Just Curious... Are Acoustic Bass Guitars Any Good?

SlopeSoarer

As the title says are acoustic bass guitars any good? I can't think I've heard one in the flesh. I've heard an acoustic ukulele which quite surprised me though... much more bass guitar sounding than I ever expected!

I have no bass experience whatsoever and it is a little itch that I may have to scratch at some time.

I'm interested in your thoughts, observations and experiences.

ElectricXII

In my limited experience, the ones I've tried, or played guitar along with, struggle to be loud enough acoustically next to a couple of enthusiastically strummed acoustic 6 strings. They often need need help from an onboard  pickup and a small amp.

monquixote

They are a bit pointless because the body isn't big enough to resonate at the fundamental bass frequency which is why a double bass or Guitarrón is so much bigger.

As a result they can't actually be practically used as an acoustic instrument with guitars etc because they just aren't loud enough and so they are essentially an electric bass with a largely useless soundbox meaning they are unwieldy and prone to feedback.

One theory I've heard is that they got popular due to MTV unplugged because you weren't allowed to play an electric bass so unless you could play upright you needed one of these just for the looks.

equalsql

Those little ukulele basses with their thick rubber strings sound great, like an upright bass, but of course you need to plug them in as they usually come fitted with a pickup. Jacob Collier uses them a fair bit..

Fingers657

My son has got one of these electro acoustic bowl back bass that sounds excellent .

https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbo_850_bass_black.htm

He got it during the first lock down for a bit of fun.

Not sure how much use it gets though.

fretmeister

They can sound very nice but always have to be amplified when playing with anyone else.

I don't own one, but I've played a few nice ones that I would have been happy to own.

Open_G

I can only echo what’s been said really. Not loud enough to even cope with playing alongside even one strummed acoustic. But they have a charm and a unique sound somewhere between electric bass and upright. I had a cheap one I de fretted so it probably had a little more of the upright vibe. 

Where they are great is for home practice. All the ease that acoustic guitar players get in a wife and neighbourhood friendly volume, alongside playing in an acoustic band. Given that you need such a huge space to store/transport an upright and an electric bass just doesn’t look/sound right for an acoustic band they definitely have their niche. 

EricTheWeary

My friend used a bass uke in a folk rock band. So, effectively an electric instrument but he didn't need to find an amp to practice at home. No feedback issues although they aren't exactly ACDC. 

SlopeSoarer

Thanks for the comments, interesting reading for me. It would be pretty much for home use so volume probably wouldn't be an issue. Electro acoustic probably would be the way to go audio interface/amp. Do you reckon I could I get away with an acoustic amp (Marshall AS50R)?

All good for thought... thanks again.

Creed_Clicks

monquixote said:

One theory I've heard is that they got popular due to MTV unplugged because you weren't allowed to play an electric bass so unless you could play upright you needed one of these just for the looks.

I really really like the bass sound Alice in Chains got on the unpugged album. Granted, it's an acoustic bass plugged in, with a chorus pedal I'm guessing. I wonder could this sound be replicated on a solid body electric bass?

blobb

A friend of mine has one he uses for his own reasons. It's a bit more bassy than an unplugged electric so he doesn't need an amp for private practice. Fair enough. So I plugged him in and recorded it, then overlayed it on top of him playing a full electric mice'd up rig. It sounded great combined. A bit niche but we we were looking for a specific sound.

Funkfingers

Not even the Guitarrón or the mighty Ernie Ball Earthwood are loud enough for band work without amplification.

Uke basses are practical - as is the Ashbory. 

Creed_Clicks said:
I wonder could this sound be replicated on a solid body electric bass?

Probably not but a few contact transducers, installed inside a semi-hollow electric bass, might get you close enough.

Reggaebass

I’ve got the Lindo one, one thing I will say is the bodies are quite big and I don’t find it comfortable, I would get another one but it would have to be slimline, they do sound nice though, plugged in and acoustically 

ICBM

The biggest acoustic basses - like the Ernie Ball, Guild B-50 and Eko BA-4 - are *just about* loud enough to play with one acoustic guitar in a very quiet acoustic gig, but you'll need to play them quite 'energetically'. Other than that, no - they need to be amplified. I had an Eko years ago, and it was just too much of a struggle to be heard so I fitted it with a simple contact pickup.

I've now got a little rubber-band uke bass, which I use for a music club where everything else is unamplified, and it's completely inaudible when even one guitar is being played, but sounds great through my little Roland Micro Cube amp. I did briefly have a full-size acoustic bass too, but essentially it was exactly the same other than being about five times the size and a massive pain to carry.

I prefer fretless for acoustic basses - I just think it suits the sound better, and you need flatwound strings on them. If you want a fretted one, get rid of the awful bronze strings they all come with - for no good reason I can think of other than because acoustic guitars do, which is still wrong, they're different instruments - and fit normal nickel roundwounds, or also flats.

Cranky

I practice more because I have an acoustic.

But I got a very specific one — this fretless f-hole Aria. https://www.gcmusic.com.au/aria-febflf-f-hole-acoustic-electric-bass-guitar-w

I put nylon flats on it and it’s probably the closest thing to an upright without getting an upright.

SlopeSoarer

It's a bit of a looker that @Cranky but fretless... 

Cranky

SlopeSoarer said:

It's a bit of a looker that @Cranky but fretless... 

It has side dots, you’ll be fine!  It’s inherently an ear training exercise, too.

Dave_Mc

SlopeSoarer said:

I can't think I've heard one in the flesh.

I've never tried one either, but I was under the impression that that was precisely the problem with them... 

Tannin

monquixote said:

They are a bit pointless because the body isn't big enough to resonate at the fundamental bass frequency which is why a double bass or Guitarrón is so much bigger.

Well, in most cases. Christian Stoll in Frankfurt - always an innovative builder - makes several models to which that does not apply. This one is a 6-string with orthodox frets (it would look even bigger as a standard 4-string), but you get the idea. 



See: https://www.stollguitars.de/en/instruments/acoustic-basses/ for the range.

Bork

I have never found one that could compete with the volume of an acoustic guitar. ABGs are all deficient in one way or another and it's probably down to scale length, compromises around ergonomics in the first instance and then the physics around generating lower frequencies in the second.  The Ernie Ball Earthwood ABG was about as good as it got in the late seventies and even then it was like playing a wardrobe ergonomically.

Cranky

I don’t think anyone buys an acoustic bass with the idea of playing it unplugged alongside another acoustic instrument.  They always have electronics, and otherwise it’s just nice to grab an acoustic and practice, noodle or whatever.

But I was pretty particular about getting a fretless.  I just think it sounds better.