Acoustic Bass

[RustyAxe]

Originally Posted by Psalad

My cheap laminated upright bass was $500 used, plays and sounds good. Be patient on craigslist.

I don't claim that you can't get a decent bass on the cheap, only that it's unlikely that someone unfamiliar with the instrument would be able to tell a good bass from a bass shaped object without a good deal of luck.

Give that Cremona another try in 30 years.

[posternutbag]

Originally Posted by Psalad

My cheap laminated upright bass was $500 used, plays and sounds good. Be patient on craigslist.

Oh and I have played a Cremona and it's not great but with a great setup can play well and sound OK.

I think many cheap plywood basses could be made playable with a great setup. Just 2 caveats:

1) A "great setup" for such an upright bass would likely cost more than the bass itself. A setup for an upright involves taking off and throwing away the unplayable strings it shipped with, bridge work, adjusting the sound post (much harder than it sounds), planing and leveling the fingerboard, and finally restringing with decent strings. Good upright strings alone run $300+.

2) Finding someone qualified to do all that work is not easy. Unless you live in a town with a prominent symphony or a truly great string shop (these often go together) there probably isn't anyone in your town/city who is qualified. Guitar tech, no way. The guy who sells cheap violins to middle schoolers, nope. You need at minimum a qualified string shop and preferably a bass specialist.

I am a huge proponent of the upright bass. I think it is a much more practical instrument than most people think. I fit mine in the back of a Mini Cooper.

In this case, the OP just wants a decent ABG. My standard response to threads like this is that there isn't a really good ABG. I have played Tacomas, Martins, Deans, an Ibanez, none of them hold up acoustically. Lots of people want an ABG. This question comes up frequently. If you could build an ABG with sufficient volume you would sell a ton of them.

[Marty1]

I appreciate all the suggestions but I am really not looking to learn a new instrument at the moment (upright bass). Between work and writing a thesis I really don't have the time to jump into something like that.

Originally Posted by posternutbag

In this case, the OP just wants a decent ABG. My standard response to threads like this is that there isn't a really good ABG. I have played Tacomas, Martins, Deans, an Ibanez, none of them hold up acoustically. Lots of people want an ABG. This question comes up frequently. If you could build an ABG with sufficient volume you would sell a ton of them.

That's a pretty strong opinion. What about situations where volume is not an issue? Plugged in? Mic in a recording situation? You seem to shun an entire type of instrument because it does not suit your purposes. "Not loud enough" seems like way too general a statement to me.

[Steve DeRosa]

PNB's right, Marty - with only three exceptions I've personally heard (the discontinued Tacoma Thunderchief, the ultra-rare Ernie Ball Earthwood 8" deep-body version, and the uber-expensive Dave Maize) there's not enough volume for anything other than solo practice or jamming along with a (as in one) fingerstyle guitar. I got in on the ABG craze early on - used to own an '82 Guild B-50SB (one of the better ones in terms of volume and tone), still have a rare all-hog '93 Guild B4E-AMB - and the only reason I keep the latter around is for visuals (seems there are still some ultra-traditional folkies who won't let you play anything that looks too "electric"), since there's really not much to recommend it for tone either plugged or unplugged (interestingly enough, with its 16"x3" body it has about as much acoustic power - if you can call it that - as my old 18"x6-1/2" B-50). I've heard a few positive reports about the resonator-style basses - Regal and GoldTone both have them in their lineup - but the jury's still out on these as well...

Speaking from personal experience, if it's acoustic-style tone you're after you might want to consider an electric strung with nylon tapewounds; I had my Pedulla P/J set up like this when I had an acoustic trio, and with a bit of EQ and a softer right-hand technique it provided a decent acoustic-like "thump" in the mix. Again speaking from experience, I'd also suggest looking into a hollow-body/semi-hollow electric, preferably short-scale (30-31") if you're going to do this full-time; the shorter string length gives a naturally softer attack (not to mention easier fingering), the body provides resonance and "woof" to the low-end, and with flats or tapewounds it can get surprisingly close to amplified upright tone in an easy-handling package. Fortunately there's been a revival of interest in instruments of this type over the last decade or so; there's a fairly good selection of quality stuff in the under-$700 bracket from some of the major manufacturers - Ibanez (ASB/AFB/AGB), Epiphone (Viola Bass. Allen Woody, Jack Casady), Hofner (Icon Club Bass/Beatle Bass) - so check it out and see what fits your needs...

[PointBlank]

I compared a Fender Kingsman and a Dean acoustic bass at guitar center once. Im a Fender guy to the bone (Strat, Tele, Jazz Bass) but I have to say the Dean definitely sounded the better of those two acoustically. I was just looking not buying but I would have bought the Dean for the tone.

About 4 years ago my wife and I went on a excellent once in a lifetime vacation to the small island of Kauai in Hawaii. We stopped at a little music store to get a beginner Ukulele for her daughter. Browsing around I found a used Guild fretless acoustic bass, don't know what model. That thing sounded so natural with flatwound strings on it and I debated about getting it but didn't want to go thru the hassle with baggage for the flight back to the states. But most of all I didn't want to be the one to take that beautiful instrument off that beautiful island. I'm sure someone there needed it more than I did.

I have too many electric basses but no acoustic bass. .....yet! Enjoy the hunt.

[815C]

I picked up this Dean at a flea market for $130. Its actually not a bad instrument. I've not yet attempted to plug in the electronics/pickup.

[ricdoug]

My Ibanez AEB10E has superb acoustic bass tone. Not everyone wants to lug around a standup double bass. In this photo it's plugged into a Roland Microcube Bass Rx:

[Psalad]

Originally Posted by Marty1

That's a pretty strong opinion. What about situations where volume is not an issue? Plugged in? Mic in a recording situation? You seem to shun an entire type of instrument because it does not suit your purposes. "Not loud enough" seems like way too general a statement to me.

I agree, just acoustically, nothing else will compete other than an upright. That's why I made the suggestion.

A guitarron will come close, but it's quite a different instrument:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitarrón_mexicano

With an amp, any acoustic electric guitar will do the job. Pick it by amplified tone. But it's not acoustic.

[Psalad]

Originally Posted by posternutbag

1) A "great setup" for such an upright bass would likely cost more than the bass itself.

That is an exaggeration, but it's good to point out a bass is expensive to set up. Strings are north of $200 (not $300, not sure where you buy yours, spirocores are easily found below $250).

I am a huge proponent of the upright bass. I think it is a much more practical instrument than most people think. I fit mine in the back of a Mini Cooper.

I think that is very true and I think it's probably the only instrument the OP will ultimately be happy with. I went on my own similar journey... not to say my experience is universal but... as you said, no acoustic bass guitar has the volume to compete.

It's not as difficult for people to play as they think, especially if you're just looking to it as an accompanying instrument (not looking to bow or solo).

[Fran Guidry]

I found this in a pawn shop years ago:



Someday I need to learn to play bass.

Fran

[Rudy4]

Since this topic is "Acoustic Bass" and not "Acoustic Bass Guitar" I'll offer that there are decent ply uprights to be found. I sold my Englehardt with bag recently for $700, so they are around.
Buyer beware is certainly true for the Chinese basses that you find marketed cheaply here. I've seen several examples that experianced delamination of the neck block and/or internal bass bar. It's not cheap to get one fixed, so be aware of that.
Everything that's been said about setup is true, and it's going to take at least $150 to replace the unusable strings found on the import basses.

[posternutbag]

Originally Posted by Marty1

I appreciate all the suggestions but I am really not looking to learn a new instrument at the moment (upright bass). Between work and writing a thesis I really don't have the time to jump into something like that.



That's a pretty strong opinion. What about situations where volume is not an issue? Plugged in? Mic in a recording situation? You seem to shun an entire type of instrument because it does not suit your purposes. "Not loud enough" seems like way too general a statement to me.

I have simply never played an ABG that was loud enough to keep up with 1 or 2 acoustic guitars, and I have played many ABGs. An ABG has to be plugged in to keep up, and if you are going to plug in, you might as well just play an electric bass guitar. The pickup(s) will be better, as will the sound. That or a UBass. I can get pretty good tone out of a UBass.

Originally Posted by Psalad

That is an exaggeration, but it's good to point out a bass is expensive to set up. Strings are north of $200 (not $300, not sure where you buy yours, spirocores are easily found below $250).



I think that is very true and I think it's probably the only instrument the OP will ultimately be happy with. I went on my own similar journey... not to say my experience is universal but... as you said, no acoustic bass guitar has the volume to compete.

It's not as difficult for people to play as they think, especially if you're just looking to it as an accompanying instrument (not looking to bow or solo).

It isn't an exaggeration. The setup will be $300, new strings $200 (as you say, I guess I buy more expensive strings, but we will go with your number) so you have at minimum $500 in setup/strings. But really, I think we are in agreement as to the main point even if we disagree a little on the specifics.

That point is, ABGs aren't practical for working musicians. So you either choose electric bass or double bass.

[Psalad]

Originally Posted by posternutbag

It isn't an exaggeration.

You said a setup will be more expensive than the bass itself. My $500 craigslist bass required no setup at all, but even taking the bass at amazon at $700, and assuming it needs a full setup including new strings... taking your $500 number, obviously that's not "more expensive" than the bass itself..

So yes, your statement is an exaggeration.

Anyway, we agree more than disagree though... the OP should find a cheap playable acoustic upright and learn. Unless he wants to bring an amp. The advantage is there are some great bass amps that work well and are very light, like my Acoustic Image. But they are expensive... so you might as well buy that upright IMO.

[jomaynor]

I also strongly agree with posternutbag about not liking acoustic bass guitars.

My thoughts:
Acoustic bass guitars are not loud enough by themselves and they don't sound nearly as good as a decent electric bass plugged in.

Double basses are big and clunky, but they sound great, and they look cool, too. This is THE acoustic sound.

The little rubber stringed uke basses aren't for everyone, me included, but they do sound good plugged in.

A P bass looks like a P bass, and plugged in it sounds like a P bass - a very good thing.

And a Jack Casady bass sounds 10 times better than any acoustic bass guitar.

[newton]

Originally Posted by Marty1

Any hidden gems in the acoustic bass market? What is the best value in inexpensive acoustic basses?

It's not my main instrument but I'm looking to get one to record some stuff and to mess around with. I'm looking at cheap ones, and thinking maybe a kingman bass. I've tried one, liked it, but my expectations are not so high given that I'm not looking for the cream of the crop. I imagine its the same as acoustic guitars where there are certain cheap models/brands that are a great value at entry level prices. Anyone got ideas?

I'm looking for something in the 400$ to 600$ range.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tacoma-4-str...item3f3d83a5ad

Made in USA, all Tone Wood. The neck on my CB10 Thunder Chief has good playability and the guitar sounds good (quiet but good) when it's not plugged in. Great for practice and learning music theory. Cost me $500.

If your playing out, you are going to have an amp no matter what. If you are not playing out, an acoustic amp is still a good idea whether or not you have a six string or a bass. Bluegrass bands and Yes (the band) have all found ways to use electricity to amplify the sound of all kinds of acoustic instruments, bass guitar included.

At home I plug into a good used Crate Gunnison model CA6110DG 60 watts, 10 inch speaker. If what you want is more of an education and you want a good bass line to be part of it, first pick your instructor, then follow their advice.

Here's a Crate acoustic bass amp BFX100 for heck not much. But if you search ebay for "acoustic bass amp" there are little portable amps that cost even less.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bass-Amp-Cra...item3ce8fdc1e6

So, good luck and have fun.