Hey guys,
Who uses their Baby Bass for traditional jazz gigs? Will it swing? Will it blend? (haha)
I have an Ampeg Baby Bass replica that I bought on here a little over a year ago. It was made in Puerto Rico by a dude who apparently worked as a luthier for Ampeg when they were making the Baby Basses. It has a wood body and wood bridge. It's literally one of a kind. To the point where it sort of freaks me out to take it out of the apartment.
I took it to David Gage when I was still in New York and they appraised it at being on par with the Ampeg Baby Basses. (Then they lost my paperwork, which is another story...)
I feel like it has a unique sound because with the wood body, it seems warmer and slightly more true to an amplified acoustic upright. But I can also tell that it's obviously quite different and still electric, especially if I crank it. It doesn't naturally sound as thumpy as the real Ampegs. And it doesn't sound as full as an acoustic upright. It kinda splits the difference. I like it, but part of why I got it in the first place was because the real Ampeg Baby Basses have become so unchristly expensive.
Well. I have an opportunity to do a trade plus cash for a real Ampeg Baby Bass. I'm going to play them side by side but wanted to kinda take a poll, being new to upright and having never played an acoustic upright in the first place...which is something I'm not really interested in yet at this point in my life anyway.
My two lines of thought are this:
1. The Baby Bass I have, doesn't quite nail the Ampeg sound, but doesn't sound like an acoustic upright either, and therefore kinda comes up short by trying to do two things at once...? Does anyone else own a non-Baby electric upright bass and feel this way sometimes? I appreciate versatility but I also am starting to recognize the importance of getting THAT sound. You know?
2. The Ampeg Baby Bass is THAT sound for Latin jazz/salsa, on all my favorite Fania albums, featured in all the salsa bands I've seen, coveted by many... which would be great to have. And if it is indeed too much of a one-trick pony, I could always "graduate" to acoustic upright later to add that tone/style to my arsenal.
So maybe this is a situation where it's better to just find the niche that works for me, since I am playing Latin music too and if anything, am already playing Latin/jazz on electric anyway. Not to mention, it seems like the resale value of the Ampeg Baby Basses are going way up, which doesn't hurt.
But on the other hand, I don't want to get something that's a hugely significant departure from what I have, hence why I'm planning to play them side by side to compare, and also why I asked if some of you guys play jazz standards with them.
I also don't want to run into issues with the body warping (how likely is that? the humidity out here is low and the climate seems steady), and I worry a little about availability of parts/resources if something were to happen to it. But at the same time, the opportunity to get the real deal, seems like something I'd be crazy to pass up. Especially because wanting one, was what started all this nonsense for me.
TLDR: What is it like to own an Ampeg Baby Bass in real life? The one I'm looking at has a wood bridge. It's in very good shape.
If I weren't still paying off my cross-country move, I would get both, but under the circumstances that doesn't seem to be an option.
