Is an Acoustic bass worth it

[GretschWretch]

Tapes are better than flats which are better than bronze-wounds, but IMO this tops them all.

Good volume (on a decent sized instrument) sounds like a bass rather than an over-large guitar, and cheap. I have a set on a passive electronics Dean Playmate and, unlike the other strings which gave me a lot of clack and quack on the piezo element, the Savarez's sound good.

Watch the product numbers, though. IIRC these strings come with both short- and long-scale options.

 

[turf3]

Well, some like 'em and some don't.

I'm an upright player. I tried the ABG route, got a great big one that was the loudest in the store (interestingly, the el cheapo Dean), put flats on it, and to be heard wtihout amplification I've got to tear my fingers to shreds and still can't be heard over more than two nylon string guitars. And keep in mind I'm an upright player. I KNOW how to pull hard.

So, unamplified is a no-go. Next step is to try to dial in the crappy piezo saddle pickup, amp setting, blah blah blah blah, and eventually, hopefully, you can get it sounding kind of OK and loud enough to work.

Or, you can do what I did - take a cheap Squier Precision (fretted), put flats on it, foam rubber under the strings at the bridge, roll the tone control all the way off, amp set flat. Done! Sounds better than the ABG, with very little work. NO, it doesn't sound exactly like an upright, but it fits in the same sonic place. You know, that's what the thing was designed for in the first place - to replace the doghouse.

For a one-off, rather than trying to make a silk purse out of the ABG sow's ear, I'd use a regular electric that's not real flashy. Look - lots of bluegrass bands do this on tour, and that's a particularly persnickety crowd when it comes to electric instruments. Even there, the Fender bass gets a kind of pass just because people realize the upright's hard to manage in the real world.

Now if you WANT the exact specific ABG type of tone, and you want to fiddle with it till you get that particular thing, then go for it. But for the generic "we're gonna do an acoustic set", I suggest the Precision/flats/foam rubber/etc. is the quickest way to get a pleasing bass tone that you can work with.

What I think is more important is to play like you're playing an acoustic instrument. Fewer notes, less often!

 

[steve_rolfeca]

...Now if you WANT the exact specific ABG type of tone, and you want to fiddle with it till you get that particular thing, then go for it. But for the generic "we're gonna do an acoustic set", I suggest the Precision/flats/foam rubber/etc. is the quickest way to get a pleasing bass tone that you can work with.

What I think is more important is to play like you're playing an acoustic instrument. Fewer notes, less often!

This.

 

[2strings2frets]

Well, some like 'em and some don't.

I'm an upright player. I tried the ABG route, got a great big one that was the loudest in the store (interestingly, the el cheapo Dean), put flats on it, and to be heard wtihout amplification I've got to tear my fingers to shreds and still can't be heard over more than two nylon string guitars. And keep in mind I'm an upright player. I KNOW how to pull hard.

So, unamplified is a no-go. Next step is to try to dial in the crappy piezo saddle pickup, amp setting, blah blah blah blah, and eventually, hopefully, you can get it sounding kind of OK and loud enough to work.

Or, you can do what I did - take a cheap Squier Precision (fretted), put flats on it, foam rubber under the strings at the bridge, roll the tone control all the way off, amp set flat. Done! Sounds better than the ABG, with very little work. NO, it doesn't sound exactly like an upright, but it fits in the same sonic place. You know, that's what the thing was designed for in the first place - to replace the doghouse.

For a one-off, rather than trying to make a silk purse out of the ABG sow's ear, I'd use a regular electric that's not real flashy. Look - lots of bluegrass bands do this on tour, and that's a particularly persnickety crowd when it comes to electric instruments. Even there, the Fender bass gets a kind of pass just because people realize the upright's hard to manage in the real world.

Now if you WANT the exact specific ABG type of tone, and you want to fiddle with it till you get that particular thing, then go for it. But for the generic "we're gonna do an acoustic set", I suggest the Precision/flats/foam rubber/etc. is the quickest way to get a pleasing bass tone that you can work with.

What I think is more important is to play like you're playing an acoustic instrument. Fewer notes, less often!

Hi: turf3. I pulled up TB because I need advice on how to set up for Bluegrass and here is your post, awesome. What strings are you using? I have a Fender P but am leaning toward a cheap beater 4 string EBG for outdoor festivals, any details you share on type or setup would be helpful and save me much experimentation, thank you.

 

[Al Rivera]

Nope,unless it is an upright.

 

[turf3]

Hi: turf3. I pulled up TB because I need advice on how to set up for Bluegrass and here is your post, awesome. What strings are you using? I have a Fender P but am leaning toward a cheap beater 4 string EBG for outdoor festivals, any details you share on type or setup would be helpful and save me much experimentation, thank you.

If you mean, what flatwounds am I using on my P bass? They're just Fender branded flats. I see a lot of reference to La Bella flats, and little reference to Fender, so you might do better with La Bellas.

 

[2strings2frets]

If you mean, what flatwounds am I using on my P bass? They're just Fender branded flats. I see a lot of reference to La Bella flats, and little reference to Fender, so you might do better with La Bellas.

Thank you, enjoy the day.

 

[Chris Laarman]

If you mean, what flatwounds am I using on my P bass? They're just Fender branded flats. I see a lot of reference to La Bella flats, and little reference to Fender, so you might do better with La Bellas.

just for list-building:
I have Dunlop DBFS45105 on my newer acoustic bass guitar. I remember that I didn't have much choice when and where I bought them, but I ordered a spare set elsewhere. My newer electric bass guitar will keep round-wound strings. My older electric and acoustic bass guitars have the same flat-wound strings, likely some Ernie Ball.

I have fitted a cheap acoustic guitar with Thomastik JS110 flat-wounds. I have later bought enough spares of these to equip my 6-string banjo with, too.

 

[Zenbassie]

Or, you can do what I did - take a cheap Squier Precision (fretted), put flats on it, foam rubber under the strings at the bridge, roll the tone control all the way off, amp set flat. Done! Sounds better than the ABG, with very little work. NO, it doesn't sound exactly like an upright, but it fits in the same sonic place. You know, that's what the thing was designed for in the first place - to replace the doghouse.

Yep, agree completely (although my solution was to use a cheap Indonesian made Hofner, which gives the tone a little "hollowness" that is hard to get with a solid body).

 

[5andFretless]

The OP asked the question in October so I assume this ship has sailed.

I do wineries with a partner during the summer. We are running his Martin and our vocals through a Bose L-1. My bass is going through a Rumble 500c and I normally use my TF, but, there are a few places that say only mic'd acoustic instruments. For those gigs I play a Carvin AC40F with an SM-57 in front of it that isn't plugged into anything and the Rumble stays home. The Carvin looks like an acoustic instrument to the unknowing and has a sound that isn't that far off from an amplified ABG. Since I'm sitting down the cord isn't noticeable.

I haven't been called out yet.

 

[Chris Laarman]

The OP asked the question in October so I assume this ship has sailed.

I do wineries with a partner during the summer. We are running his Martin and our vocals through a Bose L-1. My bass is going through a Rumble 500c and I normally use my TF, but, there are a few places that say only mic'd acoustic instruments. For those gigs I play a Carvin AC40F with an SM-57 in front of it that isn't plugged into anything and the Rumble stays home. The Carvin looks like an acoustic instrument to the unknowing and has a sound that isn't that far off from an amplified ABG. Since I'm sitting down the cord isn't noticeable.

I haven't been called out yet.

After looking up the Carvin AC40F, I can imagine both sides.

Off-topic:
Me, I have quickly become a fan of piëzo pick-ups, so my newer acoustic gear (including ukulele and mandolin) features them, if "possible".
However, my first acquaintance stems from my solid-body Godin guitar from the 1990s, an LGX-SA. Earlier this year, I was blown away by the "acoustic" piëzo sound of another Godin solid-body, their xtSA, reviewed on YouTube. I could not get that sound from the LGX-SA, then bought an xtSA, too. (Pick-ups: H-S-H plus piëzo.)

 

[Zoot H Rollo]

 

[foothilla]

A dreadnought guitar can be heard perfectly well without being plugged in, so it makes sense as an acoustic instrument. An ABG cannot be heard against the sound of an acoustic guitar without being plugged in, with the possible exception of a softly played nylon string. It certainly can't keep up with the sound of a dreadnought while unplugged. An ABG is useful really only for unaccompanied lounge room practice, or for "looking the part" in an acoustic band (while actually plugged in). I wish it weren't true, but it is. I have spent a decade finding this out, during which time I have owned an Ernie Ball Earthwood, a Martin B-1 and a Guild B-30. I still have the Guild, but seldom use it.

When a band is using amplified acoustic guitars on-stage, do you think it's just for show?

1) Amplified; there is a huge sonic difference between a magnetic pickup solid body bass and an ABG with a piezo. You may not hear it, but it's obvious to a lot of us. I love piezo through a hollowbody. The sound cannot be duplicated on a solidbody with mag pu's.

2) With a good condenser mic and a good ABG you can record some beautiful, unique sounding bass tracks; without any pickup/amp involved. You can record totally different sounding tracks with the piezo direct. Again, these tracks would be totally different than what you could pull off with a solid body, magnetic pickup bass.

3) A big bodied ABG, like my 1960's Harptone, can easily be heard over fingerstyle acoustic guitarists. If played with a pick, it can run with a picked dreadnaught, unamplified.

....if you couldn't find any usefulness for an ABG in a decade, you didn't try very hard.

 

[foothilla]

It doesn't really though. Assuming you get rid of the horrible phosphor bronze strings (which are the worst things about ABGs, in my view), it sounds like a fully hollow bass with a piezio pickup (which is after all what it is). There are other ways to get that sound. I can get pretty much ABG sound with a Hofner hollowbody, and pretty close with a Guild semi-hollow.

There is no way to get a Hofner or a Guild semi-hollow to sound even close to these:

 

[Zenbassie]

When a band is using amplified acoustic guitars on-stage, do you think it's just for show?

Amplified acoustic guitars, no. Amplified acoustic basses, yes.

Amplified; there is a huge sonic difference between a magnetic pickup solid body bass and an ABG with a piezo. You may not hear it, but it's obvious to a lot of us.

Yes, I do hear that, thanks. I do not however hear it as between ABGs and hollowbody electrics, which can produce an extremely acoustic sound.

A big bodied ABG, like my 1960's Harptone, can easily be heard over fingerstyle acoustic guitarists. If played with a pick, it can run with a picked dreadnaught, unamplified.

I haven't played one, but it must be the loudest ABG ever made if what you say is true. My Ernie Ball Earthwood played fingerstyle could keep up only with a nylon string. Played pickstyle, it could just about keep up with a steel string played fingerstyle, or very softly strummed. That was about it (and it was the loudest of my ABGs).

 

[Zenbassie]

There is no way to get a Hofner or a Guild semi-hollow to sound even close to these:

The first one is being played percussively, which I accept is far easier to do on an ABG than on anything else. I don't think the tone coming from the strings themselves would be that hard to achieve. The second one has a very unusual tone. At first, I thought he had some effect in there, although he may not (he is after all a great player). If I'd heard it without the video, I'd have said the tone had a bit of "fretless" about it, although the instrument itself is clearly fretted. The third one is pretty much "standard" ABG tone. I'd be pretty sure you could get to that tome by other means (and with a bit of tweaking).

 

[Zenbassie]

This pretty much covers it:

 

[Ed Goode]

This pretty much covers it:

These discussions inevitably result in someone eventually yanking out this video …

Denson is, unquestionably, a huge talent with education and skills far surpassing most of us "regular" bass players. That, however, doesn't mean he is a sole authority on bass choice/preference. My single biggest issue with the statements he makes is his "an electric bass with a piezo can sound like an acoustic bass" (btw, not meant to be a direct quote). To him, or any anyone else who says that, where is that example?

It's fine to dislike acoustic basses, that is anyone's prerogative. I just don't get why some people try so hard to convince others that ABG's are useless …

 

[Chris Laarman]

Guitar rather than bass as an example:
I bought the Godin xtSA electric guitar for its "acoustic" piëzo sound (after failing to get that from my Godin LGX-SA). This is not the video that pulled me, but a similar one: . You may well want to Fast Forward to some time like 6', but before he starts blending.

 

[Zenbassie]

I just don't get why some people try so hard to convince others that ABG's are useless …

The reason I'm doing it is to warn people not to follow my example, namely spending about $10K (AUD) trying to get a "usable" one, and failing. I don't dislike ABGs as such, and I have still kept one for old time's sake (pic below). It's just that I hear so many people saying "I want an ABG so I can play along with acoustic guitars round campfires", and that's just not going to lead anywhere. Fine if you are Brian Ritchie, and that is your band's "look", or if you are Steve Swallow, and play an ABG that is almost as slim as a chambered electric, but ABGs just aren't going to work for most people.