Seems to me that manufacturers wouldn't even *make* acoustic bass guitars except to kowtow to acoustic-only snobbery. I can't see how they can generate enough volume to provide a proper bottom to any ensemble consisting of more than one other instrument!

The standard electric bass guitar can easily be played at any volume, including appropriately low volume. Certainly, many if not most professional recordings of mostly-acoustic instrumental ensembles feature a "standard" bass, either electric bass guitar or acoustic bull-fiddle.

On my recent trip to Ireland, I saw the bass part of several traditional-style ensembles provided, not by electric bass guitar, but by electric *keyboard* (including a group at that notable trad "Mecca," Gus O'Connor's in Doolin). What's up with that? Is the keyboard for some reason less offensive to the purist crowd than a Fender bass? Maybe it's just that the keyboard is more versatile, but the two or three instances I witnessed saw the keyboardist using his instrument exclusively as an electric bass.

This thread also prompts me to think about one of my old favorite instruments, the washtub bass. I realize that there are more semi-competent tub-thumping percussionists than true pickers, but a decent player can produce good melodic bass accompaniment at a suitable volume using a well-tempered tub. Of course, the good old gutbucket is even more cumbersome to haul around than a classic acoustic double-bass, while those acoustic bass guitars are not only inoffensive to the anti-electric faction, but eminently portable as well.