Acoustic bass guitars

[posternutbag]

Originally Posted by johnd

So are they predominantly used as an upright replacement or is that just your use-case; if so where else do they make sense (other than looking cool)?

I think they are mostly used by people who want to "look" acoustic, ie MTV Unplugged. Lots of Americana bands use them (OK, not lots, lets say some), and I think they mostly do it to keep up the "folk" look. I've played both upright and bass guitar, and when you gig you are forced to make a decision, do I carry 1 very large, cumbersome item (upright), or 2 moderately large and cumbersome items (bass guitar and amp).

Originally Posted by muscmp

i've tried recording with acoustic basses that friend's on mine had. they wanted to keep their sound acoustic but we were never able to get any of them to sound good, so we went with electric bass. it fit in right away. i won't waste my time nor others anymore with acoustic.

play music!

Interesting. I would think that the studio is the one place where you can control enough variables to be able to pull off the ABG. I know Jonas Hellborg has done some recording with the ABG, but he has access to his own studio, and he is Jonas Hellborg.

[muscmp]

Originally Posted by posternutbag

I

Interesting. I would think that the studio is the one place where you can control enough variables to be able to pull off the ABG. I know Jonas Hellborg has done some recording with the ABG, but he has access to his own studio, and he is Jonas Hellborg.

you are right, but, you need a quality instrument to do so, and, i don't think the guitars had a quality sound projection to fulfill that need. one mic or eighteen didn't matter. ha!

i don't know jonas, i'll look him up. thanks,

play music!

[Steve DeRosa]

I've owned two, still have one, and I'll be the first to tell you that it's strictly about the visuals; I once played a pick-up job with a bunch of hidebound folkies who told me that my Pedulla P/J was "too loud" - but my Guild B-4E was "just right" at the same volume (I checked it with an SPL meter). If you want an "acoustic" tone with some visual vibe, go with a hollow/semi-hollow electric - Hofner's Contemporary Series basses are my fave in the affordable (under $1K) bracket - and fit it with flatwound/tapewound strings; if you're working with a bluegrass/old-time group Gold Tone makes an electric resophonic bass as well as the banjo-style BB-400, and Michael Kelly used to make a hollowbody short-scale (30") on an H-5 mandola-size body...

[ColdEye]

For me it was just for the looks, needed to have an all acoustic look for a group I went with. But then I got an upright (if you can get over the size and develop good muscle memory its a lot of fun). I am mostly a bass player, and if I am too lazy to bring out the I just use my P bass. But I think I might get one of those bass ukuleles. They all need to be amplified btw. And use tapewounds, the PB strings are absolutely awful. La Bella Gold Tapewounds are the best I tried.

[cotten]

I needed a bass guitar for a church that was transitioning from piano/organ to guitars/drums. I went with a piezo pickup in a $500 Fender acoustic bass, into a Roland KC500 keyboard amp. The acoustic bass was a bit easier to accept for folks who were uneasy with the transition, and I never had problems with feedback. They've since gone with an electric bass. I would have to begin with, but thought an acoustic would do for a while. I was right.

cotten

[815C]

I picked up a Dean acoustic bass at a flea market last year for $120. I doubt I'll ever gig with it (although it has a pickup), but I do plan on using it for some recording. I like the tone.

[Phreadlaz]

Most useful as a couch bass. Practice without disturbing anyone. It will not shake your house.

[johnd]

Originally Posted by Phreadlaz

Most useful as a couch bass. Practice without disturbing anyone. It will not shake your house.

I wondered that though it might be an expensive practice aid

[posternutbag]

Originally Posted by johnd

I wondered that though it might be an expensive practice aid

So, to me, this is the thing about the ABG. There isn't much reason to spend a lot of money on one. I have a Fender Kingman. It is by far the least expensive instrument I own, but I only pull it out if we are working on a tune and we need a quick, dirty approximation of the bass guitar sound. I also use it when I am working on bass lines and counterpoint for songs. As long as it doesn't buzz and it stays in tune, it is a fine tool for my needs.

[johnd]

Maybe I'll keep an eye out for a cheap deal if/when I get into playing bass - I keep meaning to but never have.

It'd look nice on the wall if nothing else

[jomaynor]

Originally Posted by johnd

Although I knew these exist, I'd never really seen one until the other day I was in GuitarGuitar Glasgow and they had quite a range - maybe a dozen or so.

I'm not a bass player - although I own one and plan to learn - but they struck me as really beautiful instruments. Are they enjoying a surge in popularity, or have always been more popular than I realised, or is it just that particular store happened to have a good selection?

How does an acoustic bass guitar sound, or differ, from either an electric bass or a traditional double bass? What is its raison d'etre so to speak? Is it tuned and played like an electric bass guitar - I'm assuming it would always be played amplified so the hollow body is for resonance/tone rather than allowing you to play unplugged?

An acoustic/electric bass guitar is too anemic when used as an acoustic instrument (the much larger guitarron has the proper dimensions of a purely acoustic bass guitar).
And when plugged in, the sound quality of an acoustic/electric bass isn't up to the standard of other electric basses - they tend to be fairly hollow and thuddy sounding.


A marketing gimmick, these.

[ukrobbiej1]

Sorry I am late to this thread, only just retrieved my forgotten password.

Felt I just had to post though as there is so much rubbish posted in this thread, with the same old, cliches we always get when posting about acoustic bass guitars- I've seen the words gimmick being used with no justification, and that old chestnut "they are not loud enough to play acoustically". All rubbish!

Yes, as someone who has recently taken ownership of a very nice custom Brook bass guitar I am a little biased, but let me just give you a few thoughts on this.

Firstly, why acoustic bass in the first place? Well, my music is all acoustic. And not being a double bass player (and finding the sound of the double bass to be too dark, unfocused and ubiquitous) for me an acoustic bass is the only option. As some have mentioned here already, electric basses just don't sound right with acoustic instruments. They sound is thin, with no body, too metallic and with a lack of air or bloom around the notes.

I also play with a mandolin group, where if I turned up with a fender precision I would look dumb indeed.

So yes, certain types of music cry out for an acoustic bass. Also, it is just that- an acoustic bass guitar, and I want it to sound like that. Like an acoustic guitar but just lower.

On the question of whether they are loud enough, I find mine more than holds its own acoustically with about 5 other mandolin family instruments, including a very loud bouzouki. At other times I reinforce the sound A LITTLE with a Phil Jones cub, producing a rather wonderful, organic, deep, growly sound that is the sound of my bass only louder (thanks no doubt to the headway pickup as well).

And here are some gratuitous pictures of my bass

And here is my bass in action in one of my own acoustic guitar pieces:

[posternutbag]

You just called the opinions of many, many people "rubbish" and cliche'ed based on your anecdotal evidence and your sample size of 1. That sir, is rubbish.

You think upright basses are "ubiquitous?"
"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

The hardest thing to find for a traditional bluegrass band is a double bass, to the point where owning a double bass is often the sole criteria for joining the band. That is the opposite of "ubiquitous."

Finally, the points raised about volume are so well-founded as to appear to you "cliche." You may not like it, but that doesn't change the facts. You are welcome to your own opinion, but I stand behind the physics. The body of a bass guitar is too small of an acoustic chamber to move enough air to be heard at low frequencies.

In the end, pitch is the frequency of the sound wave, and volume is the amplitude. In order to have a large amplitude at low frequency (and thus perceived as "loud"), you have to move more air, and a flat top ABG does not have enough sound chamber volume to push the volume of air necessary to produce a loud tone at low frequencies. If I am wrong, prove it experimentally. Right now your evidence is a picture of a bass guitar and a dead youtube link.

If you are going to say that there is an ABG that defies physics, bring it. It isn't like anyone in this thread has it out for the ABG and wants to smear it. If someone (you) can find or build an ABG that is loud enough to keep up with an acoustic band, let it come forth. I will buy it. It would make my life so much easier.

But fundamentally, even in your own post you say you need a small amp in some situations. This is all anyone has ever said. An ABG needs an amp to be heard, therefore it is not loud enough on it own.

[ukrobbiej1]

You say in your last post that you have a Kingman that gives you an "approximation" of the bass sound, and that you are happy with that. That's fine. I am just saying that if you are willing to spend money acoustic bass's do work and produce a different sound that is every bit as good as a fine acoustic guitar (and think how much people are prepared to spend on a handmad acoustic).

I meant no offence by my post, and my comment that some comments are just repeating rubbish was tongue in cheek. But it does seem that the same reasons for not owning one are churned out again and again by people who have only played modestly priced instruments.

And yes, I do know what ubiquitous means thanks very much! And my point was that, not just in bluegrass, but also in a lot of folk music over here in the uk, makes use of the double bass. I would love to hear a bit more acoustic guitar bass.

Anyway, no offence meant- I'm enjoying my Brook very much, and I find it a very inspiring instrument. The information I was trying to put across is that if people want an acoustic bass, a good luthier should be able to build one that will give immense enjoyment. No, it's not going to hold its own up against a typical Bluegrass band without an amp.

Robbie

[posternutbag]

Originally Posted by ukrobbiej1

You say in your last post that you have a Kingman that gives you an "approximation" of the bass sound, and that you are happy with that. That's fine. I am just saying that if you are willing to spend money acoustic bass's do work and produce a different sound that is every bit as good as a fine acoustic guitar (and think how much people are prepared to spend on a handmad acoustic).

I meant no offence by my post, and my comment that some comments are just repeating rubbish was tongue in cheek. But it does seem that the same reasons for not owning one are churned out again and again by people who have only played modestly priced instruments.

And yes, I do know what ubiquitous means thanks very much! And my point was that, not just in bluegrass, but also in a lot of folk music over here in the uk, makes use of the double bass. I would love to hear a bit more acoustic guitar bass.

Anyway, no offence meant- I'm enjoying my Brook very much, and I find it a very inspiring instrument. The information I was trying to put across is that if people want an acoustic bass, a good luthier should be able to build one that will give immense enjoyment. No, it's not going to hold its own up against a typical Bluegrass band without an amp.

Robbie

I appreciate your response. I took your post more personally than I should have, and I apologize, but honestly, this is an important issue to me. I play in a bluegrass band, and bass is always the sticky wicket. It is hard to find a double bass and someone who can play it in the same place at the same time.

It would be fantastic if I could find an acoustic bass guitar that was loud enough to compete with my mandolin and a banjo, or even a dreadnought. If I could find one, I could give it to a guitar player (who are ubiquitous) and my bass issues would be solved.

I have been on the search for such an instrument since about 2004. I have tried Martins, Breedloves, a Tacoma Thunderchief, a Dean, some of them relatively expensive, and none had enough volume.

I keep a cheap Fender around because I didn't find that it was significantly lacking compared to more expensive models that I have tried, but if there was something that was significantly better, I would buy it and use it.

People (myself included) love the concept of an ABG. If someone could solve the volume problem (without an amp), they would have a very valuable commodity. I think even an expensive ABG (say $2000+ US) would sell very well for festivals and touring bands.