I have an ABT60 - and I love it - but it's just a J-200 that went through puberty already. It' very much a guitar. To get bass frequencies out of an acoustic box at guitar volumes you're going to need a bigger box. There's a reason that those mexican bass guitars are so freakishly huge.
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Is there such a thing as an acoustic Bass VI?
- Thread starter Gonzo476
- Start date
I have one of these and I enjoy playing it. It sounds great, with a deep body which is necessary to push more air for the low notes. I like the non-standard look, with the sound hole location. I chose the Rockbass 6 for a few reasons: I wasn't sure how often I would actually play my ABG and I didn't like the thumb rest that comes standard on the full Warwick version.
Kinal makes excellent instruments. But he's a custom builder and I don't think the OP is looking at that type of price tag. However, on second thought, Canada's dollar is very low at the moment and the OP is in Spain with EUROs as currency, so it is possible he could score a good deal.
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Added to my list, but really ouch!
I betcha Jack's teardrop Ribbecke is louder than Phil's Dave Maize, though! 
Edit: shouldn't mention it without pics:
Price-wise, I don't even know if they'd consider making another anything like it, but it's definitely in the "if you have to ask, don't bother" category!
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True Tale:
About 15 years ago I was picking mandolin in a camping area at the Oregon Country Fair.
Along comes a wandering guy with a Dave Maize acoustic bass who wanted to jam with me.
I asked him his name? His answer: "Dave."
It was the one and only Dave Maize.....
About 15 years ago I was picking mandolin in a camping area at the Oregon Country Fair.
Along comes a wandering guy with a Dave Maize acoustic bass who wanted to jam with me.
I asked him his name? His answer: "Dave."
It was the one and only Dave Maize.....
An option/compromise might be a 5 banger, ADGCF. One less string, but puts you in the barrie range, with more buying choices at more friendly prices.
Hello there, how you all doing? Speaking of an Acoustic Bass VI I built myself one. I took my Fender ESC-105 Nylon Acoustic Guitar & restrung it w/ Magma GCT-E Octave Down Tuning Strings (basically a copy of Aquila 143C Bionylon Octave Down Tuning Strings, Saverez makes LOW640R Octave Down Tuned strings too) which essentially tur it into a very useful instrument, an Acoustic Bass VI. I've played Misery Business by Paramore on this thing take a listen: What you can do is take a Nylon Acoustic Guitar & restring it w/ Magma GCT-E Octave Down Tuning Strings so that you have an Acoustic Bass VI. The Strings are Nylon Wound in Metal which makes them easier on the fretting hand (especially for beginners), & the Nylon Core makes it sound more like a proper Acoustic Bass.
Just one correction: in fairness, it's the other way around. Magma and Savarez have been making their respective octave-down classical guitar sets for at least eight years (i.e. when I became aware of them*), whereas Aquila's 143C set is a recent product (2-1/2 years according to this blog entry). In fact, the whole concept of the Orchestra Series may have been "inspired" by Magma's Transpositor line (minus the latter's wackiest offerings - fifths "cello" tuning and so on).
* here's where I first posted about them on these boards, back in Jan '14:
Sub-Short Scale Talk
(I also did two years later, in post #18 of this very thread. ;o)
The above being said, great job!
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My Acoustic Bass VI sounds fantastic cause you can hear that Low End.Just one correction: in fairness, it's the other way around. Magma and Savarez have been making their respective octave-down classical guitar sets for at least eight years (i.e. when I became aware of them*), whereas Aquila's 143C set is a recent product (2-1/2 years according to this blog entry). In fact, the whole concept of the Orchestra Series may have been "inspired" by Magma's Transpositor line (minus the latter's wackiest offerings - fifths "cello" tuning and so on).
* here's where I first posted about them on these boards, back in Jan '14:
Sub-Short Scale Talk
(I also did two years later, in post #18 of this very thread. ;o)
The above being said, great job!
Making an Acoustic Bass VI is easy, all you gotta do is Restring a Classical Guitar w/ Octave Down Tuning strings from Savarez, Aquila, or Magma. What you get is the most useful instrument. The Contrabass Classical Guitar that's tuned an Octave Below a Standard Guitar is indeed an Acoustic Bass VI.
I also have an ATB60e that I like a lot. It came with a disclaimer that you cannot up tune to E because of the added tension. If going to heavier strings you would have to be conscious of the tension, and also file bigger slots in the bridge and nut.
Playing a baritone is really just like playing a regular acoustic guitar but in a different key. So if you play an E chord shape on the baritone, you’re really playing in the key of B. So you have to transpose on the fly if you are playing with standard guitar players. Or use a capo, but if you do that, you might as well just play a standard guitar.
The Bajo Sexto can be used as an Acoustic Bass VI if you tune the top two pairs of Strings down an Half Step & what you get is that the Octave pairs will balance out the low & high end. However my Nylon Acoustic Bass VI really is a good starter because the Nylon Core makes it sound like a proper Acoustic Bass, plus you don't realize that a Small body can sound big
Low tuning is not conducive to higher tension per se: depending on the gauges, tension may well be subtracted.
Let's say your low B is a 070; your replacement low E should be at least a 105 to match the tension of the old B, let alone exceed it (unless the 105 has a bigger core in proportion, or other significant differences in construction): anything less would be lighter, not heavier.
What they are warning against is tuning the low B up to standard guitar E, then the rest up to ADGBE. The ABT60 is designed for BEADF#B.
Oh, whoa, OK. (Dayung, I'd missed the "up" in your post.
) Not with the stock strings. It's really the same argument though: with light enough strings - say, a 10-47 set - the instrument could be tuned up to E and be under less tension than with the stock tuning and string complement.
I recall seeing a 6 string ABG by ‘Maestro’, which I only ever saw on eBay a few years back. There were a lot of 4, 5 & 6 string versions for sale and then as quickly as they appeared on eBay they all seem to have disappeared. I assume they were all low quality MIC instruments back then, but I could be mistaken. Have no idea what scale they were.
Possibly also seen under the "Tennessee" and "Harmonia" brands. A specimen of the latter was linked to above (post #32) and commented on by me (#35).
If they are the same - here's a pic
- these are the specs:
(Emphasis mine but ruler and patience - and phone camera, for that matter - were Jim's. From this thread:
Harmonia Six String Acoustic Bass )
In short: string spacing indeed VI-like, but a widish nut (like that of 12-string guitar more or less) and long scale.
Also see:
In Praise of Harmonia Basses
When you're looking for a plugged-in tone no solid body can quite achieve.
and three more by active TB members @heb9_28, @BillyB_from_LZ and @Apolicious
Cheapest bass you just LOVE
Show us your acoustic bass guitars!
Those who own acoustic Bass Guitars, do you actually play them?
(Again, if the one you remember was the same as these.)
