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Guitar Scale Acoustic Basses
- Thread starter SBassman
- Start date
Another potential base for mods (one I should have thought of the first time around) is parlor resonators. They tend to be longer than you want (at or approaching 38") but body width is there.
British-based Ashbory Guitars, the house brand of folk instrument online outlet Hobgoblin Music, makes one:
Ashbury AR-52 Resonator Guitar 2018 Resonator
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as does Republic Guitars. Their parlor and Highway 61 (especially the Traveler) models seem promising:
Parlor
Highway 61
Miniolian
Another US maker that has come up in a search, Royall Guitars:
Royall Parlorizer Porch Size Nickel Plated Brass Body Resonator - Royall Guitars
For less coin, Chinese brand Aiersi Music (according to a random comment found somewhere, they formerly supplied instruments for Republic) is worth checking out:
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Others Resonator Guitar - Nantong Sinomusic Enterprise Limited - page 1.
as are the usual Chinese suspects - here's an example ("Jonathan" brand):
Jonathan 16 series resonator guitar, resophonic guitars, Metal Body Duolian guiatrs - AliExpress
More options would come up by searching "resonator"/"resophonic" + "parlor"/"parlour"/"travel". Some of the above examples, but also vintage ones by National, appear to have been sold on Reverb.
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Thanks for all the suggestions, 37"+ are just a hair too big to fit my custom gig bag, and slotted headstock would be problematic fitting bass tuners. The only one that might work is the Jonathan 17. I'll search as well.
I had a 1960s dopyera dobro, couldn't hardly give it away. Mosrite bought their leftovers when they went out of business.
Several cheap resonators that could be made into basses. NEW ELECTRIC ACOUSTIC 6 STRING RESONATOR GUITAR CONE SPIDER BRIDGE PICKUP | eBay
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As an eBay Associate, TalkBass may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
As an eBay Associate, TalkBass may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
I'm going to find a new use for my gold tone micro bass. For years, I have played a tenor and baritone uke tuned G GB D. And I intend to get some strings and try out G1G2B2D3 tuning and play baritone sort of arrangement an octave lower. So what occurs to me is that this might be useful on these Acoustic guitar basses as a tenor guitar type instrument playing in a baritone sort of way.
As to above post, so much for that experiment. I did find that i did like the sound g2 to d3. Big bass tuners of gt were even fine. But the set up would need a big change on this instrument as to nut and reducing height of bridge. But as this was originally setup for thunderguts, it would be different than ibby or other similar light bass string set up. Interesting experiment just the same.
Just enjoying this bass so much. Unplugged or amplified - it feels and sounds so good. I'm starting to get used to the feel of these unusual strings (Stock D'Addarios). I'm going to try putting a piece of foam under the strings to mitigate the scritch of finger movements. That sound has been cropping up in my loops a bit more than I like.
Overall, though, this was one of my better purchases.
Overall, though, this was one of my better purchases.
These little guys are really addictive, and if you set up a PNB for decent string balance (or luck into one that's good right out of the box), they're a ridiculously good value as well.
There's something about the combination of the small format and the amplified tone you can get with the nylon/bronze strings and a light touch, that has completely killed any GAS I used to have for other acoustic basses.
Glad to hear that you're enjoying yours.
There's something about the combination of the small format and the amplified tone you can get with the nylon/bronze strings and a light touch, that has completely killed any GAS I used to have for other acoustic basses.
Glad to hear that you're enjoying yours.
My little PNB collected a little dust over the last few months as I got into playing my first electric bass in over 20 years. But I'm getting back into it now. Working on transcribing a Beethoven piece into bass and guitar, and the little acoustic just feels right for this. I would love to have better access to the upper frets (and unfortunately I need to hit a note a couple of frets past the last fret on the G string), but I'm going to make it work. I'm finding I can get a really good tone playing it with a finger-picking type approach normally used for acoustic 6 string. Get a nice bass tone playing the lower 2 strings lightly with the thumb and can get a variety of tones by plucking the upper strings with fingers. Also sometime pluck the lower strings with the finger/thumb as if holding a pick but with no pick. All a nice change from the finger-style I mostly used before.
That's a creative approach - getting into the acoustic guitar mode. I think I'll experiment with that tonight.
The cool thing, is that all these techniques transfer nicely to regular electric bass.
I actually came into alternate picking methods through the back door, learning them on guitar rather than bass. I played a bit of classical guitar when I was in my early teens (my dad split his guitar time about 50/50 between that and playing jazz on his arch tops, so there was always one around, and free lessons as needed).
You can get a much broader range of tones if you combine conventional bass fingerstyle with your thumb, as well as fingerpicking, clawhammer-style.
That's probably how I survived nearly 30 years of playing single-pickup basses with no onboard tone control, and almost no pedals.
I'm self-taught on the bass. Have never used a pick. I use my thumb and two fingers. It's just what seemed the most natural for me.
Thanks to other members for their advice and inspiration - I whipped up a simple soundhole cover with a CD and a kitchen sponge using a box cutter and a glue gun. It took about 15 minutes. Works great, I think.
I just need to find a better looking sponge/foam for the strings above the nut. I've been getting wolf notes (overtones) without it. This blue sponge looks so bad -- does anyone know where I can find a black or dark brown sponge or foam for super cheap?
I just need to find a better looking sponge/foam for the strings above the nut. I've been getting wolf notes (overtones) without it. This blue sponge looks so bad -- does anyone know where I can find a black or dark brown sponge or foam for super cheap?
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I'm curious how the sponge can dampen overtones when it's past the nut and most often the fretted string too. Seems like a dead part of the string past the nut. I've heard about this but havent tried it and don't understand how it could work. I suggest spraying the cd black or some other solid color.
I just trimmed a standard soundhole cover to fit in my PNB14E. Took about 10 minutes with a carpet knife.
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