pbreathing Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Hey guys, first post on here - was looking for somewhere to get advice from and a quick scan of the boards suggest you guys seriously know your stuff. The basic scenario - I'm an absolute novice of a bassist and I'm in the market for an acoustic. I can hear the tuts of derision already. Basically I'm a drummer that taught myself basic bass and has wound up in an acoustic band. Obviously cheap is good, but maybe I'd be willing to go to around £500 ($1000) or so. The key issue though - I haven't got a clue what I'm talking about. I know absolutely nothing about anything on the technical side, I can just about master the volume switch. I'd want something that is loud enough to hear unamplified and doesn't sound like crap when it's amped up. We play darkish, slow music (http://www.myspace.com/tbreathinguk) so something that would help that sound would be good. And, on a personal note, my electric bass is a wood-finish Yamaha (no idea of the model, sorry) and I love it immensely, so if left to my own devices, I'd go back to Yamaha. What should I look out for, and more importantly, what should I avoid? I've heard some horror stories about acoustic basses and this is a fair amount of money for me, so I want to get something that's worth the cash. I'd be eternally grateful for any sound buying advice. Thanks guys. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky McDougall Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Hi Paul, Welcome to our little Forum. I can't answer your question because I've never tried any of the acoustics but there are many on this Forum that will give you trustworthy advise. Rocky "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb, contesting the vote." Benjamin Franklin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo-London Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Max Valentino and I have Godin basses, which are just in you price range - these are ABG (Acoustic Bass Guitars) and have a hollow body but no sound hole. These are available in the UK. The more conventional ABG is like a regular 6 string acoustic only bigger. Michael Kellys get enthusiastic mentions on this forum. I have tried Martins and Taylors, which are probably too expensive. However, none of them are loud enough to play with other musicians and so an amp/speaker or combo will be required. Try as many as you can. They are not that popular on this forum but are great for practicing. Welcome Davo "We will make you bob your head whether you want to or not". - David Sisk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 What he said. Even the biggest ABG (as we call those creatures here) is not really loud enough to play unplugged and certainly will not put out a lot of bottom end that way. An Epiphone El Capitan would be a good choice or the above mentioned Michael Kelly (which are very affordable). Taylor stopped making basses...they were over $3500 anyway. I've got an ABG that hasn't left the house in years. I would really just recommend getting a small amp and using your Yamaha. Welcome to the forum. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Valentino Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Alright...first if you are playing "strictly" acoustic you are in trouble. Double basses cost plenty, and are really quite a bitch to play. ABGs "can" do the trick, but not without some applied amplification (alright, Tacoma owners...I know you're gonna chime in with "my Thunderchief can keep up with.....", but in my experience--and mind you I have played Thunderchief's, and they are excellent basses (albeit a bit on the big side for my tastes)--they don't quite keep up with other acoustic instruments unless played hard. The loudest ABG I have tried is an old Ernie Ball Earthwood which is quite large. Also quite loud are the Regal Dobro Bass (and the National Dobro Bass is loud as well,...but at $4000 it should be!). I found both Dobro models to be among the loudest of ABGs). Then there is the problem with feedback. Even at modest volumes, with the amp placed at just the right spot, any ABG will errupt into a howl of low end feedback. It's the body/top resonance thing. There are ways of dealing with this issue, but there is really no way to avoid it--other than simply playing at low volumes. The Godins are excellent, and provide one of the most "acoustic" tones this side of Rob Allen Basses. They are also quite feedback resistant. They have excellent workmanship and tone, and are very "playable" in a variety of settings. I justv picked up a couple of Rick Turner Renaissance basses. These are now my "first call" basses...wonderful instruments of supreme craftmanship--in fact, probably the finest basses I have owned, and certainly among the most expensive. But, my Godin A5 fretless does the faux URB sound a little more convincingly than even the Turner (but, to be fair, the Turner's do A LOT more than other things than the Godin can...) So, is it an issue of aesthetics that you cannot use your electric bass for the gig. Does have to at least "appear" to be unplugged? If not, then Jeremy's suggestion is a valid one. Just some thoughts..... FWIW; I don't play an URB, but do plenty of "acoustic" shows in a wide range of styles. I own Martin, Ovation and Guild ABGs, but my choice for the ersatz "unplugged" shows is now the Turner fretless...up to a few weeks ago it was the Godin. Max ...it's not the arrow, it's the Indian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo-London Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Like to see those Turners Max. Any photos? Davo "We will make you bob your head whether you want to or not". - David Sisk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
absolutpepper Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 I think that no matter what AGB you go for, you will always have a problem resonating at the same level as an acoustic guitar. The fact is that AGBs arent quite as loud due to the frequency of the notes which are played on it in comparison to a guitar. Personally id look at spending £250 on something like a fender or ibanez (I have an Ibanez AE10B which is excellent btw) and then the other £250 on a reasonable acoustic amp (such as an AER!!!). Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kramer Ferrington III. Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Well, ok... this is going to sound like those tall tales fishermen tell each other, but here goes. I had a jam with a friend who was playing her Ovation and my Greg Benett (nee Samick) Regency kept up with her quite well. In fact, I wound up offering her an amp to boost her volume up a little. I use Martin SP (phosphor bronze) acoustic bass strings and a pick. It's a cheapie, but it's LOUD. Do I think I could take on any guitar on the planet? No way, but it's funny how some truisms ("you need an amp!" and so on) are rules of thumb. As far as the feedback goes, for a few bucks, you can buy what's called a Feedback Buster. That's a thick rubber ring that you push onto the soundhole. It gets rid of huge amounts of feedback. I can play my bass in a 3 piece rock band situation without worrying about feedback at all. If there are no Feedback Busters in your area, you can kill a lot of the feedback by stuffing a towel into the ABGs body. It's a time honoured solution. Why do I play ABG? Well, I can get an electric sound out of the ABG, but I can't get an acoustic sound out of a solid body. I also enjoy the fact that when I'm mucking around at home, I can play anywhere without having to shlepp my amp all over the house. And, well... if I really WANT to, I CAN get feedback from the bass, and I love the way ABGs can be made to feedback and give off this angel choir sound. My very own take on the "woman" tone! What should you look for in an acoustic bass guitar? Well, it's an acoustic guitar, really... so you should make sure that there's no cracks anywhere, that it sounds fairly loud when played acoustically, that the neck is straight and that the sound is pleasing when played through an amp, that the frets don't cut into the side of your hand as you slide up and down the neck... all the usual stuff. Because we're dealing with bits of trees here, there's the off chance that even a crappy bass will be made from exceptional wood (unlikely, but possible) In short, try as many basses as possible. Band MySpace My snazzy t-shirt empire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbreathing Posted April 25, 2007 Author Share Posted April 25, 2007 Thanks for all the advice guys. A lot of what I've heard has echoed what I've gathered from friends who play guitar - there's so many pitfalls to avoid. From low unamplified volume, to feedback, to imbalance...there's a lot that can go wrong. Seems like the best way forward is just to trawl the guitar shops and hope to come across an ABG that happens to tick all the boxes. For the time being, I'm using an quiet electric bass anyway and it does give us quite a nice extra dimension. Think I'll stick with it and hold onto the cash until I'm seduced by an ABG out of the blue. But thanks a lot everyone who's posted - I know what to look out for and I'll be sure to check out the models that have been recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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