seratone Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 My drummer asked me tonight if I knew of a good brand of acoustic Bass Guitar to get. He wants to accompany his son, who's playing a sort of pastoral British folk music on a resonator - like Johnny Flynn. I recall years ago when I was was playing bass that there was only really one good one to get - The Guild B-50 - because it actually had bottom end unplugged. I recall renting an Ovation for a few weeks at the cottage and it had more attack and string noise than actual tone. Have things changed? With a lot of decent guitars now coming out of China? Does anyone have any suggestions for him? - in, say the 400-600$ range. Alvarez? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil W Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I don't think any acoustic bass guitar works unplugged except for practice. I use my Crafter Electro-Acoustic which is a super inexpensive instrument and would recommend that. http://crafterguitar.co.uk/Crafter_BA-400EQ-N_EA_Bass_Series_Acoustic_Bass_Guitar.html £350 on their site http://philwbass.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard W Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I had a Dean ABG for several years, which I thought sounded pretty good. It had a jack so you could plug it in to an amp, and also an on-board equalizer. I never gigged with it, but would use it for practice occasionally. The problem, however, was that it was so big and bulky it became uncomfortable to play for more than a few minutes at a time. I eventually sold it. Deans are not expensive, and you can pick one up in the $250 - $350 range. "Everyone wants to change the world, but no one thinks of changing themselves." Leo Tolstoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cthulhu Fhtagn Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Unless the kid is also playing acoustic, the ABG will have a lot of trouble cutting through. The Fender T-Bucket ($600) is a nice acoustic/electric combo that reasonably priced and decent in quality. Steer clear of the Ibanez AEB10s. The active pre-amp is junk. I have one of these. It's a nice bass otherwise; I use it for noddling just before bed. A 6", 15W practice amp can be had for almost nothing anymore. That would be money well invested. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b5pilot Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I had an Alvarez 4 string AGB that sounded nice and was quite playable. The body size of the one I had wasn't real big so it was reasonably comfortable but it wasn't very loud unplugged. Plugged in it sounded really nice. Alvarez no longer makes the model I had though. I sold it though and now I have a Dean playmate 5 string ABG that plays very nicely and sounds ok unplugged. Plugged in it was really bad as the playmate series has really bad electronics. I replaced them though with a inexpensive Fishman preamp system I got off of Ebay. Now it sounds much better! It has a large body though and can be a bit uncomfortable. I agree with Phil that most AGBs don't fill a room with sound but I think they will keep up with an acoustic guitar as long as the player of the guitar isn't banging away on it. I do recommend using a small amp or plugging in to the PA though. Lydian mode? The only mode I know has the words "pie ala" in front of it. http://www.myspace.com/theeldoradosband Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 A resonator guitar is loud and it would be very hard for an ABG to keep up. I'd get a Roland micro-cube bass amp (which can run on batteries) and maybe a Michael Kelly bass. Then you'd be on budget and have a bass and an amp so you could actually hear the bass. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Brown Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I have a Michael Kelly bass. Nice bass, if you like acoustic bass guitar... very nice.... "When I take a stroll down Jackass Lane it is usually to see someone that is already there" Mrs. Brown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Here's an excellent acoustic bass guitar at a good price: http://www.theperfectbass.com/Breedlove-Atlas-Studio--BJ350SMe-Bass.htm Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenstrum Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 I have an Ibanez Acoustic. There is no such thing as being unplugged and being heard... Tenstrum "Paranoid? Probably. But just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face." Harry Dresden, Storm Front Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lug Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Not in your price range given but the Rigel ABG would probably work. http://i726.photobucket.com/albums/ww268/NBInstruments/RigelBass.jpg You can stop now -jeremyc STOP QUOTING EVERY THING I SAY!!! -Bass_god_offspring lug, you should add that statement to you signature.-Tenstrum I'm not sure any argument can top lug's. - Sweet Willie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cthulhu Fhtagn Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Wow. Just wow! Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b5pilot Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Dang Lug, that's a BIG ol' bass! Lydian mode? The only mode I know has the words "pie ala" in front of it. http://www.myspace.com/theeldoradosband Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michele C. Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Jeremy, how sexy is that ABG and looks like such a bargain that I almost was flipped into GAS mode. Lug, a double bass with a strap on it is not valid, don't know if we can accept your answer. :-) -- Michele Costabile (http://proxybar.net) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butcherNburn Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Lug, I've seen some guitaron's about that size. If you think my playing is bad, you should hear me sing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottom End Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Mandobass? Clonk and scrool "Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you cannot play upon me.'-Hamlet Guitar solos last 30 seconds, the bass line lasts for the whole song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groove Mama Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 There is no such thing as being unplugged and being heard... Really? This statement bums me out. Queen of the Quarter Note "Think like a drummer, not like a singer, and play much less." -- Michele C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric VB Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 There is no such thing as being unplugged and being heard... Really? This statement bums me out. The standard for loud acoustic bass is URB (arco, preferably). There is no such thing as an ABG that is as loud as similar acoustic string instruments such as guitar, mandolin, banjo, "fiddle", etc. (Unless your name is Vince and you wield a mighty plectrum.) Even the standard URB isn't ideal; the contrabass of the violin octet is larger and optimized for standard E-A-D-G tuning. http://www.nvfa.org/images/hutchins_consort.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottom End Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Sad but true, the ABG is really not loud enough unamped, even amongst acoustic instruments. An URB uses not only the large body as a sound chamber, but possibly a little bit of groundwave to make it's lower end hearable, because it's actually being felt, bone conduction. Still, for just messing around, an ABG is a nice instrument when you want to play practice and feel the bass, and you can get a nice tone off of it. The light weight is a plus./ "Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you cannot play upon me.'-Hamlet Guitar solos last 30 seconds, the bass line lasts for the whole song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lug Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Dang Lug, that's a BIG ol' bass! If I only had an extra $2k laying about.... The cool thing about the Rigel is that the neck is in some sort of dovetail slot and can be removed w/o tools. Great for transport. You can stop now -jeremyc STOP QUOTING EVERY THING I SAY!!! -Bass_god_offspring lug, you should add that statement to you signature.-Tenstrum I'm not sure any argument can top lug's. - Sweet Willie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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