Acoustic bass vs electric?

[MoonlightBass]

This right here. Seems too many people lose sight of this when getting wrapped up in the 'ol "but you have to plug it in" issue.

Can't open the link, but good luck with the show.

You can't open it? That's a shame... I can open it. Soundcloud can be fluky, I've found. Anything I can do to make it so you can hear it?

 

[carl h.]

2 things to consider

1, You might be DI'd to the sound board so the sound guy can mix you with the rest of the action.

2, Under high amplification an ABG will be very prone to feeding back.


I regularly gig an amplified ABG and feedback is a real issue you need to be prepared to deal with at your end if you are not run through the house system.

 

[Avalon]

2 things to consider
2, Under high amplification an ABG will be very prone to feeding back.


I regularly gig an amplified ABG and feedback is a real issue you need to be prepared to deal with at your end if you are not run through the house system.

That's a good thought. Even my little Marshal MB30 has caused feedback on my Hofner 500/5.

 

[MoonlightBass]

Yeah, I expect to have to contend with that. We'll see if the sound guy wants to DI me to the sound board. When I played it with the orchestra I didn't have feedback problems, though I fully expected to. Careful attention to where the amp was pointed helped a lot.

 

[MoonlightBass]

The show is still a month away.

 

[MoonlightBass]

Anybody know what that annoying 4000 Hz bell might have been? It didn't sound like feedback. I don't hear it live, just an artifact of recording.

 

[vince a]

Finally got around to putting "Chromes" on my five-string acoustic-electric. Had a helluva time getting the B string into the hole and the peg inserted. A little surgery and crimping - ta da! Sounds great, feels great. Added a soundhole cover and the bass had an even more compressed sound. I like it!

 

[MoonlightBass]

After all this commotion, I happened to wander into a music shop looking to replace a busted tuner when I found a new 2011 Squier P-bass on clearance for cheap. It ain't a Fender but it'll do. I recorded this a couple nights later on the Squier (which my 7-year-old named "Sophie") after a terrible dress rehearsal with the orchestra:

https://soundcloud.com/peculiaritiesandreticence/moonlight

I was going to put flats on the Squier too, but decided against it when I found I had intuitively used the string noise in this piece. Wasn;t a conscious thing, but it worked.

 

[Jon Moody]

I'm finding this fascinating. Years ago I was a pro flutist. Played in everything from chamber ensembles to orchestra. Playing in the orchestral pit, there's a lot of volume going on. There's absolutely no way you're going to have adequate volume playing a ABG with no amplification.

I play in pit orchestras regularly. You will need some form of amp; for yourself, for the rest of the people in the pit and possibly as your only means of sound (assuming the soundman isn't running you off of a DI to the FOH, which does happen on occasion).

Play what you are comfortable with, but if the Music Director wants a different sound, be prepared to comply. This is not a band setting, where "I'll play what I want and my band mates will just DEAL!" The MD is the boss, period. If they want another sound/tone that you can't achieve, you could be replaced. It happens, albeit if you're upfront with the MD, it's usually not a huge deal.

AEB or fretless electric will work well in a situation with strings in the pit. I've used both in this setting and as long as you EQ appropriately (as in, to fit and mesh with the string section), you should be fine.