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Bass Banjo Volume

F

Finkle

May 7, 2025
5
5
#1
I apologize if this territory has already been covered. I know there are a lot of questions and opinion on ABG. From what I've read no ABG can match an upright. I am curious about banjo basses. I think the Gold Tone BB-400 is the only one currently in production. How loud is a bass banjo? I wouldn't expect it to match an upright but how would it rank among ABGs? Obviously the sound would be radically different, but what about the volume?

I know the BB-400 can be plugged in, but I want to know how it does unplugged.

Thanks for any info be it from experience or just educated guesses.

-Finkle
 
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#2
I have not played one, but my expectation is that it might be interpreted as louder. Really it is more the timbre and frequencies it is emphasizing. There is basically no low end there (see video below). I also have a hard time calling what I hear a substitute for a bass. Sounds more like a low tuned banjo than a substitute for an upright.



Resonator acoustic basses have a similar thing going on when I have tried them. They seem louder, but it is because they are emphasizing the top end more. I would go resonator before I would go for the banjo bass.

I have an Emerald Balor Bass (one of the largest acoustic bodies you can get). I would not use it without an amp for anything other than low volume practice (which is what I use it for). It could probably keep up with quieter acoustic guitars if I raised the action a bit, put different strings on it, and really dug in. Easier to just use a small amp.
 
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#3
Meh.

Just another in the long string of attempts to avoid just getting an upright and learning how to play it.

Once again, with four part harmony and feeling:

If you want to have the sound and feel of an upright bass to fulfil the role that an upright bass fills, you have two real world realisitic choices, one excellent and one adequate.

1) The excellent choice for being able to do what an upright bass does, is to use an upright bass.
2) The adequate choice for being able to do what an upright bass does, is to use an electric bass with magnetic pickups and a small amplifier, both set up to give a relatively bass-heavy sound.

Pretty much everything else pretends to be "loud enough" or to "sound like", but they aren't. And if you end up pluggin-in your ABG, bass banjo, resonator bass, bass balalaike, mandobass, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., to an amp, in order to be heard and to fulfil the bass role, well, then, you might as well just have put flats on a Squier P bass and been done with it. In my opinion.

Now I will grant you that there probably are a few, exquisitely designed and built, fragile, unicorn acoustic bass-thingies that aren't an upright and almost approach being loud enough without amplification to do the job; except of course when the volume goes up and you'll still be tearing your fingertips off to try to get your $15,000 super special instrument to be heard.
 
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#4
Thank you for your take. That makes sense. I quite like the sound but also would have a hard time describing it as a bass. May I ask why you think Resonator (while not ideal) might be better? Is it about tone or volume?
 
#8
Finkle said:
I apologize if this territory has already been covered. I know there are a lot of questions and opinion on ABG. From what I've read no ABG can match an upright. I am curious about banjo basses. I think the Gold Tone BB-400 is the only one currently in production. How loud is a bass banjo? I wouldn't expect it to match an upright but how would it rank among ABGs? Obviously the sound would be radically different, but what about the volume?

I know the BB-400 can be plugged in, but I want to know how it does unplugged.

Thanks for any info be it from experience or just educated guesses.

-Finkle
Click to expand...
I actually own a BB-400, I believe it's the older model but with the resonator removed (the Plus has no resonator to start with, and the pickup slides). It's definitely loud enough to play alone without an amp, but to my ear even a u-bass with rubber strings is louder. I've never gigged with it though, I would say it could fit in with an acoustic guitar but definitely not a drum set.

EDIT: Also I have played acoustic basses and they are a little quieter than BB.

--

It is a great instrument by the way, and it does have that nice banjo twang to it
 
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#9
EBlovesCharvel said:
I actually own a BB-400, I believe it's the older model but with the resonator removed (the Plus has no resonator to start with, and the pickup slides). It's definitely loud enough to play alone without an amp, but to my ear even a u-bass with rubber strings is louder. I've never gigged with it though, I would say it could fit in with an acoustic guitar but definitely not a drum set.

EDIT: Also I have played acoustic basses and they are a little quieter than BB.

--

It is a great instrument by the way, and it does have that nice banjo twang to it
Click to expand...
Appreciate hearing your experience. The other people in my house play cello, viola and violin so that is what I would playing with. My Mustang isn't enough without amplification and I'm trying to do more with less electricity.
 
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#13
I have a resonator bass, coincidentally it is also from Goldtone. It is 32" scale and generally smaller in body size than most standard ABGs I've seen. Overall, I would say that it is relatively loud for the body size, particularly when played with a pick (which seems to really help kick some mids out), and is probably at least comparable to ABGs that are larger than the resonator bass, but it is not overall higher in volume than you can get from a good ABG at a larger size. So, I would much rather use it than an ABG for ergonomic reasons, plus it has a pickup onboard for when plugging in is available, but I wouldn't call it a substitute for an upright bass for unplugged situations by any means.
 
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#14
Finkle said:
My kid's strings teacher is keeping an eye out for me. Cost is the only thing keeping me away. Trying to find a used one that is structurally sound. Bonus points if it is ugly.
Click to expand...
If a 1/2 size upright comes up, don't discount it. I rescued one from my local high school (it had been decapitated) and while not as loud and deep sounding as a 3/4, it's still has that sound.
It's also easier on my fingers.
 
#15
Like I say, you need to examine your reasons for considering one of these "acoustic'y bass'y things". If you accept that it's usually not going to be loud enough for any but the very quietest groups, and you plan to amplify it, but you want it for its particular amplified tone, that's valid. But if you think it's going to allow you to go unamplified, most of the time it won't. And if you're not seeking that particular tone, then you'd probably do just as well with a Precision and a small amplifier.
 
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#16
Well, I can't believe that I have never seen this mentioned on here before, it probably has but I haven't seen it. If you are so dead set on getting that upright tone and don't want to take the time to learn to play it the right way, pick one up and rock that thing Mr. Green Jeans style! I know that plenty of you will not have any clue what I am talking about and I couldn't find a picture and I am not going to go into the whole thing other than to say that he played it seated with it in his lap like you would play a regular BG while seated.
 
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#17
Finkle said:
Thank you for your take. That makes sense. I quite like the sound but also would have a hard time describing it as a bass. May I ask why you think Resonator (while not ideal) might be better? Is it about tone or volume?
Click to expand...
Resonators are a little louder than unplugged acoustic basses...and the thing is, you're still limited compared to a plugged-in acoustic bass.
Remember, we're bassists...it's not simply about volume, it's about tone.
A P bass sounds different than a Jazz, a Jazz sounds different than a Stingray, and a Stingray doesn't sound like a Ric.
None of them sound like a plugged-in acoustic bass.
 
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#18
mdogs said:
Well, I can't believe that I have never seen this mentioned on here before, it probably has but I haven't seen it. If you are so dead set on getting that upright tone and don't want to take the time to learn to play it the right way, pick one up and rock that thing Mr. Green Jeans style! I know that plenty of you will not have any clue what I am talking about and I couldn't find a picture and I am not going to go into the whole thing other than to say that he played it seated with it in his lap like you would play a regular BG while seated.
Click to expand...
Ha. If I understand what you mean that is how I play my kid's cello when I goof around on it.
 
#19
ahbass2500 said:
Sounds more like a low tuned banjo than a substitute for an upright.
Click to expand...

Well, that is exactly what it is. Even with the larger resonator, it’s never going to have low end anywhere close to a DB. I've yet to hear play one myself, but I'd guess it’s louder than an ABG the same way a 5 string banjo is louder than a flattop guitar.

Engle said:
If a 1/2 size upright comes up, don't discount it. I rescued one from my local high school (it had been decapitated) and while not as loud and deep sounding as a 3/4, it's still has that sound.
Click to expand...

Even a 1/4 (about the size of a cello) like my daughter played in high school sounds like a larger bass, though not as deep sounding. Kay used a 35.4” scale on their 1/4 basses.
 
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