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Help choosing an accoustic bass

#21
brianrost said:
Really acoustic or a bunch of acoustics miked and DIed?

Totally unamplified you need a deep body and as much solid wood as possible in the body...definitely the top, back and sides as well is even better. There's a huge difference in volume between an ABG and a DB and it's because of the body size. I have played totally unamplifed gigs with my DB, they would have been impossible with an ABG.

I've been interested in this bass from Rigel: $2500 Have yet to see or hear one in person. Notice the huge body and DB-like bridge and tailpiece.

abg-front.png
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They're on my wishlist too. Will have to wait for a while longer yet though, too many irons in the fire already.
 
#22
40Hz said:
After trying out as many ABGs as I could find, I ended up getting an Epiphone El Capitan. And I didn't base that decision on price, although the lower price tag was a nice plus when compared to some of the alternatives. It's not a Tacoma when it comes to acoustic volume. But it holds its own against any reasonably played acoustic guitar IMO. And amplified, it's truly lovely thanks to the Shadow pickup and preamp in my model. If you dig a little you can get a pretty nice sort of string bass vibe going on it. I only wish mine were fretless. But you can't have everything for what I paid for mine I suppose. Well worth hunting down. They run about $500 for one in excellent condition used.

Highly recommended.
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Yeah, those always get kind of an "honorable mention" for the price - especially if you can score an early one without the cutaway - I understand those are supposed to be appreciably louder purely acoustically. If I ever see one cheap enough...
 
#24
This suggestion likely is viable only for situations where the player is seated, but for unplugged, I still put a 1/4 DB at the top of the list. Not as loud as a 3/4 DB but considerably louder than any ABG (probably including the Earthwood) and lots cheaper. And available used. And if set up properly, with mwah to burn.

I have filled a house with mine totally unplugged while backing two vocalists/guitarists going into a PA.
 
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#25
GretschWretch said:
This suggestion likely is viable only for situations where the player is seated, but for unplugged, I still put a 1/4 DB at the top of the list. Not as loud as a 3/4 DB but considerably louder than any ABG (probably including the Earthwood) and lots cheaper. And available used. And if set up properly, with mwah to burn.

I have filled a house with mine totally unplugged while backing two vocalists/guitarists going into a PA.
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Interesting idea, I'll have to look into those. ;)
 
#26
bholder said:
Yeah, those always get kind of an "honorable mention" for the price - especially if you can score an early one without the cutaway - I understand those are supposed to be appreciably louder purely acoustically. If I ever see one cheap enough...
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That all maple body and neck has a lot to do with the volume. Or so I think anyway.

Epiphone also used a couple of different iterations of the electronics on this bass. This is the version I have (and prefer):

IMG_2520.JPG


The "Cap" is a really nice ABG. And not just "for the price." I'd put one of these up against anything else I've heard when it comes to an ABG. But that's me. I try everything I can get my hands on and and shop primarily with my ears.
 
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#27
3465939_1393421666.jpg


one of the few true acoustic bass guitars! actually has a body large enough to not just be "an ABG for looks"

can hang with a few acoustics around a fire and i don't have to lug my DB!

had a martin but had too many sound problems but that was mostly because i had to play with a drummer and it was not the new fancy pickup system they use now. it just did too good of a job at resonating that i had to give it up.

but man to they play like butter!
 
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#28
I was all about El Caps until I scored some original Eko Ba-4s. These are light and loud, and far more fretlesses than fretteds were made. These use solid woods and are reputed to be hand-built. But they are scarce and are becoming more and more expensive, and they tend toward a mid-rangy tone -- not a real dominant bass like what the big-bodied and overbuilt Deans produce. If Dean would adopt the Eko bracing to those big bodied behemoths, they would have something.
 
#29
neddyrow said:
3465939_1393421666.jpg


one of the few true acoustic bass guitars! actually has a body large enough to not just be "an ABG for looks"

can hang with a few acoustics around a fire and i don't have to lug my DB!

had a martin but had too many sound problems but that was mostly because i had to play with a drummer and it was not the new fancy pickup system they use now. it just did too good of a job at resonating that i had to give it up.

but man to they play like butter!
Click to expand...
Here's mine:
Guild B50NT 002.jpg

(pic from last summer)
 
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#31
GretschWretch said:
I was all about El Caps until I scored some original Eko Ba-4s. These are light and loud, and far more fretlesses than fretteds were made. These use solid woods and are reputed to be hand-built. But they are scarce and are becoming more and more expensive, and they tend toward a mid-rangy tone -- not a real dominant bass like what the big-bodied and overbuilt Deans produce. If Dean would adopt the Eko bracing to those big bodied behemoths, they would have something.
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I have never seen a Dean that had any volume, despite the 18 inch body.
 
#35
mikeoso said:
May well be true, never seen one. Wish they came with frets and strap pins, though.
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If you can play fretless bass then the absence of frets on a quarter-sized DB should be no impediment. Fender mensure is 34 inches; on a Kay M3 or Englehardt EM3 it is 35.25 inches.

Strap pins are another matter. I wouldn't even try to hang one of these from a strap; the weight is YIKES! Seated playing only.
 
#36
GretschWretch said:
If you can play fretless bass then the absence of frets on a quarter-sized DB should be no impediment. Fender mensure is 34 inches; on a Kay M3 or Englehardt EM3 it is 35.25 inches.

Strap pins are another matter. I wouldn't even try to hang one of these from a strap; the weight is YIKES! Seated playing only.
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Actually, I was being facetious. I can play a DB. Just wish for a bass guitar with that power, which is of course impossible, so we compromise. The biggest guns in abg still fall short, in size and volume, obviously. We use them because we want a guitar, not a DB...eternal choices, dammit. As HST said, buy the ticket, take the ride.
 
#37
mikeoso said:
Actually, I was being facetious. I can play a DB. Just wish for a bass guitar with that power, which is of course impossible, so we compromise. The biggest guns in abg still fall short, in size and volume, obviously. We use them because we want a guitar, not a DB...eternal choices, dammit. As HST said, buy the ticket, take the ride.
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I missed the facetiousness; my blunder. And I actually did try the strap pins. Bad idea, for a lot of reasons.

And I agree with all your remarks regarding ABG vs. DB. We all want something that has the acoustic volume and tonality of a 3/4 DB but plays as easily as a Fender. The closest to that I have found is the 1/4 size DB.
 
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#38
Of course, this all assumes that the OP wants to play unplugged. If the aim is to have something amped that LOOKS acoustic, just about anything with good electronics will do. Get a decent amp, and dial in the sound and level you want.

This where the discussion of abgs always ends up...screwed up expectations. No abg can match an amped e-bass or a DB, so many folks think that means they're no good. But they aren't meant for that kind of gig. The real use of an abg is different, and if you don't do small acoustic jams or strictly acoustic gigs in tiny venues, you don't much need a serious abg...you will be plugging in anyway. Anything else, and you're complaining because you can't drive nails with your paintbrush.

There's also an expectation issue about price. You can't buy a serious abg as cheap as an ebass. In 6 strings, a standard Stratocaster is like $700, while a Martin D28 is $2500. Bass people seem to want to spend $500 or $700 on an abg. Briefly, a $500 ebass can be at least playable...a $500 abg will suck acoustically, leading people to think abgs in general suck unless they amp.

Now...get a serious abg, like some that have been mentioned here, spending something close to $2000...or more. Use it where it belongs, among a few acoustics played reasonably, in a small space. That works.
 
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