Acoustic Basses?

[MD]

We should maybe take a look at another forum, then, in that case, the acoustic guitar forum from 2012. Nothing much has happened since then, that is a game changer.

Acoustic guitar makers that make good acoustic basses - The Acoustic Guitar Forum

I am not alone, I will namedrop the nicks from there to which I agree with, and consider myself definitely not alone. Those people have tried the lot, which I haven't but they still have this verdict the same as mine. The nicks ebick, Matt Mustapick.. and more, among the lines of:

• Howard Emerson (especially "they won't hold a candle to a well made guitarron"),
  
• Wade Hampton ("they're not truly effective in a wide range of musical settings unless they're plugged into an amp.."),
  
• Roses Dad ("I wish I could recover the money I have spent on various acoustic guitar basses. Tried them all, at least the ones commonly produced. In a word, Nope. No projection, no volume (not to be confused with projection), and, to my ear, crappy sounding").
• Jeff Scott ("if you have to plug in anyway, why not get one designed to do the job properly?")

Period. I am not alone, and I hope we've left MORE THAN ENOUGH caveat information and disclaimers to the OP for being able to judge if he's going to make the plunge or not. He's on a budget you know. And thinking that Emerald would've done it with its graphite or molded bodies think again:

Well, if Howie, Wade, Roses and Jeff say it, it must be. I mean, crap, what have I been thinking all these years of gigging my B10 and playing my camper around the fire, under the trees, on the deck or in a stream. If I had only gotten the word from Howie, Wade, Roses and Jeff a bit sooner, I could've saved myself all that enjoyment.

But seriously, in a way, you may actually be alone here, cause if you think anyone here gives a rats a$$ what a couple guitarists from a guitar forum think... that's really funny!

 

[HeavyDuty]

I'm a regular on AGF, and you can be sure there is just as much dissent about ABGs there as here. I like them other people don't - to each his or her own.

 

[Honch]

And boy, do they neck dive!

Funny MD that I should give MORE rats ass about what a couple of some bassists thinks about it around here on TB ? What makes you think ta TB forumes has a more right to "preferential right of interpretation"?

 

[Honch]

I'm a regular on AGF, and you can be sure there is just as much dissent about ABGs there as here. I like them other people don't - to each his or her own.

Thus MD, I am not alone.

 

[Gorn]

 

[RustyAxe]

Pete Langdel at Rigel makes a very cool and loud ABG but last I checked it was about 2g

And way too big to be practical. It's the size of a 1/2 cello!

 

[RustyAxe]

Kinda funny that all the guys listed in the AGF post above are guys I have on my ignore list because of their pontifical pronouncements on everything ... ... and yes, I post there often and have commented on acoustic bass guitars. ABG's are just another weapon in the arsenal. No, they do NOT sound like an upright (I play that too), and they do not sound like a electric bass guitar "slab" (I play those, too). Nor do they hold up well in an unplugged situation (I do that, too). In a performance environment all of these would most likely be amplified. Can any one of these do the work of the others, sure ... but they won't sound the same.

 

[GretschWretch]

And way too big to be practical. It's the size of a 1/2 cello!

How is "practical" defined? One can hardly fit an upright into a car's glovebox.

 

[RustyAxe]

How is "practical" defined? One can hardly fit an upright into a car's glovebox.

Obviously ... I'm not talking about transport, I'm talking about playing. Strap a 1/2 cello around your neck and play it like a bass guitar. Now play it for three or four hours. Get my drift?

 

[GretschWretch]

Obviously ... I'm not talking about transport, I'm talking about playing. Strap a 1/2 cello around your neck and play it like a bass guitar. Now play it for three or four hours. Get my drift?

I'll see your 1/2 cello and raise you a 1/4 bass. I've been trying for YEARS to figure a way to play one of THOSE from a strap. Even if the weight were not daunting, I've never been able to get the note access I want; can't get the tilt angle right. But a 1/4 bass played on the lap works very well.

I gig all the axes you list as well, and I take your point. But I think the Rigel may actually be bigger than a 1/2 cello.

 

[Session1969]

This is kind of a repeat of my NBD thread I posted but I really like my Thunderchief that I bought (yesterday) instead of an upright. I tried several uprights and the ones I liked were $7k, plus. I had hoped I'd like ones at the 3k range but that wasn't the case at all. My guitarist wanted to stop in at another music store to browse and I asked if they had any acoustic basses. They had two, a Martin and a Thunderchief that was put on consignment just hours, before. I'm very happy to have found this Thunderchief ($700 w/case).

 

[bholder]

This is kind of a repeat of my NBD thread I posted but I really like my Thunderchief that I bought (yesterday) instead of an upright. I tried several uprights and the ones I liked were $7k, plus. I had hoped I'd like ones at the 3k range but that wasn't the case at all. My guitarist wanted to stop in at another music store to browse and I asked if they had any acoustic basses. They had two, a Martin and a Thunderchief that was put on consignment just hours, before. I'm very happy to have found this Thunderchief ($700 w/case).View attachment 635384

Oh, man, that was a deal! About what they should go for, imho, but they've become so rare that folks now think they can get $3500 for one. Sad. Anyway, pumped for you that you found one at a great price!

 

[jd56hawk]

Wow, who could pass that up for that price?

 

[Session1969]

Oh, man, that was a deal! About what they should go for, imho, but they've become so rare that folks now think they can get $3500 for one. Sad. Anyway, pumped for you that you found one at a great price!

The one on Ebay looks to be Koa ? Pretty, for sure.

 

[Session1969]

Wow, who could pass that up for that price?

I didn't think an ABG with this kind of volume existed. For months, my singer has been asking me to get an ABG and I've always responded "only an upright can give me what we need for acoustic gigs. I think I may have been wrong.

 

[bholder]

Obviously ... I'm not talking about transport, I'm talking about playing. Strap a 1/2 cello around your neck and play it like a bass guitar. Now play it for three or four hours. Get my drift?

I play this on a strap, but not for three or four hours. (15 pounds, a bit much after a while)
Edit: sorry, meant to have a pic here, but not on this machine, forgot I'd even typed this, anyway, meant to insert a pic of my 41.5" scale '37 Regal Bassoguitar here.
Snagged one from an earlier post:

I didn't think an ABG with this kind of volume existed. For months, my singer has been asking me to get an ABG and I've always responded "only an upright can give me what we need for acoustic gigs. I think I may have been wrong.

As I keep saying, they do exist, but they're large, generally expensive (almost impossible to find under $1K, you got very lucky), and very hard to find.

 

[RustyAxe]

I'll see your 1/2 cello and raise you a 1/4 bass. I've been trying for YEARS to figure a way to play one of THOSE from a strap. Even if the weight were not daunting, I've never been able to get the note access I want; can't get the tilt angle right. But a 1/4 bass played on the lap works very well.

I gig all the axes you list as well, and I take your point. But I think the Rigel may actually be bigger than a 1/2 cello.

I remember seeing Deep Purple at the New Haven Colosseum back in the early 70's. Roger Glover came out with a 1/2 cello (I suppose it might have been a 1/4 bass ... my memory fails me ... grin!), painted in zebra stripes, strapped around his neck, playing it like a bass guitar. Only did one song with that axe, though!

 

[RustyAxe]

There are decent upright basses in the $1500-3000 range. I have a Strunal (Czech) 50/4 that I like a lot for what I play.

 

[RustyAxe]

Congrats! Now ... string that bass up with good nylon wound strings (I prefer GHS), play it near the fretboard, and listen to how "upright-ish" you can get. Great bass, I'll probably die with mine.

This is kind of a repeat of my NBD thread I posted but I really like my Thunderchief that I bought (yesterday) instead of an upright. I tried several uprights and the ones I liked were $7k, plus. I had hoped I'd like ones at the 3k range but that wasn't the case at all. My guitarist wanted to stop in at another music store to browse and I asked if they had any acoustic basses. They had two, a Martin and a Thunderchief that was put on consignment just hours, before. I'm very happy to have found this Thunderchief ($700 w/case).View attachment 635384

 

[GretschWretch]

This is kind of a repeat of my NBD thread I posted but I really like my Thunderchief that I bought (yesterday) instead of an upright. I tried several uprights and the ones I liked were $7k, plus. I had hoped I'd like ones at the 3k range but that wasn't the case at all. My guitarist wanted to stop in at another music store to browse and I asked if they had any acoustic basses. They had two, a Martin and a Thunderchief that was put on consignment just hours, before. I'm very happy to have found this Thunderchief ($700 w/case).View attachment 635384

While it was in production, this probably was the king ABG: the closest thing to an Earthwood bass (don't know how the budget-line Olympia would compare on that score). Now, the huge-bodied Deans maybe? But that cutaway just puts me off; I have never cared for cutaway acoustic bass guitars.

Not me nor my bass, but when I'm strappin' an ABG, I rock these

Eko BA/4 (fretless Bass) Photo by lsabina | Photobucket