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ABG why?

#41
Baird6869 said:
Why? What else am I going to play with the guitards around the campfire?
Click to expand...

;)

or to play on your stoop.
or the park.

i also jammed with a friend in wash sq once.
i brought a battery op mini marshall stack in a a knapsack.
we just needed a quickie rehearsal !
next thing ya know, crowd .. change...dollars ..NY1 news tv crew ! :confused: they thought we was buskers LOL.

I used to gig out 3-4 nites a week.
mostly full band and larger mackie/ev pa/speaker
then my 2 electric a 2x 10 and 1 x 15
lotsa work !

i also did some really small bar / coffee house gigs.
2 piece - me on abg & an acoustic guitarist.
shared vocal duty

our ENTIRE "rig" was the instruments
2 mics
fender passport + 1 monitor
2 direct boxes :)
6 cables 2 tuners

we could load in, park, AND setup in like 10 minutes.
i did a couple local shows where i walked my gear to tuesday and wednesday nite gigs. :hyper:

easy money
and my back wasnt sore in the a.m.

good reasons for an abg.
for me, at least .
 
#45
RandomHandle said:
now that you mention it,
as far as volume goes it also helps to use the bronze copper whatever strings those are.
personally i find em way way way way too scratchy sounding and would rather stick an icepick thru my skull,
but if volume is all one is after ....
Click to expand...
I find the bronze quiter than electric strings.................................

Mabye I got some bum packs?:atoz:
 
#46
maybe it was the ones mine came with that sucked ..dunno..
every single one ive ever played in a store that had coppers pretty much grated on me like nails on a chalkboard.

i generally use the d'addario chromes on the ABG.
i also really like the warmth of tapewounds on an abg but sumthin about the feel doesnt work for me.

flats sound awesome on my abg but i learned the hard way that leaving flats on an abg for any extended period of time is pretty dumb ...
but was ok , that one was 150 dollar spanish brand i never heard of b4 or since and
i needed an excuse to convince wife i needed new one :p
 
#47
RandomHandle said:
maybe it was the ones mine came with that sucked ..dunno..
every single one ive ever played in a store that had coppers pretty much grated on me like nails on a chalkboard.

i generally use the d'addario chromes on the ABG.
i also really like the warmth of tapewounds on an abg but sumthin about the feel doesnt work for me.

flats sound awesome on my abg but i learned the hard way that leaving flats on an abg for any extended period of time is pretty dumb ...
but was ok , that one was 150 dollar spanish brand i never heard of b4 or since and
i needed an excuse to convince wife i needed new one :p
Click to expand...

Wait, you mean using Rotosound Steve Harris flats is bad for my bass?????
What happened????:help:
 
#49
MD said:
This is equivalent to saying: "if I have to plug in my nylon string, classical guitar to be heard, why not just bring the Strat".
Click to expand...

Perhaps not a directly fair comparison but I agree.

I can never understand the leap of logic that says "well if I have to amplify it why bother, just bring the P"

It's a different sound. That's what it's all about. But then I have never assumed that ABG were designed to not require amplification. I guess some folks see the big hole in the body, think acoustic six string, and make the assumption from there.

I used to have an ABG and played in a band with a few others (no drums through). I find it hard to believe the posters on here who say their ABG cuts through with two other players no problem. Must be a very quiet group.
 
#50
Darkstrike said:
Wait, you mean using Rotosound Steve Harris flats is bad for my bass?????
What happened????:help:
Click to expand...

in the case of el cheapo abg,
i heard a resounding snap from the other room
and discovered the tailpiece in about 17 pieces.
the nut had some how also broken.

flats have alot more tension.
how much this particular incident was
el cheapos fault vs the xtra tension ?
i dunno.

when i had talked to a couple repair guys ,
they kinda thought it was odd, UNTIL i said
"i had flats on it" at which point
i may as well have said i am "The Devil".
cuz i got condescendingly lectured. :o
 
#51
RandomHandle said:
in the case of el cheapo abg,
i heard a resounding snap from the other room
and discovered the tailpiece in about 17 pieces.
the nut had some how also broken.

flats have alot more tension.
how much this particular incident was
el cheapos fault vs the xtra tension ?
i dunno.

when i had talked to a couple repair guys ,
they kinda thought it was odd, UNTIL i said
"i had flats on it" at which point
i may as well have said i am "The Devil".
cuz i got condescendingly lectured. :o
Click to expand...
Oh..........................................

This is a serious problem, as my acoustic, while not expensive, is really nice. And it sounds fantastic with flats, loud too.:crying:
I don't know what to do!!
 
#54
why?

practicing - first off with ABG it's right there, you can grab it and whip through a few scales before the commercial is over.

Secondly, it is a lot less forgiving tone wise, when all you get is hands and bass you've gotta work with it. Pushin' air means playing harder, the EQ is your right hand position, etc. That all translates into plugged in playing too, I feel it helped me in playing tighter and cleaner, both tonally and signal chain wise with less EQ/compression.

P basses are great, but they don't sound like a vibrating wooden box to me. Lot's of abg's have built in pickups, but microphones work too depending on the sort of music your playing and where. I think generally a good mic will do a better job of reproducing acoustic-ismo, but it's the same deal with guitars...

At what point you need amplification depends on a lot of things... the bass (mmmm earthwood), the number of jumbo 12 strings being played with heavy picks, are you willing to adapt your technique to play harder, or with a pick, or with a hand placement that helps you cut through? And of course...sigh.... drummers, lets face it, the acoustic guitar doesn't have much of a chance there either. That said, I've jammed with a couple guitars and a drummer using brushes, and while an upright would have come in handy, it wasn't too bad.

ack sorry to ramble about what's already been said, I'll stop now...
 
#56
radapaw said:
...Secondly, it is a lot less forgiving tone wise, when all you get is hands and bass you've gotta work with it. Pushin' air means playing harder, the EQ is your right hand position, etc. That all translates into plugged in playing too, I feel it helped me in playing tighter and cleaner, both tonally and signal chain wise with less EQ/compression....
Click to expand...

+1

This is the main argument in the acoustic and electric geetar debate, and I'll have to agree. Going between my Taurus and my Dragonfly FL is night and day playing wise. I barely have to apply pressure on my Taurus to get an acceptable sound out of it. My dragonfly takes a conscious effort to get a clear note, regardless of getting the intonation right.
 
#57
Interesting thread here. In my experience, I have only found only a few ABG's that have a tone I like, and only one ABG that had a volume and tone that I liked, the Thunderchief. Even on the thunderchief, I had to really dig in to get a volume that seemed loud enough to compete with two acoustic guitars.

When I want a "hollow" sound, I bring a hollow or semi hollow electric, or my upright bass. However, I recently discovered the Guitarron, which seems to me to be the only "guitar bass" with enough volume to compete easily with a couple of guitars. I hope to acquire one soon.
 
#58
Okay so I made a jump here and bought a used Aria ABM50, that needed some TLC. Firstly I really like the way you can feel the sound through the body, hell!that's why I began to play bass anyway! Secondly, It has a completely different sound and texture than any of my other basses. you have to put a fair amount of expression into each note. now that I'm reporting from the "inside"? I'm looking for gigs to play it on. I have some friends doing solo acoustic gigs andI'm calling in on them. I love the way a new instrument turns the flame back up. More as it happens.
 
#59
Electric basses are also (kind of) acoustic instruments. Considering the last judgment, it's the acoustic sound they produce that is amplified. If it doesn't bother playing an EB amplified, why should an ABG or a Fender Rhodes or smt sounds good with an amp?
I believe, understanding that "an ABG has a sound of it's own, which is worth amplifying" is necessary primarily...
 
#60
old-fashioned said:
Electric basses are also (kind of) acoustic instruments. Considering the last judgment, it's the acoustic sound they produce that is amplified. If it doesn't bother playing an EB amplified, why should an ABG or a Fender Rhodes or smt sounds good with an amp?
I believe, understanding that "an ABG has a sound of it's own, which is worth amplifying" is necessary primarily...
Click to expand...

No. That isn't how electric basses work.
 

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