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Acoustic Bass guitars worth having

#62
I have a Yamaha APX-B12F, didn't use it for years until the right band came along and I found the right strings. The band was country rock and the strings are Labella low tension flats. Since then I've been using that bass in every situation I play in regardless of genre.

However it is only loud enough unamplified for practice alone. Even a moderately loud steel string will drown it out. It's useful as long as you amplify and don't play at feedback inducing volumes.
 
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#63
I found this one in New York several years ago. I believe it is Fillipino. I did some slight mods and tuned it in fifths. It is loud. I added a cello endpeg.
20230816_145748.jpg

The fretboard is flat. I need to replace the bridge and the nut, I'm also thinking about taking some of the thickness off the back of the neck. It is huge.
 
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#66
IMG_6631.jpeg

Def agree w the much offered and clearly accurate perspective that only a much larger instrument (like an upright, dobro, or gimongous bass guitar) will keep up acoustically. I’d ALWAYS go w the upright in that case.

BUT… I still love my Martin acoustic, and if it’s just me and my bandleader w his acoustic, it keeps up fine as long as I have some bright round wounds on it. But it won’t sound bassy or fill a big space. Regardless it’s my go-to instrument for working out a quick line or idea - absolutely worth having.
 
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#69
Kebogu said:
To me, it would being able to play in an ensemble with other "unplugged" elements like additional instruments and singers without getting drowned out, but isntead "blended". I would also add that being able to hear yourself in most if not all environments (good and bad acoustics) would be a big plus.
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That would be a double-bass, bass saxophone, or tuba.

Next!
 
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#71
What I will say is that amongst inexpensive ABGs, the one with the biggest body, and the loudest sound, is the el cheapo Dean. I have one of these.

If you want an ABG because you want to amplify it and you want a characteristic sound that's different from either a double bass with piezo pickup or an electric bass with electromagnetic pickups, then that's just fine.

If you want an ABG because you think you can play it unamplified in a group setting, it's going to be a VERY quiet group, or you'll be pulling the skin off your fingers and still being too quiet.

I have not tried one of the giant-bodied ones like the Earthwood or Lamont, but I'd suggest that their body volume is still quite a bit smaller than a double-bass (which, as groups get louder, is one of the first instruments that has to be amplified), and would expect that they're still not going to be as loud as a DB.

Of course a cheap overbuilt lousy plywood DB that sounds like a cardboard box, versus a many-thousands-of-dollars lightly and exquisitely built ABG with a very large body, might be a fair fight acoustically, but that $500 DB versus the $5000 ABG isn't really a fair comparison when cost comes into it. Put a $5000 DB (probably a rather mid-grade instrument, have you priced DBs lately?) up against that exquisite $5000 ABG and there'll be no contest on the ability to get good clear volume out of them.

I think some of my feeling about ABGs comes from that whole "unplugged" concept where supposedly everyone's just playing acoustically except the bass player's playing with an amp. What part of "no electric instruments" got misunderstood?

But on the other hand, the ABG with round wound strings and piezo pickup can have a sound and vibe of its own, with the assumption that it's going to be amplified.
 
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#72
Water buffalo said:
I found this one in New York several years ago. I believe it is Fillipino. I did some slight mods and tuned it in fifths. It is loud. I added a cello endpeg.
View attachment 7388884

The fretboard is flat. I need to replace the bridge and the nut, I'm also thinking about taking some of the thickness off the back of the neck. It is huge.
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Now THIS is interesting. Never seen one of these before.
 
#73
GretschWretch said:
How common knowledge is it that when Ovation introduced their bowl-back ABGs they also introduced the more conventionally-shaped Montana?
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I've searched and I cannot find any references or example of an "Ovation Montana" ABG. I find examples of electric basses made overseas that were introduced under that brand by Ovation in '80's, but no ABG. Do you have an example you can post?

When Ovation shut down USA production in the early 90's and moved overseas they started putting out some really inferior examples of both guitars and ABGs, that were not even close to the quality of the ones made in the USA in late 80's and early 90's. I have one of those guitars, bought it for my wife when she wanted to learn to play (lasted 2 weeks) and it sits proudly on top of a bookshelf, as a decorating item. Cost $350 from GC, and it played like a $50 guitar, terrible. She even glued some decoration on the font and quite frankly I did not care.
 
#74
turf3 said:
What I will say is that amongst inexpensive ABGs, the one with the biggest body, and the loudest sound, is the el cheapo Dean. I have one of these.

If you want an ABG because you want to amplify it and you want a characteristic sound that's different from either a double bass with piezo pickup or an electric bass with electromagnetic pickups, then that's just fine.

If you want an ABG because you think you can play it unamplified in a group setting, it's going to be a VERY quiet group, or you'll be pulling the skin off your fingers and still being too quiet.

I have not tried one of the giant-bodied ones like the Earthwood or Lamont, but I'd suggest that their body volume is still quite a bit smaller than a double-bass (which, as groups get louder, is one of the first instruments that has to be amplified), and would expect that they're still not going to be as loud as a DB.

Of course a cheap overbuilt lousy plywood DB that sounds like a cardboard box, versus a many-thousands-of-dollars lightly and exquisitely built ABG with a very large body, might be a fair fight acoustically, but that $500 DB versus the $5000 ABG isn't really a fair comparison when cost comes into it. Put a $5000 DB (probably a rather mid-grade instrument, have you priced DBs lately?) up against that exquisite $5000 ABG and there'll be no contest on the ability to get good clear volume out of them.

I think some of my feeling about ABGs comes from that whole "unplugged" concept where supposedly everyone's just playing acoustically except the bass player's playing with an amp. What part of "no electric instruments" got misunderstood?

But on the other hand, the ABG with round wound strings and piezo pickup can have a sound and vibe of its own, with the assumption that it's going to be amplified.
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You are absolutely correct. I would never take an ABG to a jam. What I found mine good for is sitting on the bed working stuff out or practicing at late hours, not wanting to bother neighbors. I played it for solid 2 months when I restarted after 25 year hiatus 2 years ago, just so I could do so in privacy. I had to do a hard restart, full reset, went back to zero and did beginner lessons on up through intermediate until I was current again. One thing it can do - - if you want to play with classical fingering style, plucking it like a classical guitar, you can do things on it that you cannot replicate easily on an electric. Really it's a crossover instrument, in a class by itself, neither a guitar nor a true bass.
 
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#78
mikeoso said:
The way the guy in the video is playing isn't how you get volume out of an ABG. That bent wrist and plucking with fingertips gives lots of dexterity and speed, and is great on an amped instrument. But you cannot get unplugged power out of it. Go watch a vid of someone playing a guitarron, and look especially at his forearm and wrist.
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yeah, guitarron players pluck the hell out of those strings, i guessing they have strong fingers, or those string are pretty clack, OR BOTH
 
#80
GretschWretch said:
But only if you leave out every other kind of acoustic bass. To limit the options to just DBs or ABGs creates a false dilemma since it omits other types of acoustic basses such as fractional sized DBs, mandobasses , bassoguitars and others, many, if not most, of which are plenty loud for the situations required. For years my choice of "acoustic bass guitar" where there are space limitations has been a 1/4 size Englehardt DB, I extended the tailpiece a bit so I could load the bass with LaBella tapes. It is plenty loud and has mwah forever. And I regard it as a big, "loud-enough" acoustic bass guitar, not a DB.

I tried this option because I finally grew weary of all the "ABGs can never be loud enough" arguments. These "ABGs" can. Even un-amplified they easily can be heard in Jim Croce, Gordon Lightfoot, James Taylor type settings where everything else -- both vocals and instruments -- is amplified. They can be played in a vertical position with the player seated on a common desk chair. They can be played seated, with the instrument across the player's lap, although less comfortably due to the extreme reach over the body. But it can be done, and IMO the sound is worth it. It all depends on the sacrifices one is willing to make to get "that" sound.
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a local store near me has a 1/4” DB at around $700 ish dollars. i might get it. the price and size seem ideal.
 

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