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Acoustic bass guitars

#41
jd56hawk said:
Quite a few threads about acoustic basses around here...I reply to them all the time.
I've been playing acoustic bass for fourteen years and I usually only recommend one...the Dean Exotica, the older model with the Aphex System electronics. Unique among acoustic basses.
They Exoticas are full-scale though, so I recommend you try one of these.
Ibanez AEGB24E medium scale.
Doesn't have the horrible bronzewounds most acoustic basses have, too.
Much nicer tone.
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One of the few acoustic basses I'd buy if I didn't already own two Exoticas.
Sure, you still need an amp to be heard in an acoustic gig, but they do sound pretty good.
(One more thing, don't listen to the acoustic-bass detractors and their "Umm, just buy a P bass" bs.)
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I’ve played both the fretted and fretless versions - they are both very good, worth checking out. :thumbsup:
 
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#46
You're welcome.
I stand corrected.
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#47
I play only 6 string electric basses but wanted something I could use without my amp. Not a lot of 6 string ABGs out there, so I picked up this cheap $99 5 string ABG on Ebay. I use nickel electric bas strings on it, and it gives me a way to practice unplugged. Surprisingly the build quality is pretty nice and it sounds good and fairly loud unplugged. It even has a solid B string. I did upgrade the cheap tuners to Gotohs. It does what I need it to do. Crazy thing is I've never plugged it in.
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#49
turf3 said:
Really? "Not much discussion"? Seems to me like there's pages and pages and pages of it.

What I can't figure out is what you plan to do with this thing (what does "mimic an acoustic guitar" mean?). If you have ideas of playing chords and strummy strummy strumming, I think any kind of bass guitar will wear out your hands in short order and the finger spread will be too great to make a lot of chords.

Also I can't figure out, since you say you expect always to amplify the thing, why you'd think an ABG would be better for whatever it is you're wanting to do, than a solid body electric bass with really light gauge strings, maybe tuned up a couple steps.
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I love TalkBass, where the first reponse is to attack the OP.
 
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#51
Humabass said:
I wish there were more places to go to try more of these instruments out. I'm near a couple Guitar Centers, 3 actually, they have a reasonable selection but none of them really do it for me for different reasons. The Resonator bass is something that intrigues me. Wish I could try one out.
On a side note there is a guy on Reverb called MORtone music. He does modifications to electric guitars and basses to turn them into mandolins, mandocellos, and even does a mod where he takes one the new Guild ABGs and turns it into an 8 string bass with double choruses. He actually does a video demo of it and it sounds pretty cool. Worth checking out.
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I converted a Alvarez baritone.
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I'm still sorting out the string heights at the nut and saddle, It sound pretty cool as a bass, but I've also gotten into strumming it as a lead instrument.

I also have this monstrosity.
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I'm in an acosutic dou, obviously a low volume gig. My Tanglewood acoustic is my main bass, though I have also used my upright and an old Harmony H22. I run all of the basses through a JHS Punchline preamp then straight to the board. The Tanglewood is strung with nickel steel roundwounds and I love the brightness it brings. It is loud, even acoustically, My action is set medium-high and I play it aggressively. I sit in with acoustic jams and I have no problem being heard.
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Also I love resonator basses. I build them and I am constantly trying to find ways to improve them.
 
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#52
turf3 said:
Well, excUUUUUUUUse me for being SO PRESUMPTUOUS as to ask actual questions!

I ought to have recognized that I was in the grips of Internet Literalist, who never wants anyone to say ANYTHING that is not an EXACT answer to the EXACT question!

Enjoy your superiority, with your thousands of gigs and millions of this and billions of that!
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Somebody woke up grumpy.
 
#54
Humabass said:
So I don't see much discussion on TB about acoustic bass guitars. Hardily ever see any in the Classifieds. Have read some comments that they are considered "useless" by many. It seems that sentiment is driven by their unplugged performance. Some also view them as a way to mimic an upright. My interest in them is neither of those. I actually want to "mimic" an acoustic guitar.

At 67 I've long ago accepted that I just will never play acoustic guitar. I have always only played bass. I've had regular scale, fretless, medium scale, short scale, 8 string (choruses), 4,5,6 string, etc. My comfort zone is all of that. Back in the 90s I had a Washburn AB25 ( ?) strung with a high C and I would tune the low E to a D. Always used it plugged in as those slanted sound holes were notoriously quiet and of course prone to feedback. I actually cut little rubber strips and put them in each slot.

At this point my hands have suggested to me that medium scale instruments are going to work best for me going forward. I'm looking for a medium scale acoustic bass guitar in either 4 or 5 that I can string either normally or even as a tenor ( A D G C or E A D G C ). Again, unplugged volume is irrelevant to me. I'm looking for tone and playability and reasonable build quality. I've only found one medium scale 5 string by Ortega. The Warwick Alien 4 interests me. I did have a Fender T-Bucket that actually had a very nice neck and action but being that many of these ABGs are on the cheaper end the electronics and pick up system was an issue with unbalanced output between strings.

The playability issue seems to be the easiest to overcome maybe. I have a great guitar/bass tech friend who certainly could shape, file, adjust whatever for optimum playability.

I've gone down the ABG rabbit hole so I pretty much know everything that's available from cheap to way too expensive but I would like some real world opinions and feedback ( no pun intended )

Any input is appreciated. ...................................Ive owned numerous ABG"S over the years (i watched my wash burn custom shop pre production AB-45 tour the world with Bon jovi lol,,..Ive owned ovation's 5's ,Thos sha czar a huge bowl backed abg made on long island in the late 70's,Emerald 5 string from Ireland as well as numerous less expensive versions .....................my conclusion the only thing there good for is sitting on the couch for practicing ,just about any sound you can get with one can be accomplished with any electric with a piezo pickup in the bridge ,acoustically the ONLY one ever loud enough to play along with 2 acoustic guitars was the Emerald ,theyre physically cumbersome other than thier appearance as a n acoustic instrument , i'd use an electric w/piezo any day of the week over an abg w/pieao ,same sound less cumbersome ...................one exception if your going for an upright sound are uke basses wich if e'qd properly will give you the warmth of an upright without having to buy a large vehicle to tote an upright around in..............my favorite is the larger 25" goldtone lined frettless which i still hve after 10 years ,,thats my upright
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#58
Went thru a handful of acoustic basses, none of which fit the bill. And since it would be plugged in anyway I went the hollow body route. Similar vibe, more tone options, and better articulation than an acoustic. Nothing wrong if you can find an acoustic bass that works for you though.
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