Acoustic bass questions

[therealting]

Speaking as someone who plays double bass - I don’t think the Takamine is really playable bowed. The radius is insufficient and the body isn’t cut away to allow bow use. 

[Beedster]

8 hours ago, therealting said:

Speaking as someone who plays double bass - I don’t think the Takamine is really playable bowed. The radius is insufficient and the body isn’t cut away to allow bow use. 

Absolutely, I owned one for quite a long time and came to the conclusion that despite the fact it was well engineered and beautifully built, design-wise it was a Dodo. I'm sure there are those who love them and play them well - and perhaps for a touring player who needs both instrument they are a God-send - but I found it hard to play as a bass guitar, even by acoustic bass standards, and impossible to play as an upright instrument. The ultimate aesthetically pleasing acoustic bass however

[NickA]

Bought mine (a Tanglwood rosewood reserve):to play at folk sessions ( where electrics are frowned upon or simply banned ) rather than lug a double bass to the pub.

So quiet against a guitar a fiddle or two and a couple of squeeze boxes no one knew I was playing.

... maybe a good thing 🙂

 

Edited April 7, 2019 by NickA

[BreadBin]

On 05/04/2019 at 17:13, Soledad said:

@BreadBin - may be deceptive but that looks huge ! From a sound p.o.v I guess big is good. For a typical EB player, I'd expect to have to adapt to the body size - looks v nice though.

@itu - hadn't, looks very nice, quite serious (stand up as well, designed for bowing etc.), and over my 'give one a go' budget.

It isn't called a Jumbo for nothing! But yes in the case of acoustic bass guitars bigger is definitely better.

[Soledad]

Thanks to the entire thread for a lot of good and candid advice. I'll admit I'm confused or a bit unsure now - mixed views here.

@Frank Blank and another BC member have offered me plays of theirs (Godin, Carvin) so I need to try and organise that.
I'm also considering grabbing a cheapo, accepting the sound compromises that come with that but getting a feel for the idea of these things. Basically if I were to buy a Fender/G&L/ Lakland etc I know what I'll do with it, but this adventure could end up on a wall.
The only way forward now is to play some.

More news if and when it breaks. Thanks again.

Edited April 8, 2019 by Soledad

[Geek99]

I had one and used it a lot- don’t expect it to be loud. It’s handy and portable and looks good - try ut

[Frank Blank]

2 hours ago, Soledad said:

Thanks to the entire thread for a lot of good and candid advice. I'll admit I'm confused or a bit unsure now - mixed views here.

@Frank Blank and another BC member have offered me plays of theirs (Godin, Carvin) so I need to try and organise that.
I'm also considering grabbing a cheapo, accepting the sound compromises that come with that but getting a feel for the idea of these things. Basically if I were to buy a Fender/G&L/ Lakland etc I know what I'll do with it, but this adventure could end up on a wall.
The only way forward now is to play some.

More news if and when it breaks. Thanks again.

PMd

[BassPhil]

 

On 04/04/2019 at 23:25, GuyR said:

I have the old style godin A5 fretless. Bought used 10 years+ ago The unplugged sound is sublime. Like a good DB and the notes really swell. A really fat tone plucked over the fingerboard and more electric like plucked closer to the bridge. Mine had quite a high action and I gave it to Martin Petersen to sort out. It is super slick to play now and gets daily use.

I agree with you @GuyR ....

I play a Godin A4 fretted and absolutely love it. I used to play a lovely G&L L2000 but got rid of it because the Godin floated my boat far more. Not that loud without being plugged in to something but when it's plugged in the tone and sounds available are definitely sublime. Not only acoustic sound but can also hold its own in other styles too. 

Also- nice build quality with a super smooth and fast neck...oh and if your budget stretches that far you can of course plug straight into a Roland GR synth. 

If you can get anywhere to try a Godin I would recommend it...

[1kade]

So, I just bought a new acoustic bass, and it seems to rattle when I play. And for some reason the top half of the guitar notes sound the same from about fret 1-7 then it’s fine from there.

is there any way I can fix this?

[jazzyvee]

Sounds like you need a bit of relief in the neck.

[Beedster]

6 hours ago, 1kade said:

So, I just bought a new acoustic bass, and it seems to rattle when I play. And for some reason the top half of the guitar notes sound the same from about fret 1-7 then it’s fine from there.

is there any way I can fix this?

You need to send it straight back, anything you try to do to sort it out might firstly make things worse but secondly invalidate warranty. A new instrument should at the very least be playable. Good luck. Chris 

[Happy Jack]

7 hours ago, 1kade said:

is there any way I can fix this?

Yes.

2 hours ago, jazzyvee said:

Sounds like you need a bit of relief in the neck.

This sounds right, but you need to have some idea of what you're doing. If you're new to this stuff, there's no shortage of people here on Basschat who will help.

1 hour ago, Beedster said:

You need to send it straight back, anything you try to do to sort it out might firstly make things worse but secondly invalidate warranty. A new instrument should at the very least be playable. Good luck. Chris 

But @Beedster ain't wrong. If you bought this new from a reputable supplier (Gear4Music, GAK, Thomann, etc.) then before you do anything else you should contact the supplier. They will help.

Bear in mind that the neck 'moves' (very crudely, either bends or straightens) with changes in the weather, especially humidity. If you bought this bass from a very dry location (possibly the country, possibly a climate-controlled warehouse, whatever) and it arrives in rainy old England then it wouldn't be a huge surprise if the neck moved quite naturally.

Sometimes they just straighten out again after a few days, sometimes you need to adjust the truss rod.

 

[BreadBin]

Is it properly tuned? It could be as simple as being tuned too low. 

[Happy Jack]

2 minutes ago, BreadBin said:

Is it properly tuned? It could be as simple as being tuned too low. 

Starting with the hard ones, eh? 😂

[Beedster]

Mmmmm, a new bass on which the back bow is so severe as to stop the strings vibrating below 7th fret has experienced more than some subtle changes in temperature/humidity (even if not tuned to pitch), it's been poorly built, even if the extent of that poor QC is a bridge that's too low or a neck that's at the wrong angle to the body. If it were a solid body on which it's easy to adjust things like string height and action, and even to shim the neck, I might advise a bit of experimentation, but not on an acoustic in which the options are generally far more limited. Back to the manufacturer with it quickly

 

[Lfalex v1.1]

I had an Ovation. Suffered the same issues as those that everyone else has noted;

Lack of acoustic volume vs guitars

Vulnerable to feedback at volume when amplified

Potentially fragile

Difficult to get cases for- The Ovation definitely was!

Looked nice. Gathered dust. Got moved on.

@Frank Blank Is barking up the right tree with the Rob Allen and Godin combo.

I went for an electric upright instead.

[1kade]

6 hours ago, Beedster said:

You need to send it straight back, anything you try to do to sort it out might firstly make things worse but secondly invalidate warranty. A new instrument should at the very least be playable. Good luck. Chris 

I bought it used, it’s a dean eabc. Might just send it in to get fixed.

[Beedster]

12 hours ago, 1kade said:

So, I just bought a new acoustic bass, and it seems to rattle when I play. And for some reason the top half of the guitar notes sound the same from about fret 1-7 then it’s fine from there.

is there any way I can fix this?

 

1 minute ago, 1kade said:

I bought it used, it’s a dean eabc. Might just send it in to get fixed.

Ah, in your first post you said it was new. Yep, certainly sounds like it needs to get to a tech for a look-over. Might be something you could do yourself but probably best not to try