acoustic Basses

Try Looking at an Ibanez. They are very slim and the acoustic-electric is about 500 dollars.

 

I would highly recommened the washburn AB-34. I looked at many acoustic basses but whenever i layed them i got a very "twangy sound and little volume but then i found a used washburn AB-34 that needed strings but i loved it. So i bought it and ut on som elixer nano webs and it is the best sounding acoustic bass i have heard yet.

 

i played a really nice martin the other day ... cant remember the price ....

the ovations are pretty nice. the takamine i tried was really something .... i dont know the models of any of these ....

that wasnt much help was it ......

 

I'll chime in with the Epiphone 'El Capitan'... There's one in a music store a few towns over that plays great and sounds even better. I've heard that these are somewhat hit and miss as far as quality, although between my Jack Casady and the above mentioned El Capitan I'm liking Epi's quality!

-robert

 

Another vote for the Tacoma Thunderchief. As far as acoustic volume and tone are concerned, it smokes everything else I've tried: Martin, Washburn, Ibanez, Epiphone, Fender, Dean, Ovation, and yes, Taylor/Klein. It's cheap, too!!!

 

Ibanez, but they tend to be small, although of course some are bigger then others.

Catch

 

Volume wise the loudest I've found were the Tacoma (it felt cheap to me though), and the Fender (its short scale though which can cause a problem, or be a bonus because it makes it more portable). The El Capitan was good quality, but plugged in didn't have much volume at all. I really liked the Talkamine I played... and which is the one I will recommend. Personally I hated the Ovation I played, the bowl back was HUGE and very uncomfortable, but some people like those things.

 

There is only one acoustic bass guitar. The Tacoma Thunderchief. Everything else is a failed attempt at the concept. IMO of course. If you can find one discounted, the Tacoma is the bass for you. Beautiful, great feel, acoustic tone is fantastic (Mine's been recorded mic'ed and it sounds incredible - try that with another ABG) and the electric tone is great, too. I have one of the early ones with a Fishman Prefix Plus preamp, I don't think they're using those anymore unfortunately.

 

The BIG Guild (like a B-30 or something) is the only acoustic bass I'm aware of (other than my URB) that will actually keep up, volume wise, with 2 acoustic guitars without an amp. They're a bit more expensive (The guy was askin 1100 used for the one I played) and they're BIG, but if you really want to play "acoustically" I don't know of anything better.

 

That's the thing about the Tacoma also. It's freaking HUGE. I mean "uncomfortable to play at times" huge. That's what it takes to get acoustic volume.

 

I have played the Tacoma and to me it didnt compare to the washburn. The washburn was louder and i liked tohe sound better... But the only thing i can say is to each his own if we all dug the same thing there would only be one company

 

Definatly the Regal resonator bass. Hands down. It has better volume and tone than any acoustic bass out there. The elctric model also sounds very good plugged it. The resonator is a metal cone in the body the projects the sound, making it much louder than typical acoustic basses. This also allows for a smaller body. It even looks better than all the other ones. I wanted an acoustic bass but was very unhappy with all that I played. Then I found this and I soon owned one of my own. They sell them for $500 at www.folkofthewood.com . This is where I ordered mine and the transaction went quite well.

The only problems I have with it is that it is a shorter scale (about that of a Gibson bass) and, like all acoustic bass bridges, the intonation is not great past the 12th fret.

-Kenan

 

I have played the regal. it had god volume. But the only thing was it had poor intonation. It may have just been the one tht i tried but hey check it out if it has good intonation i say go for it.