Should I get an electric bass?

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Zarathustra

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I love playing bass, unfortunately I'm not terribly skilled at it. Yeah, I'm primarily a guitarist, but I do take the instrument seriously, it's not just a "fill-in" part nor something to do when no one else can do it. However, my acoustic bass's neck recently seriously broke and I've got a very small chance of fixing it myself. Since a shop repair is going to be prohibitively expensive, I can't rely on my non-existent wood-working skill, but I'm still going to try gluing it.

Anyways, I like electric basses alright, but there's something I really dig about the acoustic bass guitar, or the acoustic anything. You actually feel the notes and hear them from the instrument itself. Still, a lot of them are fighting a losing battle against physics, with small body size required for comfortable playing, but big size required to give them acoustic push and depth.

I want something I can work with acoustically, but I don't mind amping, it just kinda sucks that you need a 3-prong outlet to play bass.

I've read nice stuff about the Dean Playmate's acoustic volume, but it's pickup is pretty thoroughly agreed upon as shit that needs fixing. I loved my Fender Bg-29 the moment I got it, but it's looking pretty price to buy new (I got mine used, hence the break). Michael Kelly's always come up, and some of them seemed to have some decent volume, but they're alittle expensive. I haven't liked much of what I've heard from Ibanez, but I haven't tried a huge number.

I love upright and all, but I don't have the pockets to get one (and I can't intonate to save my life). I would steal one, but I don't think they let you take them to prison.

Any suggestions on this little conundrum? I've only seen resonator basses on the internet, but they seem like a practical concept. I just can't find dealers that are still stocking them.
 
Yes, get an electric bass. I just got this for around $250 and it's outstanding.
newbass.jpg


Then, get yourself the Fender Amp Can. It's about $170, has a gel-pack car battery, has a guitar input (with overdrive) and a 2nd independent mic channel, is 15w, and I can bang on it with my bass for 8 or 9 hours between recharges.
Fender Can Amp

All the other little battery amps from Roland, Marshall, etc use like 4 AA batteries and have no ass at all. This thing is a beast.

BTW, I have a Carlo Robelli acoustic bass that I put flatwounds on and it sounds great, but I can only keep up with one or two guitars. So it never gets played.
 
For the life of me though, I can't understand why electric bass guitars all have to be shaped like upside-down teeth or big puddles of mud.

I was looking at an Epiphone EB-0 which really felt right, I also like the feel of alot of P-Bass styled stuff.

Matching one or two guitars is fine for me, I don't expect huge things from anything like this. The only bass I think would have the acoustic chops to play with a whole acoustic band would be the Earthwood bass, and I doubt I could get ahold of one.
 
Zarathustra said:
For the life of me though, I can't understand why electric bass guitars all have to be shaped like upside-down teeth or big puddles of mud.
Click to expand...

wish u handt said that ...now when i look at my stingray i just see a molar!!:mad::eek:
 
I've got a Korean-made Fender ProTone I'll sell you for $300 plus shipping. :D It's a splendid bass. I just don't use it.


cheers,
wade
 
I actually really dig the looks of hollow-body guitars, just some of the basses I've tried didn't seem to have anything special going on sound-wise. I did try one a lot like that, it might have been that model, and really enjoyed it. I think it's a nice compromise between electric and acoustic, but I'm still temped by the big body size of those deans.

I suppose if I get a battery amp I don't have to worry about volume, but I suppose why not get an acoustic bass and the amp can? I've already got a small bass amp.

Other than feedback problems, I don't know what I'm missing with it, I'm not playing live anywhere besides school. My friend also already owns an American Jazz bass.

That ProTone and that Ibanez do look very temping, though.
 
Zarathustra said:
That ProTone and that Ibanez do look very temping, though.
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The ProTone is a P/J bass......so you get all of the P-bass sound along with the J bridge pickup, which really adds to the versatility of the bass.

I don't use it much b/c my buddy's got a '72 Precision that is to die for, and that's what i record with. I've been trying to get him to sell it to me for YEARS.


cheers,
wade
 
Zarathustra said:
For the life of me though, I can't understand why electric bass guitars all have to be shaped like upside-down teeth or big puddles of mud.
Click to expand...

It's called ergonomics. A solid body bass (say, a Fender Precision) is much easier to play comfortably than an acoustic bass guitar (ABG) and the shape is the key.

Finding an acoustically loud ABG is like looking for a redheaded brunette. The body size is simply too small to produce low frequency notes at any volume unless great care is taken in the selection of materials and construction...which typically means that anything under, say, $1500US is going to disappoint. It's no accident that the vast majority of ABGs feature built-in pickups -- amplification is the only way most of them will be heard.

I bought an Ibanez ABG when I was performing on bass with a folkie group, but it was strictly for the look. My otherwise quite handsome natural mahogany solid body looked out of place among the banjos, mandolins, fiddles and guitars. Otherwise it was not a particularly impressive bass. Its acoustic sound was inadequate, its amplified sound was inferior, and it wasn't comfortable to play. Luckily, the material we performed didn't have the kind of signature bass parts that more pop oriented music does, so I got away with it.

I now have four Fenders, but none of 'em look like mud puddles: they look like useful tools.
 
While I'll agree that the Ibanez acoustic basses suck, I've heard alot of decent acoustic basses. I like the sound, even if it isn't that "rumbling thunder" that everyone wants out of their basses. I personally find most electric basses and bass amps together to be too muddy, even with the treble up, difficult to discern or tune notes, and just look like complete crap. I like a lot of the fenders, but having to plug in constantly does get to me.

I suppose there's not much reason for it, but I really like the sound of the acoustic bass guitar, it's just a very impractical instrument.

Now, I'm wondering if anyone has seen any completely hollow-body basses (rather than semi), also if anyone knows much about the classical styled contrabass guitar (it's tuned an octave lower than the guitar, and seems to be used in guitar ensembles, I dunno about amplification).

Oh, and this is mighty impractical, but it probably gets some cool volume:
russian_folk_musicians.jpg

It's called a Contrabass balalaika, and like most contrabass instruments it's absurdly big.
 
Takamine has a fretless f-hole arch top ABG that really looks good, but it's expensive. It's been a couple of years since I saw one. Here's a link to a pic:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Takamin...pright-Bass-514257-i1372010.gc?source=4WDTWXX

If you find one you like, then that's it. I've played one so far that I liked, a Martin with a thin body (have no idea what the model is), but it's over $2KUS, which is too much for somebody who already owns four basses and is looking to sell at least one.
 
i think G&L makes a really great sounding bass, but if your looking for something cheap you could get an unexpensive Ibanez.
it all depends on what you think sounds good.
 
Zarathustra said:
Oh, and this is mighty impractical, but it probably gets some cool volume:
russian_folk_musicians.jpg

It's called a Contrabass balalaika, and like most contrabass instruments it's absurdly big.
Click to expand...

I've seen one and heard it, and yes, it was as loud as an upright bass. The Flying Balalaika Brothers have one in their all-balalaika band.
 
the godin range of acoustic basses is generally considered to be the best at tone if acoustic is what u are after....i would get one myself but i have the cassady which was a bit too close to justify the godin as well.


try one...you will not be dissapointed.

in fact the fretless godin might be my next purchase.
 
Get an acoustic/electric

Try a hollow body electric, or acoustic/electric, if you will.

As far as electrics go, the Fender P, and Jazz basses are my faves. I am a Gibson guy re: guitars, but Fender rules for Bass.

I don't know if you live in a small town, suburbia, or a city, but if you can make a trip into the City, check out the many Pawn shops.

I live in San Francisco, Ca USA, and have seen some truly great deals on hollow body electric basses.

I played one that caught my eye a while back, and it played like a dream! I never plugged it in, yet could hear everything perfectly right off the rack.
Tone, action, and intonation were all there.

If I had the mere $180-$240 (can't quite remember) at the time, I would of bought it. I did go back, but it was long gone.

Most new low priced basses and guitars need some work to make them play properly, but you can find a gem in a busy pawn shop that is good to go for the same price.

You just need to look.

Good luck!
 
I've been loking, and it seems to me that one of the Michael Kelly's would probably be best. The projection's decent, the price is okay, and I fine myself to be more of an acoustic guy. Granted, I think I will buy one of those Epiphone SG-style basses, I just love the sound of those things.
 
I just got my daughter a Hofner bass. It's a "violin bass", like Paul McCartney's. You do have to plug it in. They have three price points now. A cheap one for about $250, a nice one for about $700 (which I got for my daughter), and the German Made model for $2000+

It has the presence of a "normal" electric bass but plays a little more like a hollow body electric guitar.
 
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