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Acoustic bass guitar

#41
My Dean EABC (as seen in my avatar) has been my main gigging bass for six years. Yes, it's firmly in the inexpensive bass category but the neck is great, it stays in tune and has taken a few accidental knocks here and there without any problems. The electronics were the weak spot so I modded it with a Kent Armstrong soundhole pickup. GHS Brite Flats with my GK MB500 and Avatar cabs make for the tone I love.

I've never gotten any negative words for using it. Just the opposite actually. Sound guys and other bass players are always complimenting me on it.

As far as uprights are concerned, I'm probably the worst DB player in the world so I'm sticking with what works, and is way more portable :D
 
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#42
bopeuph said:
You know, that's a little smaller than I expected the Regal to be...I thought it was the size of a 3/4 upright.
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Well it is roughly, just packaged differently. Very big bottom. :D It doesn't look particularly large next to me, but then, neither does a normal 3/4 upright. ;) (FWIW, that's the seller in the pic, still haven't taken my own pics of it.)
 
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#43
McG said:
My Dean EABC (as seen in my avatar) has been my main gigging bass for six years. Yes, it's firmly in the inexpensive bass category but the neck is great, it stays in tune and has taken a few accidental knocks here and there without any problems. The electronics were the weak spot so I modded it with a Kent Armstrong soundhole pickup. GHS Brite Flats with my GK MB500 and Avatar cabs make for the tone I love.

I've never gotten any negative words for using it. Just the opposite actually. Sound guys and other bass players are always complimenting me on it.

As far as uprights are concerned, I'm probably the worst DB player in the world so I'm sticking with what works, and it way more portable :D
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Ever have any feedback problem? I have a hard time using my Dean AEB with my full rig, as I can't escape the low end feedback. I usually end up just running a DI into FOH
 
#44
I have a Guild B-50 (with K&K pickup) and a Tacoma Thunderchief CB10e (factory LR Baggs). Both have tape wound strings. Most often played through my "mini rig of doom" ... a GK MB200 to a GB STL-8 cab. I use it for acoustic country, blues, jazz, Americana ... just about anywhere I'd use an upright. Great tone from both, but the Tacoma is more feedback resistant. No one has objected ... if I'm playing with them at all it's because they asked me to, and knew the deal. They are totally inappropriate in my classic country band (high stage volume), though.

I played upright until late last year ... but gave it up as my hands were feeling the strain and I don't want to get to the point I can't handle playing at all. Yeah, it sucks to get old(er).
 
#45
At the South Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival playing Blackie, a Washburn. Dave Playing Blackie-e.jpg
 
#46
FugaziBomb said:
Ever have any feedback problem? I have a hard time using my Dean AEB with my full rig, as I can't escape the low end feedback. I usually end up just running a DI into FOH
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I had feedback problems but a soundhole cover took care of that. When I got the KA pickup I had my luthier incorporate it into a soundhole cover. Works great!

Bass pup 1.jpg

Bass pup 2.jpg
 
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#48
My "semi-acoustic" solutions include a Carvin AC40 Fretless and four bass ukes. I like the Carvin ABG for the fact it has a thin chambered body, which keeps feedback down. It is also easier to hold and play due to its thin body compared to most ABGs. Very light as well. It purrs when wearing those tape wounds. I have the Fender set on mine.
I have two Kala bass ukes, one a five string solid body fretless and the Exotic mahogany 4 string Ubass. Also, I have recently purchased two acoustic Hadean bass ukes from Rondo. To my ears they sound very much on par with the Kala acoustic ubasses. They are not as finished out cosmetically as a Kala, but you can get one with a hardshell case for about 1/2 the cost of the Rumbler or Exotic Mahogony models.
Interestingly, the 5 string fretless (California model) sounds more like an upright than the hollow body ones do. Good luck with whatever route you choose to take.
 
#49
I play two on a regular basis. A Dean 5-string AEB, only unplugged, primarily in the house with the wife and kids. we play music every night together with the kids. in that scenario, this bass excels.

I also play an "acoustic" bass in a live setting when we do folk/bluegrass/acoustic instrumentation. it is a samick remington hollowbody, but it setup like an acoustic, with an LR Bagg Preamp.

they both have their place, and regardless of what many on this forum say, you simply can't replicate their sound with a traditional electric bass. I prefer nylon wound strings on every acoustic instrument I own/play. And being fretless, the tone is great on the samick.

9ackyx.jpg

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#50
FugaziBomb said:
I initially had planned to de-fret a lower end acoustic because my assumption was that no one made an affordable fretless AEB, then I saw the dean for under $150 and couldn't say no. I strung it with Black Diamond Pure Jazz flats and it sounded great. The tension of those strings is giving me some belly bulge, tho, so I'm switching to a set of TI flats as I've read they are much lower tension.

Edit: Also, glad to hear you mention the upright attitude that a lot of people get. I had it bad when I used to play upright. :unsure:
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may not be your preference, but i have found that the labella nylon wound strings have low tension and great tone on these basses.
 
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#51
Leftka said:
i play a dean AEB fretless too. i have la bella tape wounds in BEAD tuning on it. I play with a harp guitarist at a local pub here in naples. early rock and blues mostly. my harp guitarist says he loves the way we sound together. i play a unique style due to my individual circumstances...even through a pa, i like the sound my dean makes...
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Love the video. You guys sound great. Kudos on your unique playing style :thumbsup:
 
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#52
I'll say the Deans are actually decent basses at their price range--And if you get a really great setup on it, which will probably include a new nut, bridge, and a fret dressing (when I bought mine, the frets were awful, but I couldn't complain for $100), they'll be as good as some of the other more expensive basses, although you'd be spending a good amount of money to get it right. They sound good unplugged, but have a "passive preamp"--which was Dean's way of saying there's no preamp, and just a tone and volume pot.

A buddy had a Fishman installed in his, and I used my @fdeck HPF-Pre, which did the trick. Acoustically, they're probably the largest body you'll get at under $1,000, and they put out decent volume for what a standard acoustic could do without getting a Regal, Rigel, or one of those other huge instruments.
 
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#53
Takamine EG512 - always out, ready to grab. The inside, outside, on the deck, under the trees, around a fire, sitting in a stream bass. It's been knock to the ground on more than a few occasions and yet, still hangs with a couple finger picking guitars. Never gets plugged in.

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Takamine B10 - My go to bass for all gigs. Always plugged in when there are other players involved.

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People I play with love the tone and dig my playing. Some of the jazz players like my playing but wont call because it's not a DB. I have a designated finger for those guys.
 
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#54
I always loved the idea of an acoustic bass guitar and even collected parts to attempt to make one (a guitar body and electric bass neck) but then I tried some of the commercial offerings and they are just so low volume that they can't even stand up to a two guitar jam session acoustically. Bought an upright.

I bought a guitarron on a whim once, but again, there is no volume to it.
 
#56
Not many people on this site like this ABG but I love it. I own a Fender Kingman and it works perfectly for me. It has some neck dive and the bulky body without a cutaway can make it uncomfortable when using a pick, but I've never had an issue while using fingers. The Fishman tuner isn't the greatest thing in the world but its close enough and I like the way it sounds plugged in. I've used it at outdoor/acoustic jams and it has always held it own in terms of loudness, and tomorrow night is my first night using it at an open mic night so I'm excited to hear how it sounds in a small venue atmosphere.

I won't lie, part of the reason I bought it years ago was because of the Fender headstock, as I was (and still kind of am) a Fender fanboy. But it was also because I would play the ABG's hanging in the acoustic section of Guitar Center and it was the first out of the limited selection in which the sound stood out to me. It wasn't as muddy as some of the others, it was tighter and fuller and the loudest. Like I said some on here don't really like it but it has served me well over the years.
 

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#57
bopeuph said:
I'd like to offer a unique alternative:

I bought these strings for my Breedlove Passport: Invalid Link Removed

My acoustic only really comes out to play with a flamenco player, and I wanted something more like his sound. The strings are holding up very well (though they go flat after about a half hour of playing). They sound awesome, and I'm not going to do anything different with that bass from here on out.

Although, it will need a very good setup with those strings.
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Actually, yeah, classical contrabass strings, and a classical contrabass itself (30" 4 string) make for great ABG volume in the right settings. It's amazing how loud it is for the size, actually, and more fundamental than most ABGs. (The downsides are the price and the fragility of the instrument, to get that volume at that low tension, the top has to be pretty thin and responsive. Pricey and risky for "around the campfire at the beach".)
 
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#58
Yeah. I don't think I'd buy a classical contrabass, unless I got one at a very good price. The Breedlove is doing great, and I've been toying with putting some Pegheads on it, if they fit, for a more classical look. There's a chance the two top tuners are too close.
 

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