The Once-in-a-Lifetime ABG /EABG purchase.

[Rockin John]

Thanks guys. There are some interesting instruments being shown.

Just to recap a couple of points, I'm not really interested in basses that look similar to 'ordinary' bass guitars. Unfortunately that rules out Rob Allen and similar looking basses, acoustic-styles P and J.

I'm away for a few days just now so, upon returning, I'll check out guys' suggestions.

One question: the Warwick Alien; are these German made or Chinese these days?

Ta.

J

 

[boombloom]

Pete Langdell, The Wizard of Rigel is a friend of mine. I will reach out and get back to you.

 

[boombloom]

Pete Langdell, The Wizard of Rigel is a friend of mine. I will reach out and get back to you.

He says he hopes to be back to it by the end of the year. Instant message me and I will send you his contact info.

 

[HaphAsSard]

He says he hopes to be back to it by the end of the year. Instant message me and I will send you his contact info.

I'll never own one, but the world needs the Acousta IMO.

 

[bearhart74]

Thanks guys. There are some interesting instruments being shown.

Just to recap a couple of points, I'm not really interested in basses that look similar to 'ordinary' bass guitars. Unfortunately that rules out Rob Allen and similar looking basses, acoustic-styles P and J.

I'm away for a few days just now so, upon returning, I'll check out guys' suggestions.

One question: the Warwick Alien; are these German made or Chinese these days?

Ta.

J

Alien is made in germany.
Rockbass alien made in ??

 

[bholder]

He says he hopes to be back to it by the end of the year. Instant message me and I will send you his contact info.

OK, cool, that's great news, thanks. I'll be patient.

 

[JimmyJ1]

Regardless of looks, nothing will come close to the low end sound of the Taylor/Klein bass. I shopped almost all of the above basses and bought the Klein. Difference is in the E string. Sounds like your head is inside a grand piano.

 

[Wilson45]

I'm pretty green when it comes to bass guitars, but in my limited experience I've been happy with my Carvin AC40 and with my Boulder Creek EBR6-N4. The Carvin is just chambered so you have to plug in, but the Boulder Creek is loud enough to practice with by itself. (I put Thomastik-Infeld Acousticore stings on my Boulder Creek, so it is a bit quieter now than with standard strings.)

Both basses have 5 string options in both fretted and fretless versions, and because the Boulder Creek has their suspended bracing system, you don't have to worry about detuning it before putting it away (i.e. the neck won't turn into a banana when left under stress - which I understand is a problem with some other 5 string acoustic basses).

The Boulder Creek lists for $1099.00, but my local dealer provided me with one (brand new) for under $800 - including the hard-shell case.

Invalid Link Removed

 

[Low Main]

I tried a few ABG's. I currently have a lined fretless Boulder Creek, and that's the best one I've tried. I'm not looking any further.
My goal is to get more of an "acoustic" sound, rather than an "amplified upright" sound, which is what many basses provide.
I like the preamp in the BC well enough to leave it in there and not upgrade it.
I have it strung with old, well broken in T-I flats.
I did a few mods to enhance the acousticness of the bass. Such as making a wooden nut and saddle. The critical hurdle is to get the bass to the point where the plucked open G string does not sound pingy.
I don't like pinned bridges as a rule. I've experimented with various alternatives, such as tailpiece systems, but haven't come up with anything satisfying thus far. So I've stayed with the pins and modded the bridge to reduce the break angle on the flatwounds as they exit the pin holes.
Playing around with the amplified sound, my current set up is to run the bass through a tube preamp head, and then into a 2x10 over a 1x15. That's more cab capacity than I would ordinarily think of using. But I don't crank the amp. I keep it set to a low volume, so it sounds like there's this thing in the room that has size and presence but is not "hot".

 

[stevieg]

Greetings all,
I am not totally convinced that such an animal exists. If I need to use an instrument that sounds acoustic I bring my Rob Allen fearless 5-string and my ever present ACT Super Redhead. If I absolutely positively have to play acoustic, again playing my Fishman through the Super Redhead if more volume is required than just the unamplified upright.

 

[stevieg]

Greetings all,
I am not totally convinced that such an animal exists. If I need to use an instrument that sounds acoustic I bring my Rob Allen fearless 5-string and my ever present ACT Super Redhead. If I absolutely positively have to play acoustic, again playing my Fishman through the Super Redhead if more volume is required than just the unamplified upright.

I noticed a few spelling correction errors in my post. "Fearless"should be "fretless" and "ACT" should be "SWR". Goddamm spelling corrector

 

[mp40smg]

The ONLY ABG that I have ever tried that I would actually consider buying would be the Klein. The Warwick looks great. But having never tried it, I don't know.


For the most part an ABG is almost an oxymoron. Unplugged they generally can not be heard playing with a acoustic guitar, except way up high in the guitar register. Then as soon as you plug them in you can't hear anything over the feed back. YMMV.

I have a Turner Ren 6fl and love it. But it's not an ABG.

 

[Anachronism]

I have a Turner Ren 6fl and love it. But it's not an ABG.

It's a bit different from a traditional ABG, to be sure. But since OP is only planning to play plugged in, I think one might really fit his needs.

 

[Groove Doctor]

I've got a Takamine B10. Superb craftsmanship. Played it in a 6pce Jazz combo for a few years. They look stunning too!!

You'd wanna try one first to see if you like the neck, very rounded fretboard. Harder to play seated than a regular ABG, but in vertical position it's a joy to play.

My Rob Allen Mouse gets the gig time though in Big Band. DB, P bass, Hollowbody and Fretless tones by varying technique/HPF/compression.

There's a Martin ABG copy built by Sigma (Martin subsidiary?) that's worth looking into also.

 

[Groove Doctor]

I'm looking for something that's both beautiful and a great playing bass.

I'm not into fancy adornments like inlay and carving. Just something that's incredibly well built and that sounds stunnngly good.

For example....
the Takamine TB 10 which I **really** like (but also have not tried).

John
- is it a treasured instrument for home use?
- Or do you intend to gig it?
- what types of music/gigs/band line ups would you use it in? How loud will the stage volume be?

 

[scuzzy]

Invalid Link Removed

just do it.

 

[bobbyboo]

This thread is all about my attempt to find "the" Acoustic / Electro-acoustic bass guitar.

I'm hoping for thoughts and advice from guys to help with this idea.

Being in my mid 60s I've come to the point where I want to buy 'the keeper' instrument. I want something top of the range - there or thereabouts! The points for consideration are:-

Must be unlined fretless.
4 or 5 string.
Money no object (well, almost no object!).
'Off the shelf', not bespoke made.
Will consider any traditional style of instrument. Eg, f-hole style, jumbo style.
It will be used amplified: I have no plans (until one comes along ... ha ha) to use it unplugged.

Research has turned up very few, high end names, and I suspect that is because I want a fretless instrument: very few people make them!

Furch / Stonebridge.
Takamine (TB10).

I'm sure there must be others. It's always possible that discontinued basses are out there somewhere, too, but I've no clue about makes and models. I've not yet been to / contacted any dealers and that is clearly another avenue to investigate.

Wisdom as always, gratefully received.

Tks.

John

This thread is all about my attempt to find "the" Acoustic / Electro-acoustic bass guitar.

I'm hoping for thoughts and advice from guys to help with this idea.

Being in my mid 60s I've come to the point where I want to buy 'the keeper' instrument. I want something top of the range - there or thereabouts! The points for consideration are:-

Must be unlined fretless.
4 or 5 string.
Money no object (well, almost no object!).
'Off the shelf', not bespoke made.
Will consider any traditional style of instrument. Eg, f-hole style, jumbo style.
It will be used amplified: I have no plans (until one comes along ... ha ha) to use it unplugged.

Research has turned up very few, high end names, and I suspect that is because I want a fretless instrument: very few people make them!

Furch / Stonebridge.
Takamine (TB10).

I'm sure there must be others. It's always possible that discontinued basses are out there somewhere, too, but I've no clue about makes and models. I've not yet been to / contacted any dealers and that is clearly another avenue to investigate.

Wisdom as always, gratefully received.

Tks.

John

Hi there John:
I have two thoughts. Ernie Ball, pre Musician made a large bodied (no amp required) bass. Now discontinued. There is also the uno bass (reproduction of thai-style acoustic basses), but I haven't found a place to purchase (yet).

LEFT-FIELD OPTION: I started work on an acoustic bass easy for junior/primary school pupils. The reason was to reduce string pressure, and to show that instruments are not always digital or amplified.
Line trimmer cord was used for the strings. My current version is my bass for the Ukulele band I play in. This has enabled me to avoid the (nasty) ubass-type bass.

 

[ksamiams]

This thread is all about my attempt to find "the" Acoustic / Electro-acoustic bass guitar.

I'm hoping for thoughts and advice from guys to help with this idea.

Being in my mid 60s I've come to the point where I want to buy 'the keeper' instrument. I want something top of the range - there or thereabouts! The points for consideration are:-

Must be unlined fretless.
4 or 5 string.
Money no object (well, almost no object!).
'Off the shelf', not bespoke made.
Will consider any traditional style of instrument. Eg, f-hole style, jumbo style.
It will be used amplified: I have no plans (until one comes along ... ha ha) to use it unplugged.

Research has turned up very few, high end names, and I suspect that is because I want a fretless instrument: very few people make them!

Furch / Stonebridge.
Takamine (TB10).

I'm sure there must be others. It's always possible that discontinued basses are out there somewhere, too, but I've no clue about makes and models. I've not yet been to / contacted any dealers and that is clearly another avenue to investigate.

Wisdom as always, gratefully received.

Tks.

John

 

[ksamiams]

Being someone who has played almost every brand of Acoustic/ Elec Bass I was surprised sfter many years of trying to get that perfect accoustic upright sound out of a guitar size acoustic Bass. I found out just a few years ago after trying several brands of UBass that I knew had the right idea but had not perfected it. Then a year ago I found it. No competition. The Gold Tone 25" fretless MicroBass. Perfect sound. Perfect intonation. A dream to play. Price unbelievable!! It even sounds decent unplugged. I play it through my Beringer 300 watt and it turns people heads. Until they look they think it is a upright miked. I play it outside, in the park, on the street in my recharable Pignose 30 amp and it is the same. Dont make the mistake that all Ubass are the same they are not. The Gold Tone 25" fretless will give you what you are looking for and for a price under $450 it simply amazing. Make sure you get the hardshell case because this Bass is WAY to good to carry in a gigbag. I brought my Bass and case through Elderly intruments set up and ready to go. I wish I had this Bass 40 years ago!

This thread is all about my attempt to find "the" Acoustic / Electro-acoustic bass guitar.

I'm hoping for thoughts and advice from guys to help with this idea.

Being in my mid 60s I've come to the point where I want to buy 'the keeper' instrument. I want something top of the range - there or thereabouts! The points for consideration are:-

Must be unlined fretless.
4 or 5 string.
Money no object (well, almost no object!).
'Off the shelf', not bespoke made.
Will consider any traditional style of instrument. Eg, f-hole style, jumbo style.
It will be used amplified: I have no plans (until one comes along ... ha ha) to use it unplugged.

Research has turned up very few, high end names, and I suspect that is because I want a fretless instrument: very few people make them!

Furch / Stonebridge.
Takamine (TB10).

I'm sure there must be others. It's always possible that discontinued basses are out there somewhere, too, but I've no clue about makes and models. I've not yet been to / contacted any dealers and that is clearly another avenue to investigate.

Wisdom as always, gratefully received.

Tks.

John

 

[unlined4string]

I would have suggested Rob Allen but you're ruled them out for aesthetic reasons. Suggest you try a fretless Rick Turner Renaissance bass. They have a nice organic vibe and as an added bonus they are very lightweight.

Part of the Ren sound comes from the OEM strings, Thomastik-Infeld Acousticores. The Ren bass was designed specifically for these strings. The core is nylon and the outer wrap is bronze. No ferrous material in the string, so they can't be used with traditional magnetic pickups.

Here's a link to some pictures:
rick turner renaissance