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Acoustic-Electric bass live?

M

micahv

Aug 21, 2011
6
0
#1
Hello,
I have an Ibanez acoustic electric bass that's I bought for practice that's been sitting around collecting dust and I'm wondering if it would be unusual to use it live in my church band. I prefer to play it with the treble turned up a bit and the mid down for that acoustic sound but that can really add a lot of fret noise that may just be too distracting for a live set. Also I recently bought a soundhole cover that fixed the feedback issue for the most part.

I haven't heard of many bassists using these live so I thought I would get a few opinions. Thanks!
 
#4
Ive only known of one bass player whose used acoustic electric bass for whole set that appealed to me. Thatd be Jonas Hellborg. Wether your rig can get a good tone with the band for the mix and music being done, I dunno. You should diff discuss this and quite likely do some jams with them to see if its a workable bass instrument for the church things needs and wants soiund wise.
 
#5
I played an old fretted Guild ('77 B50) for several years in church and it was ok. Now, my primary bass is a Godin A4 fretless, "thinline". Its deep, clean lows and sweet highs fit very nicely. I love the expressiveness of the fretless board and I receive compliments on it's tone from the congregation, regularly.
 
#7
vin*tone said:
Make sure you have REALLY good eq to control feedback. An acoustic DI with phase switch such as an LR Baggs would be even better. Experimant with your rig at decent volume before you hit the stage.
Click to expand...

My Ibanez AEB10 has a phase switch - so that's a red herring for an argument.

Even with it ON, I still use a Planet Waves sound hole plug. If you ever think an acoustic bass isn't a good tool for live performances, watch the Clapton Concert (One More Car One More Rider) with Nathan East and Billy Preston.

East used that acoustic for quite a few numbers. It sounded rich, full bodied and sexy.
 
#8
MD said:
If it sounds good, why not?
Click to expand...

Feedback, mainly.

I bought Invalid Link Removed (I know, hard to imagine) a few years ago purely for looks for an alt.country band project someone I respected (I know, hard to imagine) wanted me to play out in.

Feedback was a nuisance. Running it through a compressor and feedback eliminator (and the tsuris of programming that) rendered control adequate, though the project was plagued with desertions and never did much. On the whole, the AGB was a headache I would avoid again as more trouble than it could possibly be worth.

Anyway, you're a bass player; nobody else in the world cares what you sound like as long as they can hear you. ;)
 
#12
Originally Posted by MD
If it sounds good, why not?
Click to expand...


Bongolation said:
Feedback, mainly.

Anyway, you're a bass player; nobody else in the world cares what you sound like as long as they can hear you. ;)
Click to expand...

I figure the lack of feedback as part of the "sounds good" criteria.

Interesting though, a while back, I sat in on an open session using the other bass players amp, a small combo of some sort. Got hit with feed back as soon as I turned up. Last week, I was the house bassist, sitting in the same spot, but with my rig. Not a peep of FB all night long. Same players, volume, everything.

Truth be told, I get complements on my tone all the time, as well as people asking, "what kind of bass is that".
 
#15
I use an MK Dragonfly II fretless and never use the plug. I never boost any highs or mids on my bass.....it's too scratchy. I also use flat wound strings. My ABG sounds like an upright and with all the bottom end I play with I can turn down the volume to where I never get feedback.
 
#16
I think feedback depends on the venue too. A small, intimate room is certainly sonically different from a stage with FOH and PA and ear buds.

I CAN get feedback even with a plug in some certain places - usually on a solid surface stage with no backdrop or walls (think: pasture) and lots of volume and NO PA or sound board.

Small Cheese-N-Wine shows are all low volume anyway and I've gotten away with no plug there. If I move the CONTOUR up, it's gonna feedback a lot easier too. The PHASE button just seems to rob some of the fullness outta the sound though.
 
#17
My girlfriend plays her ibanez AEB at church all the time. You should pres the "phase" button though to avoid feedback. We've only had one instance of feedback with it, and that was because I was stupid enough to put it on a stand in front of a monitor:P (I play electric guitar in that band, so it doesn't matter where I put my guitar)
 

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