve Ostrander]

Dean and Michael Kelly both make acoustic basses. I owned a Dean and I was not impressed with the volume unplugged. It was OK plugged in, but either of my electric basses (Fender Jazz, Oscar Schmidt)sounded and played better, so I sold it. I can't vouch for the MK.

I think C.F.Martin and Ernie Ball ("Earthwood" comes to mind) made acoustic basses some years ago. Maybe you can still special order from Martin?

[mandroid]

Ovation's do have a comfortable shape and good build quality.

those old E Ball basses, someone in town has one, are a lot bigger bodied
than any currently made acoustic guitar bass I've seen,

like a D guitar in the Fat steer feedlot.

[Mike Herlihy]

To my ear the Taylor AB series are the best. They don't make them anymore but you can find them on Ebay.

Also, Tacoma makes a decent AB, they also make a laminated version under the Olympia brand name.

With acoustic bass, the bigger the body, the better the tone.

[James P]

My bass player and I looked for months and wound up getting a fretless Breedlove. #We play in two different combos together, so I get to hear it twice a week. #In every way that Breedlove is a beautiful instrument. #Used ones have been going up in value too. #

A couple of months ago I played with a guy who had a real nice sounding Guild bass too. But I don't think they make 'em anymore.

[jaydee]

Are you married to the idea of a bass guitar? If not, I think that you should look into an inexpensive double (upright) bass. There are many good options coming from China and eastern Europe now that are widely available. I think you'll find it a much more satisfying instrument to play, with much more presence and better tone. And, more folks will want to play with you; if you learn a little bit about how to play the thing.

I don't have anything good to say about acoustic bass guitars, but if you find one that works for you then I guess you should go with it. But give a real bass a shot before you make that decision. They're more affordable and easier to play than you think.

For many more opinions you should check out Talkbass

Best of luck
Jeremy

[Mike Herlihy]

or find a mandocello

[Jkf_Alone]

acoustic electric bass guitars are pretty much just OK instruments. i have only played 1 good one (a high end ovation acoustic/ electric) that being said, if you want to be heard acousticly with a bass guitar, your technique is VERY different than if you play electric. my advice would be to get a solid body bass (much cheaper to get a decent quality one) and a battery/ac powered amp. (around 30 to 60 watts should do ya for playing with acoustic instruments)

just to tell ya, i have played MK's, ibanez, alvarez, ovation and tacoma acoustic electrics, and none (except the ovation) have impressed me acoustically. for the price they just arent worth it.

[foldedpath]

I might as well add to the naysayers. I once owned a double bass for a few years, and I love the way they move air. A guitar-sized acoustic bass just pales by comparison, and I've tried most of the major brands. Unless the audience or other band members would freak out over an electric instrument, I think an electric bass played with the right tone can work much better. If nothing else, they can put a real bottom on the band's sound, and you don't get much of that with an acoustic bass guitar.

I can get a tone pretty close to an acoustic double bass on my fretless electric, using Labella nylon tapewound strings. I pull a little more off the side of the string with my fingers, instead of a normal fingertip attack. A felt pick works pretty well too. Neither approach can be used on an acoustic bass guitar because you have to whack it hard with a pick to get enough volume. That leads to a sharp, clicky tone that doesn't sound that good to my ears.... at least with the acoustic bass guitars I've tried.

OTOH, I guess it's better than no bass at all, and some venues (or bands) just won't allow electric instruments. What the world needs is something that looks like an acoustic bass guitar, but has a battery-powered amp and speaker hidden inside the box. Maybe it could be faked as a resonator bass, where the cone is doing a lot more than you think it is.

[Jkf_Alone]

if you want cheap portable and loud bass tones, get yourself a big ole hooch jug. that will sound loads better than the average acoustic/electric bass guitar.

[Tim2723]

It was my understanding that several makers, including Ovation, stopped production on these a while back owing to problems with the neck/body joint and other tension related issues. Is that correct?

[buddyellis]

Even a half size double bass is going to sound miles better than any ABG. Simply a matter of physics. Plus the URB is so much more interesting, once you get used to the mechanics.

[EdSherry]

Most ABGs are anemic-sounding. #I have a Taylor which I like a lot, but it doesn't move enough air to be heard in most jams (it's fine for sitting around the living room). #I also have a Guild B-30 and an old Ernie Ball Earthwood. #

The main advantage of an ABG is that it is a natural "double" if you already play electric bass guitar, unlike an upright bass, which is a different beast. #

I've had much better luck getting an "acoustic" sound out of an ABG than out of any electric bass I've tried, though the Godin basses (especially the fretless) comes pretty close (though they have NO acoustic sound unless plugged in). #That said, the Ashbory bass sounds eerily like an upright, but I simply can't get used to playing one (the ergonimics are just too weird for me).

Most of the inexpensive ABGs aren't worth the money, in my view. The only "low end" one I can recommend is the Tacoma Thunderchief, which regularly shows up on eB*y for about $750.

[Joel Spaulding]

My LIMITED bass experience leads me to agree with the majority of sentiments above. I picked up a MK fretless acoustic B-stock for ~$350. Unplugged, it sounds fairly dull. Okay for the porch or living room. When it is run through a tube preamp- it sounds like a bass should sound:Big bottom smooth mids, lots of punch. Definitely worth what I paid - but it would likely come up short if used at a strictly acoustic gig. The jug idea might send me in a new direction

[mandroid]

aside: Speaking of Jugs, Antique tin jugs , for kerosene,
are a good find.

adding (back on topic)
If the electro part happens to include divided pickups and a pitch to midi conversion,
the Roland GR[30,33] synthesizers kit had some fat bass tones to use in it.

[MandoSquirrel]

I'm not a bass person, but I've read others musings on the subject, & the consensus appears to be that the closest to a decent unplugged sound were the Earthwoods from Ernie Ball, but they haven't been made for quite a while.

[allenhopkins]

I've tried the guitarron, the bass guitar used in mariachi music, and it's an interesting compromise -- by far the largest body, but a very short fretless neck. You have to really pull on the strings, but you can be heard.

There's a reason that almost 100% of the acoustic bass guitars come with built-in pickups or piezo transducers: the guitar body size can't accommodate enough bass overtones or produce enough volume to hold its own with acoustic instruments, unless it's amplified.

I also have an Ashbory bass, as well as an aluminum bass fiddle, and I think that either of these fills the bass role in an acoustic band better than the acoustic bass guitar. My only acoustic bass guitar is a cheap Hohner, however, and I'm sure the Earthwood, Guild, Tacoma, Taylor and Ovation instruments are well above its quality.

[dwc]

Yeah, I play bass and I agree, ABG don't really work. I had a Tacoma, which I liked better than the Dean, The MK or the Martin, and I still had to plug into a small acoustic amp to play with a guitar and mandolin or 2 guitars. They are really a novelty more than real acoustic instrument. If you think mandolins have volume issues, just wait 'till uoi try an ABG.

[delsbrother]

I've heard on the Gypsy Jazz forums people have had good results with ABGs and guitar modelers like the Turner D-TAR. But then you've got to bring TWO electric boxes around with you (amp + D-TAR). And I think you need to be plugged in to run the D-TAR. But I guess that's still easier than lugging an upright for some situations.

I bought an old Eko BA-4/N (fretless!), mainly because it looked Continental. It has a huge (deep) body that's hard for me to get my arms around - but even so it has no real volume unplugged. Not really worth bringing to dJams (after an initial WOW appearance) as there's usually an upright player who'll sound 500X better. Oh well. I'm telling myself I'll use it for recording... If anything, it takes up less space in my closet than an unused upright!

[Windflite]

I took a chance and bought a $200 Johnson acoustic/electric bass (with hardshell case no less) on ebay. #Frankly its only useful for recording (plugged directly in the board) or with a small amplifier (I bought a pignose bass amp) and even then...it is not anything like the traditional double bass sound, however, in a pinch it does move some air! # # It still gets used every once in a while when we are short a 'real' bass player and somebody sits in. #Many visiting guitar players have played the thing and despite the 'big johnson' jokes that are always launched at the unsuspecting visiting player, it sounds ok and adds some bottom to the jam! # #

[pettyman]

ok, I think I have been successfully persuaded NOT to go down the acoustic bass guitar path... I just want an instrument for playing in the church band cos we have no bass! What makes of cheapish electrics are good? Washburns? Tanglewoods??

Cheers
Matt

[allenhopkins]

What makes of cheapish electrics are good? Washburns? Tanglewoods??

Fender Squier (one of their import lines) is a presentable P-Bass, not too expensive. Don't know if you can tweak it to produce a pseudo-acoustic sound, if that's what you're after.

If you can handle its weirdness (silicon rubber strings, mandolin-scale neck), the DeArmond incarnation of the Ashbory bass might meet your needs. Fairly reasonably priced. Fender markets it now; guess they bought the DeArmond nameplate. Sounds rather acousticky.

[delsbrother]

The uke folks have taken those Ashbory necks/strings and put them on tenor uke bodies, making bass ukes out of them. Pretty cool, sound great, and they look OK in a Hawaiian band context.

Bass Ukes

This B stock Gold Tone OM on eBay is about the same scale as the bass ukes. Maybe someone could "Ashbory" one of these and come up with a mini version of Hilary James' mandobass!

[dwc]

I am fan of the older Fender Jazz Basses and Warwicks. A MIA Fender is reasonable way to go. Pretty much as with all musical instruments, you are going to get what you pay for. Fender's quality control is spotty to begin with and it is worse in the lower end instruments. if you go with a Fender Standard make sure you can try a bunch. And yes, you do look a bit ridiculous carying an electric bass and sound gear around to acoustic shows. In fact I know a few gigging bass players that have had to work hard to convince festival promoters to let them use their electric rigs at supposedly "acoustic" shows. Thankfully, with the proliferation of forums and the diedown surrounding the whole "unplugged" genre, this is less of a problem than it was five to ten years ago.

[Mando Medic]

I have a lot of experience with acoustic bassess and am always on the look out for good flat-top basses.. Currently the best acoustic bass out there other than a very few small builders like Nolte, are the Ernie Ball Earthwood basses that were discontinued in 1986 or 87... I bought the last two of the 4 that were available.... They really moved the air.... I currently have a Nolte hanging up in the shop with a redwood top that comes close.... I have tried and owned almost everything else and Dave Maize from Southern Oregon makes a pretty good one but still doesn't compare to the Earthwood... the Earthwoods, if you can find one, are going for $2500 to $3000 and in my opinion very well worth it.... I really wish Ernie Ball would make them again.... I think currently for production models, the fretless Breedlove Atlas would be a good choice and it comes with decent electronics too for when you have plug in... Kenc