Recommend an acoustic bass guitar...

[mimaz]

I wonder how loud the Michael Kelley Turner Renaissance is acoustically? Anyone? Or is that a "must amplify" bass? Dying to try one...

It will be as loud as your electric bass unplugged. It's not designed to be an "acoustic" instrument....more like an electric instrument that can have a very acoustic vibe to it. The piezo pickup is a big part of how it sounds amplified.

I currently own both a fretted and fretless 5 Rick Turner Renaissance. The Michael Kelly version is the imported "mass produced" version. I gig with the Turners regularly with my "acoustic" trio....bass, guitar, and trejone (and vocals).

 

[Dos Inus]

I'm another in favor of the Breedlove Atlas. Sounds nice, well built, and the Baggs electronics works great. Took a bit to get comfortable with the big body. Needs amplification even when accompanying just one unplugged acoustic guitar.

Tried Fender, Ibanez, Kelly before picking up this one.

 

[bassrich]

Almost any Acoustic can be used with a drummer with control that is your biggest obstacle. My band goes all acoustic; Djemebes Shakers, and bongos for drums 2 acoustic guitars and my Ibanez acoustic. When miced everyone is heard in bigger places but we usually go natual sound

 

[mikeyjm2]

Of the 9 total I have, only 1 ABG - a Michael Kelly Firefly 4. Think it was made in the US (the company is based in FL). It does have pickups and IIRC I didn't pay much more for it than $100 at Music Go Round. For what it is I do enjoy playing it on occasion.

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I ended up stringing it with flats a while back and like the way that sounds better than it did with rounds.

edit: scratch that made in US part - posted before I read other responses. And price-wise based on what I see now the small price I paid must have been a fluke, or maybe MGR was just trying to get rid of it for some reason.

 

[cnltb]

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[buldog5151bass]

Tacoma Thunderchief (if you can find one) with flats has a great tone. Very prone to feedback issues, though.

 

[Worldeeeter]

I wonder how loud the Michael Kelley Turner Renaissance is acoustically? Anyone? Or is that a "must amplify" bass? Dying to try one...

I had a Michael Kelly Dragonfly 5-string ABG. It had great sound. I ran it through a PJB Cub, and I was very happy. I used it in a 3-piece acoustic group for a while. However, anyone playing an ABG should plan on using an amp, and I have found that the opportunities to play the ABG are few and far between. When the acoustic trio broke up, I let the ABG sit in my music room for a year and take up space before I sold it.
If I were to purchase another ABG, I'd likely go with a high-end Breedlove, as they look and feel amazing, and the quality is unmatched. That, I would keep!

 

[PlanBfromOuterSpace]

The Jay Turser JTAB-650 Acoustic Bass Guitar I bought at a garage sale for under $100 is plenty loud to keep up with one acoustic guitar sitting around a campfire. The built in tuner and xlr jack are cooleo too.

 

[Uncle Niko]

Check out what Ibanez has got nowadays. About two years ago I bought an Ibanez AEGB20E and it hasn't let me down at all. I can play it for hours without getting tired, it sounds fantastic with a certain ring I just haven't found in any other bass, it looks like a million bucks...etc

 

[JES]

Fascinating thread, especially some of the innovations people are trying for more acoustic volume.

At least in the venues I play, we might practice unplugged but there's always a PA. I have been playing with an acoustic guitarist/singer doing folky stuff. I use a Martin BC-15e which sounds just gorgeous unplugged. It does sound like a low guitar (especially because I string it with phosphor-bronze strings) but I like that sound. I've tuned it ADGC so I can do chordal accompaniments, etc. I love the acoustic tone. I'm a little meh on it plugged in but audience members tell me the tone is amazing (they may also be listening with their eyes). I find a little distortion or compression actually helps warm up the sound and make it bloom. Counterintuitive, I know, but I know at least one upright bassist who does the same.

However, there ARE feedback issues to attend to when you're playing a hollow-body instrument with an amp. Good luck!

 

[GBassNorth]

Another vote here for the Breedlove. Several years ago, after trying every ABG I could get my hands on (Dean, MK, Tacoma, and a couple other brands that I can't recall right now) I found the a Breedlove to be consistently the loudest, best sounding and best built bass of the bunch. The Tacoma was a close second. The others were very distant laggers. I bought the Breedlove 5 string and in hind sight the 4 string probably would have been a better option. Low B on the acoustic is anemic unless amplified.

A Breedlove with a small cheap low watt portable 12" combo will easily keep up with the loudest of acoustic guitar players. And if they decide to mike to the PA you can do the same from your cab.

As an alternate and cheap but fun and rewarding way to get into the world of ABG consider a Kala UBass hollowbody. It will have to be amplified but it is an absolute monster on the bottom end. Nothing else quite like it.

 

[bholder]

Tacoma Thunderchief (if you can find one) with flats has a great tone. Very prone to feedback issues, though.

Unavoidable - if it can make a big sound acoustically, it'll be feedback prone amplified. Not sure there's any way around that one (well, soundhole mutes and such, maybe).

 

[Sav'nBass]

Of the 9 total I have, only 1 ABG - a Michael Kelly Firefly 4. Think it was made in the US (the company is based in FL). It does have pickups and IIRC I didn't pay much more for it than $100 at Music Go Round. For what it is I do enjoy playing it on occasion.

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I ended up stringing it with flats a while back and like the way that sounds better than it did with rounds.
edit: scratch that made in US part - posted before I read other responses. And price-wise based on what I see now the small price I paid must have been a fluke, or maybe MGR was just trying to get rid of it for some reason.

I had a Michael Kelly Dragonfly 5-string ABG. It had great sound. I ran it through a PJB Cub, and I was very happy. I used it in a 3-piece acoustic group for a while. However, anyone playing an ABG should plan on using an amp, and I have found that the opportunities to play the ABG are few and far between. When the acoustic trio broke up, I let the ABG sit in my music room for a year and take up space before I sold it.
If I were to purchase another ABG, I'd likely go with a high-end Breedlove, as they look and feel amazing, and the quality is unmatched. That, I would keep!

I had a Dragonfly 5.. fretless.. the tone was decent .. but it wasn't that loud...Once amplified it didn't make much difference but I was not totally happy with the sound of the B on that guitar acoustically.. I eventually traded it..

Tacoma Thunderchief (if you can find one) with flats has a great tone. Very prone to feedback issues, though.

Yes I found that too.. I had a Thunderchief.. the tone was great but between the feedback and the fact that it was so delicate.. I wound up selling it. The finish was like a satin finish .. but it was so .. blonde .. and I was always paranoid about dinging it up..

Another vote here for the Breedlove. Several years ago, after trying every ABG I could get my hands on (Dean, MK, Tacoma, and a couple other brands that I can't recall right now) I found the a Breedlove to be consistently the loudest, best sounding and best built bass of the bunch. The Tacoma was a close second. The others were very distant laggers. I bought the Breedlove 5 string and in hind sight the 4 string probably would have been a better option. Low B on the acoustic is anemic unless amplified.

A Breedlove with a small cheap low watt portable 12" combo will easily keep up with the loudest of acoustic guitar players. And if they decide to mike to the PA you can do the same from your cab.

As an alternate and cheap but fun and rewarding way to get into the world of ABG consider a Kala UBass hollowbody. It will have to be amplified but it is an absolute monster on the bottom end. Nothing else quite like it.

Yeah I found that too on my Dragonfly that was why I got a 4 when I got my Breedlove. The Breedloves are great.. and even though to my ears the overall tone o0f the Tacoma was better.. given it's other shortcomings and the fact that the difference in tone was not much between the Tacoma and the Atlas I am much happier with the Atlas all the way. I wound up trading off my Dragonfly because I just didn't play it much (largely because the B was not great acoustically) and I wanted to clear out some space but even when I bought it on sale at GC at a very good price.. what I wanted then was the Breedlove.. I just didn't have $900 to spend at the time so I settled on the MK. When I traded the MK I had decided to not even bother with an ABG anymore.. then TPB had an incredible sale on the Breedloves.. and I could not resist. Great basses.. very well balanced tone all around the neck.... I like the built in tuner too...

Another thing I like about the Breedloves in particular is the bridge design.. I have found that with ABGs in my experience anyway .. a string through bridge is better than a pin type bridge. Especially if it is a 5 string bass..

 

[GBassNorth]

...

Yeah I found that too on my Dragonfly that was why I got a 4 when I got my Breedlove. The Breedloves are great.. and even though to my ears the overall tone o0f the Tacoma was better.. given it's other shortcomings and the fact that the difference in tone was not much between the Tacoma and the Atlas I am much happier with the Atlas all the way. I wound up trading off my Dragonfly because I just didn't play it much (largely because the B was not great acoustically) and I wanted to clear out some space but even when I bought it on sale at GC at a very good price.. what I wanted then was the Breedlove.. I just didn't have $900 to spend at the time so I settled on the MK. When I traded the MK I had decided to not even bother with an ABG anymore.. then TPB had an incredible sale on the Breedloves.. and I could not resist. Great basses.. very well balanced tone all around the neck.... I like the built in tuner too...

All good points! I'd also add that I've never seen a better built guitar case than the Breedlove. Thad thing is a work of art and I'm sure would cost hundreds of dollars to duplicate.

To the OP - I don't think it has been mentioned in this thread yet but I can't over emphasize enough the importance of "try before you buy" when ABG shopping. I found massive differences between identical ABGs sitting side by side at every store I went to. Some sounded full and rich, others sounded dead and flat. Some were very even in volume across the strings others had some strings that sounded harsh and others that were boomy. The Breedlove basses were by far the most consistent in sound, projection and build quality of any I tried. Narrow the field by testing everything in acoustic mode then when you have a couple of good ones, plug them in to see how they sound amped. Buy what speaks to you.

 

[fretlessguy]

I gave up on the ABG as a true acoustic setting bass. I even tried the Regal "Dobro" bass, and it was somewhat loud enough, but a very snarly sound which wasn't bass-e enough for me. So, I decided to give it up (playing pure acoustically) and bought a thin-bodied one, which is more comfortable and less prone to feedback. It is great when the situation is one where acoustic tone is needed, but everyone is still plugged in.

 

[MD]

Anybody had any experience with a Takamini(sp?)? I had a quick minute in a bass store and picked one up, neck seemed good and sounded decent as well wish I would have had more time. If I remember correctly it was one of the jumbo bodies, price was around $700.

$700, seems a bit steep.
I have an EG512, built like a tank, good electronics for plugged in use, good volume for the campfire. The 512 is an older model and has a string through bridge, which I prefer to the newer model, which has the pin style bridge. Don't know why they made that change. I gigged it regularly for a couple years before it was replaced and became the dedicated outdoors/camping/road trop bass. It's been knocked to the ground, splashed on while sitting in water, bounced around in the back of a jeep, and even with a crack in the heel joint, it keeps on playing.

 

[svp]

Finally figured out the model I looked at was the GB72-CE

 

[jd56hawk]

By the way, don't let feedback issues bother you when you plug in. I solved mine with this. Not only did it stop feedback, but it also enhanced the plugged-in tone...the change was apparent the minute I started running through a few scales.

Best $10 I've ever spent.

 

[gimmeagig]

I have not read the whole thread so I don't know if anybody suggested a Teton bass.
I recently bought a Teton classical guitar and the store has a Teton bass on the wall. I picked it up and just loved it.Easy to play, felt like my Jazz bass, and it was twangy enough to play Stanleys silly putty on it. And it was loud....Couldn't put it down. By far the best ABG I have ever played. About 600.-. I don't have the money right now but I know will buy one eventually.
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[rolandm]

Something to keep in mind, too, if you want to increase the presence of an Acoustic Bass Guitar, a guitar OPort WILL fit it, and WILL make a tremendous difference in the volume and tone.