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  #31  
Old 08-08-2022, 12:38 PM
Rudy4 Rudy4 is offline
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Originally Posted by posternutbag View Post
Again, he is plugged into an amp. But no, the Ribbecke is an interesting instrument because it’s about the size of cello (I am partially kidding, but the acoustic bass guitars I have heard that “work” to any extent in an ensemble setting tend to be plugged in and/or very large. I am thinking about Violent Femmes bassist playing the Ernie Ball Earthwood, or even something like the guitarron played in Mariachi Bands).

And again, I want to be clear. I am not ragging on ABGs because I hate ABGs. Quite the opposite. An ABG that worked in an unplugged ensemble setting would be welcome. It would literally completely change the sort of venues my band (small bluegrass trio and quartet) could play.

If a bassist could just show up with a more or less guitar sized instrument and be heard, we could forgo the upright bass, and that would open up tons of new gigs, both out of town gigs (which are hard due to the difficulty in hucking around an upright) and also small venues where the spacing is too tight for either an upright or a bass guitar and amp.

And so again, to circle back to my original point, this is why the Uke bass is a real instrument. It “sort of” solves the bass problem for many small working bands. A Uke and a Fender Rumble 100 are relatively small and portable, and have a relatively small footprint when setting up. But still, a bass guitar that could be heard unamplified in an ensemble setting would solve everything. I am still waiting.
Jack is normally plugged into an amp for performance, but if you listen to the many interviews he has done where he discusses the development of the Diana bass he states that the design permits him to play in a totally acoustic setting with ample volume. I thought that was the whole point of bringing ABGs into the discussion.

Here's my other favorite solution that's "lap-sized"; the guitarron that you mention, but used outside of the Mariachi context:



I have also seen a few bands who use converted cellos as basses, too.

Oh, and I forgot to mention another friend who has a Taylor GS Mini bass and plugs in to a battery powered Roland Micro Cube bass amp. That's the one with four 4" drivers, and actually sounds pretty good as long as you don't want tons of volume out of it.

Last edited by Rudy4; 08-08-2022 at 12:59 PM.
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  #32  
Old 08-11-2022, 08:46 PM
Pine Cone Pine Cone is offline
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Well my new Kala U-bass arrived yesterday along with some replacement string choices. The u-bass has a solid sitka spruce top, laminated Pao Ferro back and sides, Fishman electronics, Hipshot tuners, and black (Pahoehoe?) poly strings.

I bought a sets of Kala round wounds, Aquila ThunderBlack, and Aquila ThunderBrown strings to help me figure out what might work best for me.

It is a pretty instrument which never hurts. The current strings are louder at the treble side, with the G much louder than E with flat eq on both the uke and bass amp. Tweeking the eq helps, but still not really balanced volume between the strings.

I ordered a Fender Rumble 100 amp, and before it arrived I found a deal on a nice used Fender Rumble 25 about 5 miles from my house, so I bought it too. Both weigh about 22 pounds, but the Rumble 25 is much snaller. The 25 will be my practice amp while the 100 will be used for jams, performances and recording.

I am enjoying fooling around with it and I think it will work well for me.

Thanks again for everyone's comments and advice.

Here are some pictures...
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  #33  
Old 08-12-2022, 05:17 PM
The Growler The Growler is offline
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Nice! Congratulations. UBass are a lot of fun.
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  #34  
Old 08-13-2022, 08:32 AM
Rudy4 Rudy4 is offline
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Nice U-Bass, enjoy!

When it comes to amps, size matters. I'm pretty sure once you hear your U-Bass through your Rumble 100 it will become what you practice with, too.
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  #35  
Old 08-14-2022, 07:06 PM
Pine Cone Pine Cone is offline
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Originally Posted by Rudy4 View Post
Nice U-Bass, enjoy!

When it comes to amps, size matters. I'm pretty sure once you hear your U-Bass through your Rumble 100 it will become what you practice with, too.
After switching between the two amps today you may be right. The Rumble 100 does sound much better.
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  #36  
Old 08-15-2022, 11:18 PM
Pine Cone Pine Cone is offline
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Today I took off the old stock black polyurethane strings, probably Road Toad Pahoehoe strings, and replaced them with Aquila Thunderbrown strings.

The Thunderbrowns are a big improvement. Higher string tension compared to the old strings, resulting in less fret-related string buzzing. More uniform string volume versus the old strings where strings 1 & 2 were much louder than strings 3 & 4. Less EQ adjustment needed on the Thunderbrown's on both the U-bass and the Fender Rumble 100 amp.

There is less of a difference in string gauges/diameters on the Thunderbrowns. The Thunderbrown 1st string is larger than the stock string while the Thunderbrown 4th is smaller than the stock string. 2nd & 3rd string diameters are similar for both sets.

Hammer-ons and pull-offs work well on the Thunderbrowns, but they are sticky/abrasive for slides. That may change over time as the strings are used.

Amplified sound is much better on the Thunderbrowns, and they feel better to the my fingers on both hands.

They are harder to find versus most other u-bass strings and cost a bit more. I bought mine from Strings & Beyond, an easy transaction.
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