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  #16  
Old 07-27-2016, 09:34 PM
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Acousticado Acousticado is offline
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Originally Posted by s2y View Post
Looks interesting, BUT...

1. I'd have to hear it in person and put it head to head with an acoustic guitar.

2. I'd have to play it for a while. Bridge placement often moves the bridge, which often means the reach feels a lot longer. The body thickness can make the plucking technique much less ergonomic.
True, as you would any bass. This new Emerald is worthy of a test drive.
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  #17  
Old 07-27-2016, 10:57 PM
jomaynor jomaynor is offline
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Originally Posted by bluesfreek View Post
The only acoustic bass that interests me is this.



The bass player in my band has one of those acoustic bass guitars and from my perspective they are not great for anything other than noodling at home alone. He has tried using it in informal acoustic jam sessions and the volume is simply not there. A double bass is the only thing I have heard that can compete with other guitars, banjos and fiddles.


+1000
Absolutely. The double bass is the quality acoustic bass sound.

Using a standard sized acoustic bass guitar as an acoustic instrument is no way to get a satisfactory bass sound. You'd need a huge mariachi sized acoustic bass guitar (guitarron) to get any decent bass tone and volume acoustically. A dreadnought/jumbo sized acoustic bass is simply not large enough.

And plugged in, acoustic bass guitars don't sound nearly as good as a typical Fender type electric bass, or a silicone string uke bass, either.
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  #18  
Old 07-28-2016, 06:21 AM
redir redir is offline
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I have a cheap Oscar Schmidt but plugged in it's like anything else. I don't think there is such thing as an 'acoustic' bass. At practice volumes though they are great otherwise they have to be plugged in. When I was doing repairs for a Taylor shop in the 90's they had some model Taylor bass made out of Imbuia and that was by far the best one I ever played acoustically, not that I played a whole lot but, that one sounded really good.
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  #19  
Old 07-28-2016, 08:32 AM
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Originally Posted by bluesfreek View Post
The only acoustic bass that interests me is this.



The bass player in my band has one of those acoustic bass guitars and from my perspective they are not great for anything other than noodling at home alone. He has tried using it in informal acoustic jam sessions and the volume is simply not there. A double bass is the only thing I have heard that can compete with other guitars, banjos and fiddles.
No doubt. I have never heard an acoustic bass GUITAR that produces any kind of volume or good tone. For a $200 budget you pretty much have to go with an electric. To me, electric basses are a far superior option to acoustic bass guitars.
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  #20  
Old 07-28-2016, 11:10 AM
fingerguy fingerguy is offline
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Fine...electric it is but this will have to wait. The fiance and I made some really big purchases in the past couple of months. Normally I would be able to afford a really good electric bass and amp but need a few months to get caught up financially to where we were a couple of months ago.

Once that happens and the desire is still there then I will go bass shopping.

Also, I talked to my teacher about this and he has no issues me using his bass during lessons so might do that for now. I also know a place that sells guitars/bass's at a decent price. Depending on when I get out of work on Saturday I will at least check him out. The later again really depends on cost, and if it's worth money for again for the next few months we need to be careful on what we buy. Basically if it's not a necessity then it can wait. The bass does fit in that category even though I know some of you guys try to convince your significant other the opposite.

Now a more focused bass question(s).

I have in the past played 4-strings and I really enjoyed it. I dabbled with 5 and higher at stores but always found the 4 more comfortable.

What would be reasons to go past 4?
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  #21  
Old 07-28-2016, 12:03 PM
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i've never found an acoustic bass to hold its own when recording it so i've only used electrics.

5 string bass allows you to utilize that extra string in your playing. i've never found a need for it as i only use a 4 string bass but, that is me. you may really enjoy it.

play music!
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  #22  
Old 07-28-2016, 12:27 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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A new bass and amp is a necessity - end of story, case closed...

The purpose of 5/6/7-string basses is to not only extend your range in the lower and/or upper register, but permit the use of fingering patterns across rather than along the fingerboard where most practical. Used in this manner they can be very effective: a modern 6-string bass (as opposed to an "octave guitar" like the Fender Bass VI) with a 24-fret neck has a range of over four octaves, which allows an accomplished player to solo in standard guitar register, then seamlessly drop to 16' organ pipe territory and crack the foundations. Whether or not you should buy one at this stage is debatable - with proper EQ the lowest notes on a standard 4-string can be pretty potent, and you really need a 15"/18" speaker (and loads of clean power) to capture the fundamentals on that low-B string; since you and yours have a case of no-tenemos-dinero right now, as well as the fact that you're a relative beginner, I'd hold the 5/6/7-string for a couple years down the road...
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  #23  
Old 07-28-2016, 12:59 PM
The Growler The Growler is offline
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Originally Posted by Wade Hampton View Post
No acoustic bass guitar that you can buy for $200 is going to be worth getting, frankly.

Acoustic bass guitars (ABG's) are one of those things that SEEM like they must be a great idea, but which don't really work all that well in real life. You can get a nice tone from some of them, but if you're trying to play with more than one other person in a quiet room, you won't really be heard unless you plug the ABG into an amp.

At which point the silliness of the whole thing becomes manifest. You can spend much less money and get a much better instrument by buying a used electric bass. They're a lot more portable, as well - I owned a Tacoma Thunderchief ABG for a while, and it was like carrying around a doghouse intended for a oversized pit bull everywhere I went. Plus it required an amp to be heard.



Tacoma Thunderchief

However, if you want to get an acoustic tone and still be portable, you can get one of these cool little Kala bass ukes:



Kala bass uke

These sell for about twice your budget, but if you're patient and faithfully watch your local Craigslist, you can probably snag a used one.

And they actually sound good. There's a band called "Walk Off The Earth" that posts a lot of music videos on YouTube, and they use one of these on a fairly regular basis.

You'll still need to have a little amp for it to be audible, but these Kala bass ukes are surprisingly viable instruments. It's a pretty good option for you to consider.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

I'd second the Kala UBass suggestion from Wade with two caveats. I have the solid mahogany, fretless model. First, as Wade pointed out, you will need an amplifier. No way you will play this with anyone else without one.

My second caveat is that due to the string material and the very low tension, there is very little sustain. Is that a problem for what you want to play? That's only something that you can answer, you'd need to try it out playing the type of music you have in mind. Yes, there are pedals you could use to try to increase the sustain, but that's something you need to consider.

All that said, I absolutely love the UBass, it's nice to have and play in some music and sounds great. But it wouldn't be my primary bass, it's an option for me based off the song.

It's also a lot of fun!
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  #24  
Old 07-29-2016, 09:05 AM
fingerguy fingerguy is offline
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Doing a service call that if you stand outside their building you can see a Guitar Center location. I think I need to stop by and just check out some Bass's.
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  #25  
Old 07-29-2016, 09:24 PM
Rudy4 Rudy4 is online now
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Originally Posted by T Texas View Post
No doubt. I have never heard an acoustic bass GUITAR that produces any kind of volume or good tone. For a $200 budget you pretty much have to go with an electric. To me, electric basses are a far superior option to acoustic bass guitars.
You've probably never heard an Ernie Ball Earthwood:

https://youtu.be/uwhut-22G6s

It's not a very viable option unless you run into a used one, though.

As far as the raft of "alternative" basses out there, there's nothing that comes nearly as close as a good Kala U-bass. I've walked into gigs and started looking for the upright player before realizing how close the sound can be to the real thing.
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  #26  
Old 07-29-2016, 10:56 PM
Mandobart Mandobart is offline
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Played a jam today with a friend who recently got a 1/2 size upright bass. For those that may not know, whenever you see someone playing an upright its usually a 3/4 size, unless you're watching a symphony orchestra. Anyway the 1/2 size is just a little bigger than a cello, but has a bigger sound than any ABG. Lighter and more portable than a doghouse, too.
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  #27  
Old 07-30-2016, 04:01 PM
The Growler The Growler is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy4 View Post

As far as the raft of "alternative" basses out there, there's nothing that comes nearly as close as a good Kala U-bass. I've walked into gigs and started looking for the upright player before realizing how close the sound can be to the real thing.
Agreed! Sound great and fun to play too.
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  #28  
Old 07-31-2016, 06:43 AM
Wooden Music Wooden Music is offline
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Default +1 for bass ukes

I play guitar, but also play in a couple of uke bands. One has been experimenting with adding a bass. As stated elsewhere in this thread, acoustic basses are not loud enough unless amp'd up.
Our bassist now has a bass uke. Again not loud enough without an amp, but good with one.
His bass (not sure of the make) came with silicon rubber strings that he could not get on with. He has now fitted metal bass strings - i believe sets are specifically made for bass ukes - and it sounds really, really good......
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  #29  
Old 08-01-2016, 08:02 AM
fingerguy fingerguy is offline
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Found a guy down the street from where I work selling a Yamaha and Ibanez's under $200. Here is his site.

Any recommendations before I walk in?

http://guitarhangar.com/
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  #30  
Old 08-01-2016, 09:46 AM
Earl49 Earl49 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy4 View Post
As far as the raft of "alternative" basses out there, there's nothing that comes nearly as close as a good Kala U-bass. I've walked into gigs and started looking for the upright player before realizing how close the sound can be to the real thing.
I've actually had this happen to me a couple of summers ago. I bought a Kala U-bass and 90 minutes later I was on stage with it as part of a bluegrass ensemble. This was not planned - they had an electric bass for me to use, but I opted to use my new toy plugged in. After the set, someone came up to the stage and asked where the doghouse bass was, as they kept looking for it. I just held out the U-bass and watched the guy's jaw drop.

Fingerguy, I don't have any recommendation for you. I used a Squire P-bass for a few years, which should be available in your budget, especially used. Then I was given a Lace electric bass by a friend of the company. When I play electric bass (fairly rarely) that is the one I prefer.
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