Chili said:
I just got a fretless one. It worked well opposite a six string acoustic guitar the other night, but I have doubts it will stand up to a 12 string the way our sonwriter plays.
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Acoustic Basses
- Thread starter Muusers
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I just got a fretless one. It worked well opposite a six string acoustic guitar the other night, but I have doubts it will stand up to a 12 string the way our sonwriter plays.
lola99 said:
I would suggest you try a Washburn AB10. They are small in size and not near the volume unpluged as a Thunderchief but for playing at home it would be great. They arent cheap in IMO but you could find a deal for a used one.
pty-rock said:
I've had 4-string fretless for almost a year. I tried the 5-string fretted back in January and liked it, but I'm not a big 5-string fan in general. I'll vouch for the 4-strings all day long (and am doing so in as many threads as I can find).
Andrew
CBBass123 said:Was almost talked into getting a tacoma...but bought a Fender GB-41 SCE at my local guitar center TODAY!! .......he opened the box up and as soon as tried the fender...i was sold!! it came with some perfect action and sound!
+1
I have a Fender GB-41 and it is a very nice acoustic bass for the price. One word of warning for the, uhm, more "vertically challenged" members. IT's a 34" scale bass, and combine that with the fact that the bridge is in the traditional acoustic position, makes for a VERY LONG NECK. I'm 6'2" and it's a pretty good long reach for me up to the 1st fret.
Otherwise, I really love the bass and it's great to practice on and stands up pretty well against a couple acoustic guitars. My wife bought it for me for Xmas in 2004 and I have really enjoyed having it.
sb69coupe said:
I'm 6'2 as well and my fender gb41 standing up from the floor is upper stomach to lower chest area height. I like it because it has the scale/feel of my other 24 fret basses. But the down side of it...the only case i found that would fit this long bass was the one that goes with it but must be purchased separately. But very happy with my purchase!
Muusers said:
Have you checked out Epiphone's El Capitan. I have one and I simply love it. It's my sketchpad. Not sure about how much that translates with the Euros, but I think it's close to your ballpark. Warm sound, and with new strings can totally hang with acoustic guitars. It's an acoustic electric with active electronics and a built in EQ.
My 2cents on ABG's (owned a black Applause in '96)
flatwounds help, especially with the short-scale ABG
reasonably higher action helps
soundhole plug for higher volumes amplified
even so, the bodies of ABG's are physically too small to produce low fundamentals, which makes these guitars a fun example of "psychoacoustics". We are not hearing the low notes. Our brains are interpolating them. Isn't science fun?
My other 2cents:
Breedlove Atlas is a new contender for the Thunderchief. The Atlas has a cedar top and is warm-toned. Around $600.
The M. Kelly maple lam. top basses (dragonfly) sound pathetic acoustically. But they too have a new cedar-top model.
Ebay, the Guild B-30 or B-50. Better fundamentals with the 6" deep bodies.
If you just want to jam acoustically, go upright. It's not as hard as some would say. Though you may bleed some, at first.
flatwounds help, especially with the short-scale ABG
reasonably higher action helps
soundhole plug for higher volumes amplified
even so, the bodies of ABG's are physically too small to produce low fundamentals, which makes these guitars a fun example of "psychoacoustics". We are not hearing the low notes. Our brains are interpolating them. Isn't science fun?
My other 2cents:
Breedlove Atlas is a new contender for the Thunderchief. The Atlas has a cedar top and is warm-toned. Around $600.
The M. Kelly maple lam. top basses (dragonfly) sound pathetic acoustically. But they too have a new cedar-top model.
Ebay, the Guild B-30 or B-50. Better fundamentals with the 6" deep bodies.
If you just want to jam acoustically, go upright. It's not as hard as some would say. Though you may bleed some, at first.
I have played an early Washburn AB20 for over 10 years. Not as loud acousstically but plays real nice. Strings can make a big difference in sound. Without the normal sound hole laying loud has not been to bad. I have played in plugged into a Ampeg SVT with 8 10s for fun.
hey.
I need opinions on which ABG would be loudest unplugged. This is for an annual bonfire gig on the beach (no power) so fundamentals are real important, as is projection. There are usually two guitars and a bunch of voices. Also, my 10yo daughter expects to play the thing, so a short scale would help -- and body size matters too. Quixotic, no?
thanks - jt
I need opinions on which ABG would be loudest unplugged. This is for an annual bonfire gig on the beach (no power) so fundamentals are real important, as is projection. There are usually two guitars and a bunch of voices. Also, my 10yo daughter expects to play the thing, so a short scale would help -- and body size matters too. Quixotic, no?
thanks - jt
ABG's, even Tacoma's, produce little or no low fundamentals, which is why no ABG can project outdoors. Your only hope is to use a battery powered amp, otherwise, the sound will just disappear outdoors. You will be disappointed. Even an upright would need to have the bridge height increased and be played hard to be heard well in those conditions.
I have heard that people believe that Warwick's Alien Acoustic is probably the loudest AGB out there. I own one and it keeps up well in an acoustic jam session. They are no longer in production and are a bit expensive--mine was $1200 about 2 years ago. Good luck finding one b/c I understand there are a number of session musicians like to record with them. I think I know where one is if you are really, really interested 
.
Eric Killinger said:
Agile HEA-30B, $260 new: http://www.rondomusic.net/BassLeft.html
I got one about 2 years ago and it's been one of the best buys of my life (along with my Brice HXB-406, also from Rondo). They have some fantastic stuff for the price, and they're just flat-out unbeatable when you're talking cheap lefties (much less unusual stuff like lefty acoustics and 6's). I've actually gotten more compliments on my sub-$300 Rondo purchases than on my $1000+ basses.
The Agile sounds very good to my ears (unplugged, amplified, or recorded) despite the small body and 32" scale, but like most ABG's you'll need some reinforcement to pump it up enough to compete with a group. Not very much, though: I gigged with it for a year in an oddball acoustic outfit (myself, accordion, guitar, saw, glockenspiel, ukelele, melodica, light vocals, light drums, tambourine), and for most of that time I just used my original newbie practice amp, an 80's Fender Sidekick 30W 10" combo.
As for other cheapo lefty ABG's, I recently got a couple brand-new on eBay from a company called Tropical Moon Music for about $200 each: a "Tennessee" fretless 6 and a "Branson" fretless 5-string resonator. However, unlike Rondo (where quality is not 100% perfect, but amazing for the price), with Tropical Moon stuff you actually get exactly what you pay for: second-rate sweatshop merchandise. Of the three basses I got from them, one was unplayable (unusable bridge saddle), one was severely handicapped (flawed bridge saddle, unreliable tuners), and one was just not very good at all (floppy B-string, dark-as-charcoal pickups, pointless electronics). At least they had pretty good customer service, though.
Go Rondo, you won't regret it. You can also find plenty of other glowing Rondo reviews elsewhere on TalkBass.
TheBigO said:
I also find that the bronzes don't last so long. I got myself a set of Elixir Acoustic strings, though, and they've held up pretty well. I played them in a few recording sessions, a couple gigs, and maybe a half-dozen practices over a couple months, and they still sound new (though they're starting to get visibly dull in spots where I suppose sweat has gotten through the coating or something). It's quite unusual for my strings to still sound new after that much playing given how corrosive my hands are, but the Elixirs are still sparkly.
bearfoot said:My 2cents on ABG's (owned a black Applause in '96)
flatwounds help, especially with the short-scale ABG
reasonably higher action helps
soundhole plug for higher volumes amplified
even so, the bodies of ABG's are physically too small to produce low fundamentals, which makes these guitars a fun example of "psychoacoustics". We are not hearing the low notes. Our brains are interpolating them. Isn't science fun?
My other 2cents:
Breedlove Atlas is a new contender for the Thunderchief. The Atlas has a cedar top and is warm-toned. Around $600.
The M. Kelly maple lam. top basses (dragonfly) sound pathetic acoustically. But they too have a new cedar-top model.
Ebay, the Guild B-30 or B-50. Better fundamentals with the 6" deep bodies.
If you just want to jam acoustically, go upright. It's not as hard as some would say. Though you may bleed some, at first.
I agree. Get a DB or get a amp.
Also I've played two of those Breedlove Atlases now and both had big intonation problems past the seventh fret.
All useful Stuff, I have an Aria ABM-50 but it isn't quite cutting the sound quality anymore, I need to replace it with an Acoustic 5 String and I need it to be in the UK. does anyone have any suggestions?
