recommend me an acoustic bass
Then my wife can thumb along with my fiddle tunes on the mandolin.
Tacoma (no longer made); Martin (budget?); Breedlove, etc.?
It's just for noodling around - no gigging or amps, for example.
I've been googling the internet, but otherwise, know nothing. . .
f-d
Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
Those uke basses need an amp, but they produce a sound like a standup bass. It takes a big body to produce those low notes acoustically. Most of the guitar-sized ones aren't very loud and may need an amp anyway.
Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
+1 on the Taylor. It’s not super loud w/o an amp but it’s ok for living room play with one other instrument. My hubby prefers it to the ukebass that he had (kala) which was much quieter. Also he likes the steel strings better. He thought the rubbery uke ones felt weird.
Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
I'm not headed towards a uke bass! I've been in settings with these and think acoustic better.
Thanks!
f-d
Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
Fatt-dad now you got me thinking about acoustic Bass guitars, I was kind of liking this
Epiphone Deluxe Classic Acoustic-Electric Bass
Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
Big dad - Pickup a fender jazz (lower level Squire model) and a small bass amp used. Add flatwound strings to simulate an upright sound. As Don says, most acoustics won’t give you what you’re looking for unless you add a pickup and amplification.
Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
Quote:
Originally Posted by
tmsweeney
Link was to a cool looking guitar; however.
f-d
Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
Buy your wife a small guitar - bass shaped object and you'll bring a toy into her life while only you think you did a something good.
Buy her an honest double bass and you'll be a hero while she starts getting gigs within a few months.;)
Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
Quote:
Originally Posted by
fatt-dad
Link was to a cool looking guitar; however.
f-d
sorry here is the real thing
Epiphone De-Luxe-Classic-Acoustic-Electric-Bass
it has mixed reviews - two complaints on machine heads, but some other 5 stars so who knows
Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
I have an Epiphone El Capitan acoustic bass guitar that was cheap and does the job. With an amp, it sounds reasonably fat, and it can stand on its own acoustically in a quiet session with a couple other players. The uke basses do sound pretty convincing, and even with a tiny amp the sound is round and warm. My favorite is a Hoffner "Beatle" bass through a small amp. Plays like a dream, and the hollow body gives a nice tubby sound that works great for acoustic music. The cheaper knockoffs vary in quality, but the original is great.
Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
One option might be to look for a 1/2 size upright bass. I played one in an old time band and it held its own with fiddles and banjos. The size and neck were very comfortable to play.
Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
Buy her a cello. I keep looking at the cello in the other room and wondering if this would work. I'm assuming that's a cello.
Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
1. Unamplified "uke basses" are nearly inaudible, in my experience. If your criterion is "no amps," I don't think one of those would work for you. On the other hand, if you'll accept a small amplifier, they sound to my ears the closest to the "bass fiddle" sound.
2. Here's a very positive guitar.com review of the Taylor GS mini-bass, which praises its unplugged sound. Apparently Taylor and D'Addario have collaborated in designing strings that give a convincing bass sound, even with the small body. I haven't heard one, but I'm generally a fan of Taylor quality.
3. As former owner of a Kay half-size bass fiddle (traded it on a Pfretzschner [?] aluminum bodied 3/4-size, whole 'nother story), I'd say you're going a whole different route. The body's smaller, true, but the neck size and overall height are much like a "regular" bass. If what you're envisioning is a couple in adjacent chairs strumming in the living room, this might be a bit much.
4. There may be acoustic bass guitars that give a satisfying bass sound unamplified, but I haven't encountered one. I hear legends of the former Ernie Ball Earthwood Bass and Tacoma Thunderchief, but neither of them is being made now -- you might encounter one on the used market, but they're rare.
5. Coming in out of left field -- several Asian companies are making resonator "Dobro" bass guitars, and they are much louder and have more "punch" than the wooden-topped bass guitars, especially unamplifed. Here's Jake Wildwood demo-ing the Gold Tone model, and there are also Dean and Recording King basses that are cheaper (Gold Tone licenses Paul Beard, which means a US-made resonator cone; you pay for that).
Good luck! Were I buying, I'd go with the Taylor or a resonator instrument. I have the ancestor of the uke-bass, the solid-body Guild Ashbory bass with silicon-rubber stringing -- later taken over by Fender/D'Addario -- but it's nothin' if not amplified.
And, there's always a mando-bass, right?
Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
I tried a Dobro-branded resophonic bass or two back in the day. You can't beat 'em for volume and the tone wasn't bad.
Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
1. Ernie Ball Earthwood Acoustic Bass (NFI)
2. Dave Maize Acoustic Bass Guitars (NFI)
Haven't played anything else with sufficient body volume and acoustic volume to be a useful acoustic bass guitar.
Played original large Taylor, Martin, Guild, Dean, etc., but all had little acoustic presence.
(Have seen acoustic basses in Fado ensembles, but haven't played one of those.
Haven't tried guitarrons.)
Good luck with your search.
Accepting amplification as a necessary adaptation, my current bass guitar is a Kala U-bass with metal round wound strings. (NFI)
Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
We got a Taylor mini bass and I really like it. As easy as a guitar to play but has a good sound to it I think!
Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
Thanks to all! I had forgotten about the cello option! I'd never heard of the resonator bass!
Now, I think she likes the idea of a regular bass!
Time will tell!
Thanks again to all!
f-d
Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
Bass is my primary instrument. I own an inexpensive acoustic bass guitar. With tape wound strings it does come close to an upright. The volume it produces is so low that it is ok with a quiet acoustic guitar but would be lost around a fiddle or mandolin. I have tried several upmarket ones and while they were better made and nicer to play they didn't produce noticeably more volume.
I love playing upright but it is a significant financial and learning commitment. While there are plenty of inexpensive bass shaped objects out there, unless you get lucky you are looking at $1,200-1,500 to get a good plywood student instrument. I started playing upright after over 30 years of playing electric. It is very different. Frankly, playing mandolin is more like playing electric bass than playing upright bass is like playing electric bass. I would suggest renting an upright for a few months and being how it goes.
Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
The Ernie Ball Earthwood Bass is the best sounding acoustic bass guitar I have ever heard without amplification. They are the size of a guitarron with a 34" scale fretted neck.
Conversely, a guitarron will sound great, but it is a different instrument to a bass guitar, for sure.
Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
Fatt-Dad,
Check out www.fretwellbass.com. They are located in Staunton. They have used basses starting around $1,100. I would reach out to them and see what they have to offer. They were recommended to me by a friend who is a bass player. I have no financial interest in them.
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Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
Strung the old home made 30" scale 000 size acoustic bass guitar a fourth above as a-d-g-c for river float trips, kept up with the rest just fine. Never met an ABG e string that floated my boat, even the 22" diameter WTF! abb....
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Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
Attachment 188452How about the Guitarron ?
Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
I have a Tacoma Thunderchief, and outside with a group, the sound is lost. The person next to you can hear you, but not the ones several feet away. I used a Roland Microcube bass RX, and got the boost the bass needed. If you are looking for one, there are 3 on Reverb right now. Personally, I would try to get one made before )ctober, 2004. (Acquired by Fender, and later killed)
Re: recommend me an acoustic bass
Quote:
Originally Posted by
fatt-dad
Now, I think she likes the idea of a regular bass!
Adapting to a 42” scale and fretless would be a huge commitment, especially if she hasn’t played before. Unless she has giant hands like you! :grin::grin:;) I’ve played for many years and it’s always a real challenge when I pick up a full scale bass. A short scale 30-32” with frets would be the real ticket, way easier for her.