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Guitar Scale Acoustic Basses

#81
SBassman said:
I had one, and I had some dialog with Mimmo and company on it. It is a Very nice design. Love the round back.

Would Love to see a slim body roundback acoustic bass with metal strings - at 25" scale.

Biggest challenge is finding a dealer. But it is a very nice bass.
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what is it about the round back that you like? I have an Ovation with round back and find it's difficult to keep it in a stable playing position. Especially when seated. Although, the Aquila is much less rounded then my Ovation...

Sweet looking bass for sure, I would like to try one!
 
#83
SBassman said:
I know some people complain about round backs sliding, but I never experienced that. When I played rhythm guitar, I often played an Ovation. I found Ovations to be very comfortable to hold. I also generally like shallow body instruments.
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In 1975 I bought my first new guitar, an Ovation Applause deep body, and yes at first it was awkward to hold, but I got used to it. Now I'm really looking forward to the Aquila shallow.

BTW, I also found the Kala Journeyman U-bass red on Reverb so I bought it for $299, then shortly after the dealer, Brendan Zareno of Safe Haven Music in Long Island, NY, found a blem on the back and refunded 10%/$30, obviously great customer service. I'm going to change the Kala nylon core round wound to a set of red Pahoehoe I have (red is the official color of Hawaii). They also have a matt black Journeyman.

Kala Journeyman hi res.jpg
 
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#85
KohanMike said:
BTW, I also found the Kala Journeyman U-bass red on Reverb so I bought it for $299, then shortly after the dealer, Brendan Zareno of Safe Haven Music in Long Island, NY, found a blem on the back and refunded 10%/$30, obviously great customer service. I'm going to change the Kala nylon core round wound to a set of red Pahoehoe I have (red is the official color of Hawaii). They also have a matt black Journeyman.

View attachment 3132105
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I just received the Journeyman. Yep, I sure don't like the Kala round wound strings, tomorrow I'll put on the Pahoehoe reds.
 
#88
Don M said:
How do they sound and feel?
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I never liked the round wound noise, and they rattle too much. Since I started playing bass four years ago with either Thundergut or Pahoehoe and settling on the much smoother Pahoehoe, I really like the thumpy bass sound they make. Round wound make too much noise, but I do like finding the La Bella Gold Tone 25" flat wound that I use with my short magnetic pickup basses.
 
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#89
KohanMike said:
I never liked the round wound noise, and they rattle too much. Since I started playing bass four years ago with either Thundergut or Pahoehoe and settling on the much smoother Pahoehoe, I really like the thumpy bass sound they make. Round wound make too much noise, but I do like finding the La Bella Gold Tone 25" flat wound that I use with my short magnetic pickup basses.
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How is the intonation of the LaBella 25" flats on the smallguitars basses? How is the sound compared to a "regular" Pbass?

I'm thinking I might special order a Gold Tone MBass 25 setup for the flats, only a few bucks more than the regular 25, but still looking at other options.
 
#90
I would buy one in 23 if I could afford right now. Gotta sell the ortega,a Haden 21" solid blue fretless, and maybe some tenor and baritone ukes.
As travel stuff goes, can't beat the Luna baritone uke size flatwound strings tuned one octave up
 
#91
Don M said:
How is the intonation of the LaBella 25" flats on the smallguitars.com basses? How is the sound compared to a "regular" P-bass? I'm thinking I might special order a Gold Tone M-Bass 25 setup for the flats, only a few bucks more than the regular 25, but still looking at other options.
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My MB-1 mini P-bass has a fully adjustable bridge so with the setup I did, the intonation came out really good at the 12th fret. I don't have a standards P-bass and never played one, but I think the MB-1 sounds really good.
 
#93
I love my Ibanez PNB14E, and I'd like to make it the best it can be.

Mine has a small amount of uneven string to string tone and volume. The G could be fatter sounding, but I think I just have to live with that. The E could be louder.

I'm told sometimes when a string isn't as loud as the others with a piezo, it can be because the saddle underneath is not completely flush. I can't imagine, though, that the saddle on that bass is touched by human hands. It's probably just a cheap, plastic formed saddle that would already be somewhat "perfectly" shaped, no? Would any of you in the know recommend I go pull out the saddle and sand it? Any other suggestions to improve the volume of the E? Thanks.
 
#94
Well, instead of waiting for other dialog, I went for it. :)

I have good news and bad news. Good news is I almost completely fixed it. Bad news is - any minute now my E string is going to crack.

Good news: Sanding worked big time. E string is now identical volume to A and G. The bottom of the saddle was indeed not "perfect". I could feel bumps. It was not a smooth surface. So now, the only thing left is that the D is a little louder than all the rest. Much less noticeable situation than what I had previously. Definitely improved the situation.

Bad news: we are able to use these strings even though they are not cut to this scale - because they are pretty soft. But, once I took the string completely off and put it back on, I now have damage on the E string, and I don't know if it is going to be stable. Kinda looks like it is going to stretch and crack. And - I don't have a spare set. One is on the way, but, that's a whole other story.

I think I am going to try the Goldtone Silverbacks. I was worried about the significantly different gauges yielding crappy intonation, but I'm going to give them a try.
[I had something to do with the Silverbacks a few years ago.]
[bass string experimentation is expensive - anyone want to GoFundMe? :) jk]
 
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#95
Don M said:
I have played flats for the last several years and not sure I really want to go back to rounds. However, rounds would be better with a pick!

Rounds are always an option.
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What flats are available for a 25" scale? (did I miss that post here?) I'm not particularly unhappy with the rounds on my Ibanez PNB14E, but I do like flats as an option...
 
#96
gold tone flats for the microbass are an option to test. Since you can use the strings on the micro bass stock but saddle made for the rubber strings on the fretless because intonation is slightly off due to the position of the saddle. Another option is octave 4 Plus. They make strings for the baby Taylor and the o'hana or they would make strings specifically for you for a testing fee. or I'm sure one of those 2 sets would work but you're talking a about a $104 per set.
 
#98
SBassman said:
You are referring to the stock strings from DAddario, not La Bella CB40s, yes?
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I haven't tried anything other than the stock strings yet, (D'Addario?) but since I generally tend to favor flats if some were available I'd definitely try them. :)
 
#99
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#100
We just need to be careful about intonation - with the flats, and with the Silverbacks I ordered. I'm crossing my fingers, but if the Silverbacks don't intonate well, I won't be surprised. The reason my CB40s intonate so well is that they are very close in gauge to the stock strings.

We'll see. Carry on, short scale maniacs like me. :)
 
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