Well threw out the summer me and friend are going to go to ocean city new jersey and we are going to play at night on the boards. well i found out this morning he is getting a house down there for a week in June with his family. So i have to buy an acoustic bass quickly. so what im asking you guys for is a little help in finding a good one at a good price. i need something that is loud enough to be heard. Because i know not all acoustics a very loud. So does any one have any input oh, and one last thing by good price i mean 350 or less.
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Acoustic bass.....
- Thread starter BenFiglio
- Start date
the only acoustic bass that ever sounded good to me was a breedlove. pricewise i think its over 350. maybe you can find one used.
I had a Fender BG-41 And it was pretty loud unplugged. I just traded it in at GC Millbury MA last week and I know they can get stuff shipped from store to store And you could pick it up for 200.00 From them. Just a thought if you don't mind getting A local GC to get it shipped to them.
i was just looking at gc website and has any one played any of the dean acoustics they say they claim to have an unmatched tune and volume.
The ABG won't function as a bass outdoors & unplugged. If you play it with a heavy pick, it can make an interesting sort of baritone line with some chord elements on the higher strings. If you think of it that way, as a lower voiced steel string guitar, it would be less disappointing and you can think of it as an entirely different instrument.
True the Breedlove bass has lovely tone. Not as loud as Tacoma, and a Tacoma almost completely evaporates when played outdoors like that.
Maybe consider a Lucida guitarron and re-string it. With that you would at least get some real thumpy fundamentals, probably not all the way down to E but then the fundmental E on my upright is even a little weak.
True the Breedlove bass has lovely tone. Not as loud as Tacoma, and a Tacoma almost completely evaporates when played outdoors like that.
Maybe consider a Lucida guitarron and re-string it. With that you would at least get some real thumpy fundamentals, probably not all the way down to E but then the fundmental E on my upright is even a little weak.
The Ovation and Applause A/E basses are about as loud as any - but some don't like the full size round back. Take one for a test drive. Used, either one will fit your budget.
ok i wont mind the round back i played cello for 3 years so this is same thing sorta just holding it a little diff.
The (Fender) Marcus Miller Sig Acoustic sounds amazing, but it probably still won't cut through outdoors against other acoustic instruments. Bass tones are much larger sound waves and require much more amplitude to be percieved as the same size as what a guitar is putting out, for instance.
Yeah, you're not going to be heard without an amp. My reccomendation is to get a 30$ Pignose battery powered amp and just take an electric. The Pignose will give you some volume and will allow you to be heard but it won't be overbearing (it's a 6" speaker so it won't sound great.. but it will do).
The Fender ABGs aren't great. They sound ok when amplified because they have a high quality preamp and piezo system but just playing it they are NOT loud enough to compete with any guitars. I have a Takamine EG512C, and it's loud as hell when played with a pick, but it loses it's charm against a heavy-handed acoustic player. It's just physics.
Use an amp. No one will think less of you.
The Fender ABGs aren't great. They sound ok when amplified because they have a high quality preamp and piezo system but just playing it they are NOT loud enough to compete with any guitars. I have a Takamine EG512C, and it's loud as hell when played with a pick, but it loses it's charm against a heavy-handed acoustic player. It's just physics.
Use an amp. No one will think less of you.
This topic comes up pretty frequently. If you use an ABG, the sound of the wind and waves is going to drown you out, I think. Best cheap solution is a $50 home made wash tub. If you PM me and are interested, I have made one that has a two octave range, is tunable, easy to play, and very loud. Next best is a double bass, but for any of those worth buying you need an extra zero in your budget. Best and loudest acoustic bass guitars I've heard were the Takamine B-10 and a very large Guild that I don't know the model of. Both of those will bust your budget.
Recently a friend of mine (a guitarist, so what can he know) tried a guitarrone at Galaxy and he thought that was loud. That's one of those mariachi style basses. I think those are comparatively affordable.
Recently a friend of mine (a guitarist, so what can he know) tried a guitarrone at Galaxy and he thought that was loud. That's one of those mariachi style basses. I think those are comparatively affordable.
so for the most part any ABG i buy will need a small amount of amplifaction to be heard out doors
I've got a Tacoma Thunderchief that does OK with one or two acoustic guitars in a fairly quiet environment, but I have one of these for a little help when I need it:
http://news.harmony-central.com/Newp/2000/ElectroHarmonix-Freedom.html
