Hey ya all bass folk! Can any of you recommend an acoustic bass guitar that has Volume, Tone and what I call Wow!? Amplifying it is totally secondary. What I am looking for an acoustic bass that can hold it's own in an acoustic jam with no amp, several guitars and hand drums. Is there one?
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Acoustic Basses Volume, Tone and Wow!
- Thread starter guestOU812
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- acoustic bass guitar
There are so many threads asking the same question and the answer is invariably the same: none of them are loud enough for what you describe.
When I first saw that this one was being built, I thought it might turn out to be "the one" that would be able to do what you're asking for (not that I would ever have been able to afford one).
Then, I later saw a video of Jack playing it on stage...through a small amp.
Oh well...
Bass of the Week: Jack Casady's Ribbecke Guitars "Diana" Bass
Then, I later saw a video of Jack playing it on stage...through a small amp.
Oh well...
Bass of the Week: Jack Casady's Ribbecke Guitars "Diana" Bass
I had a Michael Kelly 5 string club Custom
Very nice sound
The steel strings that it came with you could hear if you played using a pick but not well and sounded tinny
So what they said no
Get yourself a small 110 combo and go
Duke
Very nice sound
The steel strings that it came with you could hear if you played using a pick but not well and sounded tinny
So what they said no
Get yourself a small 110 combo and go
Duke
Depends. Are your jam mates listening to each other, or trying concuss each other? If you have two or three acoustic guitars playing fingerstyle and at midlevel volume, and your hand drum is laying a light beat, then a really large body high quality acoustic bass can be heard by the other musicians. If the guitars are whanging out as loud as they can get and the drummer is trying to beat his unit into shreds, then no, nobody will hear your bass.
Sorry, you need an amp...battery powered, small enough to wear on your back...unless you stand right in front of the crowd and the guitarist(s) are standing twenty or thirty feet behind you.
Every time someone asks this question it should be answered with another question: Why wouldn't you use an amp?
Remember, we're bassists...it's all about the tone. I don't care if someone comes up with an acoustic bass twice as loud as a Tacoma Thunderchief...there's no way you can match the tone of even the cheapest bass plugged in...and that's including an acoustic bass with those horrible sounding bronze wounds.
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Thank you! I was hoping someone somewhere came up with something for us to take to the camp fires and parks.
It's something we all wish for. I do play every week with three acoustic guitars, and they have no trouble hearing my acoustic bass. They all play with restraint.
It's all about expectations. An acoustic bass guitar isn't gonna get the booties shakin'. Try some out; that'll be within the range of what to expect.
You said in the original post, "an acoustic bass guitar that has Volume, Tone and what I call Wow!? Amplifying it is totally secondary. What I am looking for an acoustic bass that can hold it's own in an acoustic jam with no amp, several guitars and hand drums"
Just from the capitalization of the word "volume" and the use and capitalization of the word "wow" and then the exclamation point after it, my guess is that you're not going to find what you're looking for. Add in the several guitars and hand drums requirements, and people just aren't going to be saying "Wow!" about the bass.
Can you be heard by people who are right nearby if the other musicians are listening and playing with restraint (and you're using a pick and playing on roundwounds), yes. But "Wow!" bass tone in the mix of a number of other musicians outdoors, no
I wanted to have the same thing you wanna have.
I advise you to get a decent battery amp.
By decent I mean either the roland MicroCube if you have $ for it:
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I had the chance to try this amp and I was blown away that you can achieve this on battery.
If you are on low budget I would recommend Blackstar Fly 3 with the extension cab:
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It would not sound WoW! and it would not blow anybody's hair off but it will get the job done.
I advise you to get a decent battery amp.
By decent I mean either the roland MicroCube if you have $ for it:
Invalid Link Removed
I had the chance to try this amp and I was blown away that you can achieve this on battery.
If you are on low budget I would recommend Blackstar Fly 3 with the extension cab:
Invalid Link Removed
It would not sound WoW! and it would not blow anybody's hair off but it will get the job done.
No ABG is going to cut the brief, but an acoustic upright bass will. Learning upright is demanding, and upright basses are expensive (and cumersome) compared to ABGs. For a range of genres, however, being competent on upright has huge upside.
If you can find an old Earthwood, you will have a fighting chance with multiple acoustic guitars. Lamonte guitars makes large deep bodied acoustic basses. You might want to check them out. 
It would have to be the size of an upright. Or be an upright.
I agree.
Though there are some campgrounds where "no amplified music" is allowed.
The Wow! factor is usually this: Wow! I thought you'd be able to hear this next to an acoustic guitar, and was wrong...
No. Throw a banjo in the mix and you won't hear the acoustic guitars either 
Only the earthwood has enough sound to cut with a small group. It's cumbersome to play, but for meat and potatoes stuff, it works fine.
