Acoustic Basses worth it?

[B-Mac]

I have owned several and the Victor Bailey is the keeper.

What's a decent price for one that's in good shape if you don't mind me asking? Dis Fender offer a HSC for these when they were making them?

 

[jd56hawk]

Man you keep plugging these so much I just gotta get one!

This one looks pretty interesting, too.
Twice the price of the Joyo, but still a good price.

If you're going amplified and STILL want an acoustic, get the Kala U-Bass. Plugged in, it's the closest to upright I've ever heard (of course the amp is a factor). I own one, and a big ol'Guild B30. Guess which one hasn't seen daylight in years.

I'm close enough with my Exotica.

So close that someone accused me of not actually playing in the above video...though even an untrained ear can tell the difference between that and the upright in the original.

How loud is it, REALLY, before distortion? Can it hang with 2 heavy-strummed acoustics? Fiddle (violin)?
I really like the guitar strap thing...
Diego

I don't think it would have any problem hanging with two acoustics.
No real distortion with the volume knob set at full unless you engage the drive button or turn up the gain too much.
When I use the gain, I simply turn down the volume a bit. The drive button is a bit much for most of the songs I play, but it comes in handy for some of the heavier stuff.
All in all, I'm happy I bought it.

 

[CJAZ]

I am in love with my Taylor AB-1 and AB-2. Good way to go if you can find one. Great tone but you would probably still need a little amplification.

​

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

OP there is a search function. This topic has been done numerous times

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

OP there is a search function. This topic has been done numerous times

 

[jharms80439]

I’ve owned many. Several Breedloves, 2 Thunderchiefs, Ovation and a Guild.

I still have my upright and the largest acoustic that Breedlove makes with a player monitor sound hole.

The Breedlove isn’t anywhere near as loud as my upright. Yes, size matters.

Frankly, I love my Breedlove as a couch bass. Play for me - perfect. With others and without an amp - not so much. It is doable, but it is tough.

Out of control acoustic guitars, almost impossible.

I haven’t tried the new GHS bronze compression wounds, but I will soon. Currently the Breedlove wears Chromes.

Higher action is a must for volume. The balance is string tension with an acoustic top. Breedlove does it a bit differently and it works for me.

My advice is to get one - and one with the biggest body you can find - but there is no need to spend a fortune either. Then buy a small amp. PJB Briefcase or other battery powered amp. You don’t necessarily need much, but even 5 watts will help quite a bit.

Either way, give it a whirl. You might just find that you love it.

I do mine.

John

 

[longfinger]

For campfire playing the best bass might be a washtub bass! ;-) Inexpensive, portable, suitable for campfire genre of playing, and you can do your laundry in it afterwards. And it's a great conversation piece.

 

[rollie 55]

I love my acoustic bass(s). But full disclaimer, they are totally piles of crap, equal parts awesome and junk.
One is a Guild B30 and the other is a Kramer Ferrington (from the hair era). Yours will be a pile of crap too, even if you get an expensive one. But get it for the right reason and you won't care.
Get one:
Super convenient, grab and go, pull it off the wall and play on the sofa, play to the rain on the porch, jam with your friend who sells insurance but brings his guitar to every party. You can even record with one, there is a unique sound that can be quite useful in studio. Be prepared for when "Unplugged" is a thing again.
Don't get one:
Not loud enough, either spring-tastic twangy (rounds) or nearly inaudible thud rubber bandy (flats/tapes). Feel heavier then they are due to the reach, somewhat uncomfortable to play. The narrowest of mine (Ferrington) is 3 1/2" deep. Reach? Hmmm, 7 1/2" from the body to the E string, 6 1/2" from the back to the bridge. Compare that to what you are currently playing and you'll know what I mean.

So what I'm saying as an owner of 2, go in prepared with realistic expectations. Your arm isn't bendy enough to make it as comfortable as an acoustic guitar and physics defy the volume reaching the level of a guitar under any circumstance. Be amused by the next handful of posts that say "my ___ is really loud with tapes and easy to play". That's BS. But understandable BS because we all love our instruments. So if if you choose to believe BS, that's your choice. But still, get one because of the reasons above. So much fun anyway.

Hint, if I play with an acoustic guitarist I use a pick, it is much louder even if that isn't your preferred style.
Other hint, bronze wounds feel terrible in bass gauge but they are louder than whatever someone in the next post says.

In conclusion:
Totally worth it, piece of crap, not loud, most fun.
p.s. if you still can't pair with a guitarist look at the Blackstar Fly Bass, 3W mini amp that can run on batteries. It's loud enough to play an electric bass with an acoustic guitar at the fire. Fits in gig bag.

i cant argue with this just about rounded it up in one go

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

looking for an acoustic bass loud enough to compete with a guitar/violin player at a bonfire so far haven't found anything. It's a pain bringing a double bass just for fun little jam sessions thanks in advance.

They are if you get a cheap one.

 

[GMC]

Bassically...(sorry for the pun) double basses are the size and shape needed to create an acoustic bass tone at half decent volume levels. Anything smaller...and you will need an amp. Most "acoustic" basses are a variant of an acoustic guitar...which just don't carry the air space to make a loud bass tone. The sound board on a full size double bass is about 5 times the size of an acoustic bass.

 

[Eli_Kyiv]

looking for an acoustic bass loud enough to compete with a guitar/violin player at a bonfire

My Cort SJB5F does exactly that. Basically that's what I've bought it for. Wasn't expensive, too. Could be even cheaper second-hand.

 

[Funky Phantom]

I bought an acoustic bass (Dean Playmate), because it was cheap. I didn’t think I would
play it that much. I wound up playing it all the time. It was so much easier to just grab
and play without plugging in, adjusting volume, etc.
And just like an acoustic guitar, it made my chops better, when I got on an electric, it was
a lot easier to play. But, when I used it for the ‘campfire’ jam, it just didn’t keep up with
the guitars, fiddles, etc.
Remember, bass guitar doesn’t occupy the broader frequencies of the guitar, so when you’re
on the same frequency as guitar, you can’t hear the bass.
I would totally recommend an acoustic for a chop builder, and practice tool, but as far as
keeping up with a guitar, you’d be better off with an amp, even if you go acoustic/electric.
If no outlet is available, go for a pig nose type amp.

“You know what they told me? If you’re not sleeping in Atlanta, you’re just campin’ out”.

Jerry Granville, 1990

 

[Don Hergert]

I can’t get past the feel of those rubbery strings

There are higher tension non-rubbery strings available for uBass now.

Note: Part of the DB tone from a uBass is the uBass itself, part is the amp. If you want to seriously increase the DB tone get a fretless uBass.

I still haven't gotten past wanting to bring my DB everywhere I go, but when I absolutely cannot, I bring my Kala fretless uBass and my battery-operated Roland Micro Cube Bass RX, and I use this setup with wireless TX/RX so there are no cables.

This setup isn't quite as fun as a DB but it comes pretty close.

 

[Eli_Kyiv]

A possible alternative:

 

[kerrycares]

Roland battery powered bass amp

 

[NeonVomit]

I love my Furch acoustic 5-string. It's regular 34" scale and has got a unique sound which is great for recording in certain contexts (with a fantastic LR Baggs pickup), I've used it on a few recordings and it has a wonderful, deep earthy acoustic tone which is impossible to replicate with an electric.

Unplugged, it is pretty much loud enough for the acoustic campfire jamming OP describes. I often use it for songwriting when I go to someone's place to work on ideas - saves me taking an amp with me. For any sort of actual performance though it's going to get plugged in, for sure.

It is bulky though, and not the most comfortable bass to play sitting down (its size has a lot to do with it - standing with a strap though it's great - comfortable, well balanced and very light) and it was quite expensive (around 1,300 euros IIRC) - like someone said earlier, if an acoustic bass is going to be loud, it's going to be big and expensive. I admit I bought it mostly on a whim, because I wanted an acoustic, tried a bunch at a music store in Berlin when I visited, and it was the best one they had by far, and couldn't bring myself to get one of the cheaper ones as it was just so much better sounding and more enjoyable to play than those.

Is it a vital bit of kit? No, certainly not. If I was in a situation where I needed to get rid of a bass or basses for urgent financial reasons, it would be the first to go. But it's super fun and that's all that matters, at the end of the day. Most cheaper AB's will not be loud enough for your purposes so you might as well get a battery amp.

 

[dalkowski]

Note: Part of the DB tone from a uBass is the uBass itself, part is the amp. If you want to seriously increase the DB tone get a fretless uBass.

When the outlook improves I'll likely replace my fretted Ubass with fretless. All in all the frets seem more of a hindrance than a help IMHO.

 

[glocke1]

looking for an acoustic bass loud enough to compete with a guitar/violin player at a bonfire so far haven't found anything. It's a pain bringing a double bass just for fun little jam sessions thanks in advance.

You will just simply not find an ABG that is loud enough to go head to head with an acoustic guitar or probably even a violin.

I have a Martin BCPA4 here and its really nothing more than a novelty. Fun thing to pick up and sit on the sofa with but thats about it. to get any real volume from it, you need to plug it in.

That said, its not entirely useless, it does have a distinct sound when plugged in but I would still argue against buying one.

I really need to sell the one i have here.

 

[Seanocheifo]

i have played several acoustic basses (mostly fender and ibanez acoustics) and in my opinion they are not worth it, to project a loud enough sound you will need an with a pickup, any decent acoustic basses are to expensive to be worth it.

 

[lomo]

I owned about a half a dozen acoustic bass guitars over the years before finally forking out the big bucks and settling on the most wonderful instrument, an Emerald Baylor five string fretted . Strung with TI flats, this instrument sounds beautiful and woody/ organic/warm and the playability and ergonomics are superb. That said, it is wonderful for solo playing or with 1 quiet guitar . It sounds fantastic plugged in, but requires amplification if you are talking about more than one guitar or any significant percussion/multiple vocals etc. This is pretty much the case with any acoustic bass guitar. There is really no getting around the physics. If you don’t want to wrestle with a dog house, then you are going to have to plug it in if you want significant volume. Mine gets a lot of Play time, because it sounds so beautiful on its own. It is very easy to hear without needing to use a pic or those bronze strings which I detest. It sounds very much like an upright with the flats on it.