iconic Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 (edited) Woke up this morning (do do do..feeling fine!) wanting an acoustic bass, I'm like that, next week I'll want a food processer, an old railway lamp or something. But I seem to hear a lot of comments of "pointless/can't set them up/ all feedback" stuff...so whats the reality. I only want to noodle around at home so fancied a cheapie to fiddle around on...I see gear for music do cheapies for a ton...I know I can get a good tone forma cheap std bass does this form follow acoustic? cheers for any help Edited April 4, 2013 by iconic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 You need to ask yourself; when noodling around at home, can you hear yourself? If it is a struggle then an acoustic will help but don't expect to be able to compete with a couple of loud acoustics... unless you amplify it! A cheap acoustic sits slightly behind a cheap electric in terms of playability but you should still be able to get it set-up to play well enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Yes, although they are acoustic, they won`t compete with an acoustic guitar, unless amplified. But they are great to just sit at home and noodle on, without having to plug into an amp etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 (edited) +1 - I've tried 3, including a rather lovely and quite big bodied Takamine - all utterly useless in the face of a single acoustic guitar unless amped, and then you might as well use an electric bass. Only useful for quick unamped, unaccompanied noodling (which is fine as this is what you appear to want to do), or plugged in where you absolutely MUST look like you're playing an acoustic instrument for appearances sake. The only way to adjust the action is to file the saddle. So in that sense setting up is more tricky, yes. Feedback when plugged in will always be a problem. Can be mitigated by one of those soundhole inserts, I believe. I don't need to go down this route any more - my Jack Casady is loud enough unplugged to hear, despite it having a fairly small body, acoustically speaking, and it's also a kick-ass bass plugged in. Also don't go too cheap. For my first experiment with acoustic basses I got a cheapy 50 quid thing and it was worse than awful - terrible frets, piezo pickup was quieter on the A string than the others, the chances of getting a good 'un at this price point are quite small. I gave mine away in the end, I couldn't bring myself to charge anything for it, it was that poor. If you're going to do it, spend a little more getting something half decent like an Ibanez. You won't play an instrument you don't like playing, regardless of how handy it is. Edited April 4, 2013 by neepheid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 cheers guys. To clarify, I want an [b][i]electro acoustic s[/i][/b]o it will be amplified. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 why do they have feedback issues? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Uncomfortable to play. Awkward balance... hollow tone (not even plummy like a Jack Casady). They're not even good for fighting off burglars. They just collapse on impact. I suppose in an emergency you could use one as an oar. until it filled with water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretlessguy Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 (edited) Everything you have read is true. To quiet for anything but personal practice. Usually the bronze strings they come with are extremely prone to fingernoise,although Fender and TI makes sets that are not so much that way. They are also prone to feedback in high volume settings, so a soundhole plug is a requirement. I use a Carvin AC40f fretless for my ABG work. It has a thin chambered body which eliminates most of the feedback problems. They come with LaBella tapewounds which also eliminates the fingernoise problems (mine has on Fender tapes currently. They have more of a mwah fretless sound rather than the upright bass sound the Bellas give). The last time I checked carvin has a couple of stores in Europe. [url="http://www.carvinguitars.com/customshop/aebasses.php"]http://www.carvingui...op/aebasses.php[/url] As of late I have started using the bass ukulele because of its upright bass sound (oh, what a tone). They are not expensive (unless you buy the USA made solid bodied ones), are small, and very light and compact. I use KALA brand bass ukes, but I believe ORTEGA sells them on the amazonUK site. They are used with regular bass amplification. That's the solidbody SUB model I am playing in my avatar pic. Tuned EADG as in bass guitars. [url="http://ortegaguitars.com/en/products/ukuleles/ukulele/show/Product/rlizard-bs/rlizard-bs/"]http://ortegaguitars...-bs/rlizard-bs/[/url] [url="http://kalaukulele.com/instrumentsU-bass.html"]http://kalaukulele.c...entsU-bass.html[/url] Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Edited April 4, 2013 by fretlessguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Adams Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I would think that if you suffer from GAS, then a purchase would be essential. (It certainly was for me). Not loud enough for anything, but looks magic in the right situation and sounds bright and lovely when amped up. Why not????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 all these negative vibes are pricking my GAS....I'm getting all deflated....OK, cigar box bass anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calridian Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Hi Iconic, I have to say the EW preamp and anti-feedback frequency control on my Ibanez EWB20WNE does what it says on the tin and I can crank it up pleanty loud enought to get over the accoustics either with my battery powered bass cube, my Trace commando or my full rig! Lots of fun for solo noodling or with friends and the string squeeks add to the accoustic vibe! If you've got GAS, you should be able to pick up a decent second hand Ibanez or Aria for not to much. [url="http://www.ibanez.co.jp/products/ag_page12.php?area_id=3&data_id=49&color=CL01&year=2012&cat_id=3&series_id=9"]http://www.ibanez.co.jp/products/ag_page12.php?area_id=3&data_id=49&color=CL01&year=2012&cat_id=3&series_id=9[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I have an Ozark, its good and I use a 1x10 cab with it for acoustic jams or into the pa if possible, no hollow sound at all and I think they are great for learning how to get different sounds, playing near the bridge can get quite a jazz bass esque sound for example. Very handy for practicing in the garden in the summer (both weeks of it in may). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 My upright is loud enough to pay with two or three acoustic guitars, cajon, etc. It's the only practical acoustic string bass solution really, although those Mexican 'guitarron' things look promising. Unfortunately they also look stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 (edited) My upright still isn't loud enough without plugging the piezo in, I am getting a bit more volume now I'm trying to play with the side of my finger rather than the tips, probably best to not hear me anyway! Edited April 4, 2013 by stingrayPete1977 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Well some basses are louder than others; my main bass isn't as loud as my busking bass; but yeah if you use techniques to give the string plenty of welly and you've got the action high enough any bass should be able to keep up with a thug on a dreadnought acoustic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valhalalf Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 A few years a go I bought a Fender Kingman acoustic for an acoustic trio project. Looked great, sound was ok plugged in but I just couldn't get my right hand feeling comfortable over the large body. We only ever played plugged in so decided the unplugged acoustic quality was pointless. I sold it and got a Yamaha Bex 4 semi acoustic. Only slightly louder than an electric unplugged but it had both magnetic and piezo pickups so I could get either a traditional electric tone, a more acoustic tone or a blend of the two. Great live bass for the Trio and it played and felt like a regular electric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 Ii've got a Godin 5 String (fretted), no issues with feedback as it doesn't have a soundhole. Just about to string it with nylons to give it a deader sound, currently on bronzes. The earlier ones without the fancy electronics are quite reasonable now, given they were c£1500 new. Seem them below £400. Had a quite expensive c £300 Crafter 5 String around 10 years ago with a soundhole, unplayable due to feedback with a band! Also terrible B string, just could not intonate it at all. Remember as has been said, you have no adjustment either with height or string length that you would normally get on an electric bass bridge. However the Godin intonates fine across all strings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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