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August 2005
Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | I was playing a couple of acoustic basses in my local guitar store recently, (not Ovations) and thought that they seemed really quiet.
When you're jammin' with another guitar acoustically, can you hear the bass, or do you need a small amp? If that's the case, I'd just stick with my Fender. |
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Joined:
December 2004
Posts: 370
Location: Isle of Man, UK | My bass player has a Tak acoustic, which is fine when he and I are rehearsing for something non-rockabilly. Bass is more of a feel than a note, I find, but I can feel it fine from about 5-6ft away.
Having said that, I have to use a practice amp when he's slapping heck out of his new King double bass...
JB |
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Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | The short answer is that they are a little quieter, only one note vs. a chord and a lower register soundwise. One or two and a bass should be fine, you get a bunch more and you'll want a bit of a boost in volume, just enough to drown out the banjo. |
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December 2005
Posts: 149
Location: New York, NY | I have an O bass. I find that it is definitely lower than an acoustic guitar when played together and can be hard to hear... but that's mostly if you're playing fingerstyle. With a pick it's much louder. Fortunately for me, I'm not good enough fingerstyle so I play with a pick and the audience can "enjoy" my less than proficient bass playing... that's why I stick to the 6 or 12 string things. :D |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | I once played a Tacoma acoustic bass at a GC, and it sounded REALLY nice!! Very loud and very full.
Of course, the absolute EPITOME of acoustic basses is MasterKeller's Adamas.
Whatta SexyBeast! (the bass . . . not Keller). |
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Joined:
March 2006
Posts: 1634
Location: Chehalis, Washington | The best one I've ever heard - my brother has a Tacoma jumbo body acoustic fretless bass. Mahogany back & sides, spruce top, offset "wing" soundhole, rosewood fingerboard. To answer the question, it sounds REALLY nice unplugged. I can play pretty aggressively on my guitar and his bass keeps up just fine. If I amp mine, though, it obviously could use a little extra kick in the bass end, but the Tacoma also amps really well. I think he paid about $1000 for his brand new. |
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Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | I too used to think that the acoustic Tacoma basses were it, followed closly by the ovations, and then I played that adamas bass at the NorthEast gathering. Wow. |
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Joined:
September 2005
Posts: 3618
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | I just went through the acoustic bass comparison-thing a couple months ago. I bought the big Tacoma Thunderchief (which was reviewed many times as the loudest unplugged), but when I put it face to face with my Celebrity Deluxe bass, there wasn't much difference in volume, and the Ovation actually had a noticeably better acoustic sound quality. So I ended up sending the Tacoma back to Musician's Friend, and I bought a cool little battery-powered Pignose bass amp (for $150)that rocks. You can have the exact amount of volume you want, and it gets pretty loud if you need it in the park. Since the Tacoma had a $1000 price tag, I came out with $850 that I had left over to do a quick pick-up on that Cedar top Elite. |
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Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 425
Location: SE Michigan | have you ever seen a traditional acoustic bass (bass-viola) up close? A small family could live inside one. The reason they are so large is that before the days of amplifiers and PAs, they had to be that big to be heard.
The newer guitar-style acoustic basses are a novelty and might work well in a very quiet setting. But if you want to play the bass seriously get a traditional solid body bass like a Fender P-bass (cheap) and a bass amp at least 50 watts or larger. Either that or get a traditional bass-viola and a mid size cargo van to haul it around in.
You will need this extra volume even if you are playing with other acoustic guitars. |
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Joined:
February 2004
Posts: 2487
| The lower range of the Bass notes dictates the need for more volume to be heard equally as well as the higher notes of a guitar. I find if I use a good pick on some songs it is OK for an acoustic Jam. But most gig's are electrified anyway. So yeah I have this delema as well. Do I just bring the Rickenbacker or do I set the Acoustic bass up to sound good through the PA.??
For me it is the look.....
I have a great bunch of Ovations on stage. So the elite bass looks fantastic with this bunch of Ovations and I can make it growl like my ric. when I use a Hartke Preamp and then through a little Zoom acoustic guitar effects pedal that I tweeked myself. It is harder to play Jethro Tull's "Living in the Past" on the acoustic bass tough. I find that song a bit of a workout. So don't be a afraid to mess around with the acoustic bass sounds. It is one of the hardest instruments I have found to tweek so it sounds correct with a band but you still end up with a unique sound.
For what it's worth
Randy |
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Joined:
December 2004
Posts: 370
Location: Isle of Man, UK | Originally posted by Brian T:
have you ever seen a traditional acoustic bass (bass-viola) up close? Too close! My bass player has one. I have to Amp even my O's just to be even slightly heard over it when we practice. Man, does he get some sound out of it...
JB |
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Acoustic basses. Can you hear them?
