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Acoustic Bass

P

Petar

Oct 24, 2008
12
0
#1
Hi

After almost 10 years with Warwick Fortress, I bought an acoustic bass - Tanglewood TW 55 A.

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Unplugged, it has a jazzy, woody sound which is IMO much nicer than anything that can be procuded with an amp. It is also loud enough for playing with a singer/acoustic guitar. When plugged in, it still sounds decently - although, obviously, not as good as my dear Fortress.

Now, I could not find a lot about acoustic basses. Is there anyone else playing them around; I'd like to hear some tips/tricks of transferring from electric to acoustic. Which acoustic bass do you play? How do you use it?

And, the last but not the least, why are acoustic basses so unpopular? I'm very, very pleased with mine...
 
#2
I am biased by my tastes in terms of tone and my fondness for vibrations able to make your chest shiver but I'd say acoustic basses are not exactly unpopular, more that acoustic bass guitars are rather unpolular.

And the main reasons are imho : you have to enjoy the guitar-like tone and most of all it's not loud enough to be played unplugged with others like an acoustic guitar can.
 
#3
Sorry, I meant acoustic bass guitars... Thanks a lot for your comments! They lead exactly to the points I wanted to make:

- I played an acoustic, unplugged gig with a guitar and a singer the other day, and my acoustic bass guitar was loud enough

- I wouldn't call its tone guitar like - it definitely sounds like a bass.

Now, opinion about tone can be biased: in the end of the day, it's very personal. But the question of loudness is not - I was worried about my volume and asked many people, including other musicians, if they could hear me. And everyone said that they could hear me clearly!

I would really like to hear more about playing acoustic bass guitar: I fell in love with the instrument, and there's no talk about it.
 
#4
Hey guys, I've been playing electric bass for a little more than a year. I go on a lot of camping trips and I'm not comfortable bringing my electric into the wilderness and playing through a little battery powered marshall amp, so I've been looking at acoustic bass guitars. What would you recommend for a cheap acoustic that will still give me a nice sound?
 
#5
:hiding:

Hey Glacier

Couldn't really help you with this one. I've been trying many acoustic basses before I decided to buy this one, and the general rule was: the more it costs, the louder and nicer it sounds.

Mine was £450, I guess it does not even remotely qualify as cheap...

However, it has a pickup and equiliser - if you want to play both your electric and your acoustic, maybe you could go for just acoustic (I guess that would be cheaper).

However, they don't seem to be very popular: a friend bought a second hand Takamine - not as nice as mine, but pretty close - together with hard case for £150.

Bear in mind that cheaper models are also quieter - this is one of the main problems people have with acoustic basses. Mine is loud enough for camping trips, but I tried a few which are simply too quiet.

Another friend has a fender - don't know the model - and it sounds great. A bit more to the rock sound, was around £350.

Hope this helps.
 
#6
I have a Sonata ABG, which is a brand of acoustic guitars and ABG's that McFadyen Music carried before they went under. Anyhow, it's a pretty decent bass. Unplugged, it's a 7-out-of-10 on the loudness scale. Plugged in, it has a fairly good tone. Until I slapped a set of Fender tapewounds on her. I'd say now it's a 9-out-of-10 and the tone is to die for. But that's just me. IMO, I think the main thing holding back ABG's from being more popular is the volume hurdle- throw any ABG against a couple of acoustic guitars and a singer, and you'll see what I mean. Perhaps someday we'll see an ABG that can go up against a couple of guitars and be heard clearly, but until then, I'll just keep on playin'. :D
 
#8
The problem with most acoustic basses is the fact that you need to be pushing enough air to achieve those deeper bass tones, and most acoustic basses simply are not large enough to achieve that. Plugged in, many sound decent, but unplugged the majority do not impress me. The only one that I found to be halfway decent unplugged was the Tacoma Thunderchief. Otherwise, those huge mariachi band basses (guitarron) offer the best acoustic bass guitar tones, IMO.
 
#10
Bassman316 said:
... the volume hurdle- throw any ABG against a couple of acoustic guitars and a singer, and you'll see what I mean.
Click to expand...

This is definitely the biggest hurdle. I've heard some beautiful sounding plugged in ABG's, but if they are going to go plugged-in, most folks will reach for an electric. If it's your ideal sound, you want to practice without an amp, or you do alot of plugged-in "acoustic" music it may be just what you need, but it's definately a "niche" instrument.

pjmuck said:
The only one that I found to be halfway decent unplugged was the Tacoma Thunderchief. Otherwise, those huge mariachi band basses (guitarron) offer the best acoustic bass guitar tones, IMO.
Click to expand...

It's a physics thing. The bodies just aren't big enough. I agree that the Tacoma comes close. It has a huge body, and very little finish to impede the vibration of the soundboard, and the results are quite good. The Guitarron is loud enough to compete with a couple of guitarrists, but it's round woofy tone (which I love) may not be for everyone.
 
#12
I play a Crafter 5-string acoustic, but I have to plug it into an amp to play with someone. The main use I get is a quick grab to practice without having to plug in to an amp. I must say that plugged in, it gives a sound that is a lot different than my other instruments, and that is what I have it for![Invalid or Expired Link Removed][Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#13
Petar, sounds like your experience with volume is unusual. I would agree that acoustic bass guitars are not typically loud enough to play in a group with amplification. There's a reason those uprights are so damn big.

You play with your fingers or a pick? I have noticed I get a lot more volume when I play with a pick, I just prefer to play with my fingers.
 
#14
I have owned 3 acoustic basses:
Hohner acoustic bass
Washburn AB 5 string
Carvin Cobalt
The Carvin by far was the best. Despite my desire to try and like ACBs, I never have. I haven't found one yet that sounded good without an amp. The Washburn in particular had horrible neck dive and made little sound at all unplugged. Using a pick I could get a bit more volume out of the basses. The Hohner was a pretty decent bass. Two acoustics playing with a ACB unplugged its hard to cut through. My 2.5478 cents
 
#15
Petar said:
Hi

After almost 10 years with Warwick Fortress, I bought an acoustic bass - Tanglewood TW 55 A.

Invalid Link Removed

Unplugged, it has a jazzy, woody sound which is IMO much nicer than anything that can be procuded with an amp. It is also loud enough for playing with a singer/acoustic guitar. When plugged in, it still sounds decently - although, obviously, not as good as my dear Fortress.

Now, I could not find a lot about acoustic basses. Is there anyone else playing them around; I'd like to hear some tips/tricks of transferring from electric to acoustic. Which acoustic bass do you play? How do you use it?

And, the last but not the least, why are acoustic basses so unpopular? I'm very, very pleased with mine...
Click to expand...

nice ... exact same bass as mine... the top of the line Tanglewood...

I'm still trying out different strings on mine... and it really sounds much better now after a few months of playing in...

Oh, by the way, the Tanglewood is loud... but doesn't seem it from the player's perspective... the body is huge...

here's a gratuitous body shot of mine...

IMGP0552.jpg
 
#16
Thanks, manic!

I forgot to mention this: the bass does not sound loud to the player, but it does sound loud a couple of meters in front. A week ago I was playing with 2 guitars and a singer. I was very disappointed, because it seemed (to me) that I was very quiet. However, after the gig, almost everyone in the band said that they could hear me very well, in parts even too loud.

I play with fingers. I have a strange technique, though, and I always sound much louder than anyone else I heard playing my bass. Heritage from my funk days, I suppose...

Manic, what kind of music do you play? Which strings do you use? I still have the original strings that came with the bass, but I play a lot and need a replacement soon... And you are right. The more you play this bass, the better it sounds: I've got mine for 6 months now, and the sound is really more ballanced. I wonder how this happens...

FYI, Tanglewood just produced a hard case for this model. Since I carry my bass around a lot, I ordered one. Can't wait - finally I won't have to keep an eye on my poorly protected bass in the pub all the time!
 
#17
This is mine, I've had it about a month now.

I found I had to experiment with strings at first to get the sound that I wanted. It came fitted with bronze strings that were way too bright and guitar like, flats made it sound too much like an upright, I finally settled with DR Sunbeams.

It has a beautiful acoustic sound, I'm not too keen on it's plugged in sound, but to be honest I have only plugged it into my amp for a total of about 2 minutes, so I probably just need to experiment with the settings a bit, there aren't any controls on the bass itself, and I had the amp set flat.
 

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#18
I like acoustic basses when they're amplified. There is something special about shaping the sound with your hands and having it emerge from right in front of you through the soundhole.

These are ideas I heard from Jonas Hellborg, and found them to be very true when playing ABG's. I dig them.
 
#19
Chris2112 said:
I like acoustic basses when they're amplified. There is something special about shaping the sound with your hands and having it emerge from right in front of you through the soundhole.

These are ideas I heard from Jonas Hellborg, and found them to be very true when playing ABG's. I dig them.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I like about them, it's made my approach to electric playing change too.

The guy I bought mine from had a fretted the same too, he's possibly going to sell it at Christmas, so I may end up with two of them, which will be nice.
 

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