Acoustic Bass Guitar...worth it?

[lbbc]

I have been toying with the idea of getting an acoustic/electric bass guitar...along the lines of a Traveler or Fender short scale for quieter practicing or jamming with friends who primarily play acoustic guitars.

I have awesome, IMHO, 32" scale electrics and was wondering...are acoustic/electric basses worth it? I would like your experience/comments

 

[Basslice]

IMO. Get a doghouse. I have a 1/4 carved German upright. Sounds sweet in the type of situations you are talking about. Not really as hard to learn play as some might think. Just different.

 

[Basslice]

This. You don't need anything carved or fancy. You can get a decent plywood for <$1k.

 

[nmiller]

Almost all acoustic bass guitars, when unplugged, are easily drowned out by an acoustic guitar, the human voice, or the sound of a bacterium waving hello.

Plugged in is a different story, but even for practicing, you're likely to be disappointed by an acoustic unless it's a big ol' upright.

 

[Ed Goode]

Here’s a couple of links to start you off …

You’ll get many who will tell you all the negatives, take some time to read the positives as well. https://www.talkbass.com/threads/need-advice-about-acoustic-bass.1536901/#post-25803776
[URL='https://www.talkbass.com/threads/need-advice-about-acoustic-bass.1536901/#post-25803776']
[URL="https://www.talkbass.com/threads/need-advice-about-acoustic-bass.1536901/#post-25803776"]Need Advice about ACOUSTIC Bass
[/URL]
Acoustic bass fetish club Part 2

 

[GrapeBass]

I have been toying with the idea of getting an acoustic/electric bass guitar...along the lines of a Traveler or Fender short scale for quieter practicing or jamming with friends who primarily play acoustic guitars.

I have awesome, IMHO, 32" scale electrics and was wondering...are acoustic/electric basses worth it? I would like your experience/comments

Yes.

But you may need a small combo amp

I have 2 fretless AGBs, a Jasmine by Takamine (defretted) and an Aria. Both of mine are wrapped with LaBella DTF tape wounds which give a pseudo-upright sound. If you need to go totally acoustic I'd probably recommend different strings BUT you'd probably still need a small combo amp.

 

[CosmicRay]

Meh.
I do have an A/E bass. A Martin BC15E. It hasn't come out of the case in months. But that's because my gigs have changed since covid.
I've also owned a Tacoma Thunder Chief, and an Epiphone El Capitan.
All are excellent basses, but they need to be amplified to compete with other instruments.
IMHO, all A/E basses need some amplification when playing with others.

Just a quick p.s. - of the three A/E basses mentioned, the Epi was the loudest when unplugged.

 

[primusfan1989]

Ive never met an ABG that I liked. Personally I have a cheap upright bass for acoustic jams

 

[roller]

And if you're gonna go plugged for acoustic settings, the Kala U-Bass is a fantastic way to go -- excellent tone, fun to play, capable of producing upright-ish sounds and you can pick them up for well under $500.

Plugged in is a different story, but even for practicing, you're likely to be disappointed by an acoustic unless it's a big ol' upright.

 

[Gorn]

They’re great for practice alone with no other instruments and great with an amp if you’re playing with people and you want the bass to sound like an acoustic.

 

[salmon256]

Personally as others said, you're still gonna need an amp no matter what, maybe not with the upright bass depending on your friends jams. I like the Uke bass but I plan to use it just to get motivated and grab it off the wall to play along to sheet music. I agree and say if you want something to really jam with, get the doghouse bass!

 

[droo46]

"Worth it" depends on what your use case is. Playing at home on the couch? Great. Really convenient to just pick up and play. Gigging? Eh, debatable. You'll have to amplify it even if you're only playing with other acoustic instruments. There's a case to be made for having the acoustic tone, but I'd rather just take a P bass and call it a day.

Acoustic bass in a band setting:

 

[drwv]

The overwhelming TalkBass consensus is to crap all over ABGs every time they come up.

Go to a Guitar Center, pick one up and play it. Decide for yourself.

Personally, I love mine so much that I just bought another. I play it more than any other instrument, because I can pick it up to practice at any time, play it in any room of the house, on the porch, while my wife is asleep, etc.

You can plug it in, but are you buying it to perform a concert, or are you jamming with one or two acoustic guitar over beers? You've got a whole octave of frequencies to yourself. You will be heard. It's not what I gig with, but an upright is a pain in the butt.

I just sat in with two fiddles, an octave mandolin, and a piper, playing Irish fiddle tunes in a reverberant room. I played my ABG intentionally quietly because I didn't know the tunes. Recorded the room with my Zoom H6, and I can hear every bad note that I played. Would it have flown in a noisy brewpub session? Probably not. Was it a lot of fun? Hell yes.

 

[iammr2]

I love ABG's. You'll still need a little amp if you're taking it to jams, even the little living room ones.

Try some out. If you like one and can afford it, it's good.

 

[jd56hawk]

I have been toying with the idea of getting an acoustic/electric bass guitar...along the lines of a Traveler or Fender short scale for quieter practicing or jamming with friends who primarily play acoustic guitars.

I have awesome, IMHO, 32" scale electrics and was wondering...are acoustic/electric basses worth it? I would like your experience/comments

Worth it?
Sure, to bassists who know what they're doing.
My Dean Exoticas s are more versatile than most solid-body basses...amped.
I believe in the MTV Unplugged school of thought...plug in!
Some acoustic basses are okay in purely acoustic settings, but you're going to have to go with those horrible-sounding bronzewound strings to be heard and you're going to have to smash those strings like Dee Dee Ramone.
Best bet?
A battery-powered bass amp, plenty available from $50 to $1,000.
I'd recommend the Roland Micro Cube RX...more than ample for any acoustic situation.
I have to keep mine at less than half volume when I'm playing bass on my porch so as not to disturb the neighbors.
You want tone, go with D'Addario black tapewounds.

Other than that, sure, buy an upright if you have $1,500 or more to spend on an occasional-use bass and you don't mind lugging it around.

 

[lbbc]

The overwhelming TalkBass consensus is to crap all over ABGs every time they come up.

Go to a Guitar Center, pick one up and play it. Decide for yourself.

Personally, I love mine so much that I just bought another. I play it more than any other instrument, because I can pick it up at any time, play it in any room of the house, on the porch, while my wife is asleep, etc.

You can plug it in, but are you buying it to perform a concert, or are you jamming with one or two acoustic guitar over beers? You've got a whole octave of frequencies to yourself. You will be heard.

I just sat in with two fiddles, an octave mandolin, and a piper, playing Irish fiddle tunes in a reverberant room. I played my ABG intentionally quietly because I didn't know the tunes. Recorded the room with my Zoom H6, and I can hear every bad note that I played. Would it have flown in a noisy brewpub session? Probably not. Was it a lot of fun? Hell yes.

Strictly for practicing and jamming with one other friend occasionally

 

[Holdsg]

I've owned several over the years. none currently. Ever since I bit the bullet and just got an upright, I've been playing that instead. My upright now is a baby bass.

 

[whero]

I have a cheap ABG (with piezo pickup) that I picked up in Cash Converters (New Zealand's pawn shop). It sits in a corner of my living room rather than in the spare bedroom that is my usual practise space. It gets quite a lot of use; sometimes I might be listening to some music and just want to pick it up and play along, and sometimes I'll just take it out the back door onto the patio and noodle about in the sun. But it's never been used when playing with other people - it's just not loud enough to compete with acoustic folk guitars and/or an upright piano. And if I have to take a combo along to a jam to make myself heard, why not take an EBG?

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

No.

 

[KohanMike]

I like acoustic basses, but I only play 21" to 23" scale with my ukulele group of 50 people. By myself for practice I don't amp, but with anyone playing along, I use an amp. Here's my collection; custom made, modified from a short scale guitar, and stock (all using flatwound nylon core strings).