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Guitar Scale Acoustic Basses
- Thread starter SBassman
- Start date
The Guild looked like the most interesting NAMM release of any of the small acoustic basses I have seen to date.The Guild to me looks to be the best of the bunch. Coming from a Guild B30E it probably should have been my first choice, but in Canada it was more than twice the price of the Ibby PNB. As I was not even sure if I would end up liking the shorter scale acoustics I went with the Ibanez. Absolutely no regrets, but if I happened to stumble across a Guild Jumbo Junior in my travels I might be pretty tempted to buy it
However, I wouldn't buy an acoustic instrument without hands-on experience, and it looks to me like they might be having distribution issues in Canada.
They were on the Long & McQuade website as a special order item a while back, but they seem to have dropped Guild altogether. The closest place that seems to have stock in my area, is Club Bass. That's a 2 1/2 to 3 hour drive, and I'm only good for about a 30 minute radius at the moment because of my back.
It's a shame, as the Guild looks better, is a sentimental favourite (I used to own a Guild F50 Navarre) and has a fully bound body. Price-wise, Canadian street seems to be $725 at the moment, and the AVNB1E is $650-$700, so the Guild looks like a better value. I believe they also come with a gig bag.
On the flip side, the Guild apparently has a single-knob tone control, like the Taylor. I would have to carry an outboard preamp in order to get the tonal flexibility I want out of a piezo-equipped bass.
In contrast, I can plug the Ibanez in and go...
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I would agree on solid wood acoustics. I haven't seen much difference in laminate vs solid bodies. Any single example can be better than another. Most big online stores will take back any instrument with playability issues. I live two hours from a city and understand. Many of my purchases have to be online.
Yes availability of the Guild was also a consideration. It was just as easy for me to have the cheaper Ibanez shipped to the border and go pick it up. It ended up costing me $330 CDN compared to over $800 for the Guild.
And the truth is I love the Ibanez. I gig with it regularly, play it around the house all the time and have a ton of fun with it. Plus it's not available in Canada, so I've got the only one on the block right now
My dad was a full-time guitar teacher for the last 20-odd years of his career.
One of the edges he had over his local competition, was that he always went to the distributor to pick out his stock. Out of a carton of guitars, even entry level ones, there will always be one or two that stand out from the rest.
I'm always looking for the good one, and sometimes you have to kiss a few frogs first!
You are indeed then in a blessed environment. Where I live, you hang on to the first amphibian you come across as you might not see another one.
I was poking around on YouTube last night, and found a bunch of newer demos for the Guild.
Man, that’s a nice package for the price. Ebony fingerboard, etc.
It has a nice clarity on the top end, and harmonics pop nicely, plugged in or unplugged. Very pretty sound for noodling or solo bass stuff.
However, the one downer for me is that in all of the demos, good or bad, it fulls into the guitar end of the spectrum, with that bright, piano-like bronze roundwound edge to it.
It’s a cool sound, but it isn’t what my bandmates are typically looking for- around a campfire, in rehearsal or onstage.
It occurs to me that most of these small basses can be pretty easily sorted into one of three camps:
Man, that’s a nice package for the price. Ebony fingerboard, etc.
It has a nice clarity on the top end, and harmonics pop nicely, plugged in or unplugged. Very pretty sound for noodling or solo bass stuff.
However, the one downer for me is that in all of the demos, good or bad, it fulls into the guitar end of the spectrum, with that bright, piano-like bronze roundwound edge to it.
It’s a cool sound, but it isn’t what my bandmates are typically looking for- around a campfire, in rehearsal or onstage.
It occurs to me that most of these small basses can be pretty easily sorted into one of three camps:
- Rubber Bass, with the pseudo-upright tone you get from silicone strings. Kala, Goldtone, Ashbory, etc.
- ABG, like a low-tuned acoustic guitar. Taylor, Guild, as well as most medium and long scale regular ABG’s from Breedlove, Cort, Dean, Epiphone, Guild, Ibanez, Martin, etc.
- Fat? I don’t really know what to call this category. A darker conventional electric bass tone and longer sustain, but with a definite hollow-body resonance to it. Ibanez parlour bodies like the PNB14E, AVNB1E and AVNB2E, conventional medium and long-scale semi-hollow basses like Gretsch, Ibanez Artcores, Hofner, etc.
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According to the folks at Cordoba Music Group (distributors of the Guild), the B-240E and B-240EF (fretless) should work fine with D'Addario Chromes flatwounds - with perhaps a small adjustment to the truss rod. They'd certainly be quieter than the phosphor bronze strings, but it could make for the change in tone you're looking for.
I have a B-240EF on order and will replace the stock strings with Chromes, but I don't expect delivery until after Christmas.
I took this into account as well when I ordered the B-240E. Mine should be here later in the week.
I see now that you were talking about the Guild Junior Jumbo, so what I said about using Chromes doesn't apply. The LaBella flatwound strings they make for the MicroBass might work on the Junior, but the are much larger gauge and probably much higher tension than the nylon core strings that bass comes with. It has an adjustable truss rod, but it's hard to say what the LaBellas would do to its intonation, which can only be tweaked a bit by compensating (filing) the bridge saddle.
The Ibanez Artwood AVNB1E also has an adjustable truss rod, but they have ignored the queries I've made about the possibility of using the LaBella flats on them.
I think the truss rod would be the least of your worries. I would be more worried about buckling the top from the additional tension. The Ibanez in particular is pretty lightly built, with a flat top and back.
I see no reason to change the strings on the AVNB1E. I guess there’s still finger noise to contend with, but it has a fat, growly tone that the Guild and the Taylor lack.
Indeed. That's exactly why I've asked them about it - twice.
I'm surprised that the LaBella flats are OK on the fretless acoustic MicroBass. It must be built like a tank.
The Guild folks at Cordoba Music Group replied to me right away, but that's probably because the difference in tension between the B-240EF's stock strings and Chromes is only about 10%.
Its scale length (30 3/4") is closer to that of a baritone guitar, though. (but I'm really partial to 30" - 31" scale)
If the Chromes don’t float your boat, consider black tape wounds. I think DR are lower tension than D’Addario.
My old Epiphone El Capitan didn’t sound good with regular flats, but tapes were pretty cool.
I like Chromes - after they're well broken in. I'd probably go for TI jazz flats for lower tension if I had to. I've tried all kinds of tapes, but to me they all seem to have a little bit of a "plasticky" sound (which might work for those who are trying to emulate an upright strung with gut strings). Flats on fretless is my favorite way to go.
Ibanez Artwood AVNB1E first gig report:
Two and a half hour soundcheck/rehearsal with a fairly large, energetic band- two keyboards, acoustic guitar, electric violin, drums, bass, and three vox. Silent stage with in-ears.
This purchase was about protecting my back while I recover from an injury, so I packed light: in-ears, the bass and a cord. The super low weight (4lb) resulted in minimal discomfort.
I got the stinkeye from FOH and the bandleader at first- these guys are gear weenies, and they like my Dingwall. They were pretty shocked to see me sporting something that looked like a toy guitar.
All was forgiven by the end of soundcheck. Based on home testing through a bass amp, I started out with the bass at 11 o’clock and treble at 9 o’clock. No shortage of gain- FOH was happy with the volume control at 10 o’clock.
Through the PA, it sounded pretty much like a P bass with nickel rounds, except the E string was a bit weak, and I wasn’t cutting through. I bumped the bass and treble to a touch past noon, and that was that.
I struggled with the missing B string and short scale at first, but it came together pretty quickly. My only issue overall, was with dynamics. The nylon core strings like a light touch and the piezo has a lot of headroom, so notes jumped out more than I intended at times. I think I’m going to pack my Diamond compressor next time, at least until I get more used to it.
The best part, was how well it fit the context. Everyone quickly forgot that I was playing something that looked like it belonged to Robert Johnson.
Two and a half hour soundcheck/rehearsal with a fairly large, energetic band- two keyboards, acoustic guitar, electric violin, drums, bass, and three vox. Silent stage with in-ears.
This purchase was about protecting my back while I recover from an injury, so I packed light: in-ears, the bass and a cord. The super low weight (4lb) resulted in minimal discomfort.
I got the stinkeye from FOH and the bandleader at first- these guys are gear weenies, and they like my Dingwall. They were pretty shocked to see me sporting something that looked like a toy guitar.
All was forgiven by the end of soundcheck. Based on home testing through a bass amp, I started out with the bass at 11 o’clock and treble at 9 o’clock. No shortage of gain- FOH was happy with the volume control at 10 o’clock.
Through the PA, it sounded pretty much like a P bass with nickel rounds, except the E string was a bit weak, and I wasn’t cutting through. I bumped the bass and treble to a touch past noon, and that was that.
I struggled with the missing B string and short scale at first, but it came together pretty quickly. My only issue overall, was with dynamics. The nylon core strings like a light touch and the piezo has a lot of headroom, so notes jumped out more than I intended at times. I think I’m going to pack my Diamond compressor next time, at least until I get more used to it.
The best part, was how well it fit the context. Everyone quickly forgot that I was playing something that looked like it belonged to Robert Johnson.
I have noticed that many piezos must be low output at the guitar and adjusted with more volume and or gain at amp or board
Great review. Wow, that is so much like my first gig with my PNB14E... except I wasn't stepping down from a Dingwall LOL! It says a lot about the AVNB1E that you can come over from the 34" Dingwall and win over both yourself and your gear-weenie skeptical bandmates! My basses are all 30" scale and most are worth less than my PNB14E. The reaction of my bandmates when I showed up with my Ibanez was more like 'that is so cool!'. All I had to deal with was getting used to it and getting the sound right
Yeah, the light touch takes some getting used to. The good thing is it does get better and quickly. Either my strings have gained some tension over time or I have just completely gotten used to it in the two months I have been gigging with the Ibby, because now I can switch back and forth from my 30" scale basses without a second thought.
Congrats on a successful first gig with the Ibby!
