Acoustic Bass vs. Electric Bass

Subject: Acoustic Bass vs. Electric Bass
From: Richie
Date: 26 Jan 03 - 11:02 AM

Do you prefer acoustic bass or electric bass in your group and why?

What are different techniques used to play acoustic bass? How do acoustic bass players play slap style found in old-time and bluegrass music?

What's the best way to amplify an acoustic bass, mic or pick-up?

Who are some of the best acoustic bass players?

Thanks,

Richie

Subject: RE: Acoustic Bass vs. Electric Bass
From: jimmyt
Date: 26 Jan 03 - 12:02 PM

Richie, I play acoustic bass, and I think the best way is to not amplify at all, but since that is not always realistic, I prefer a good pickup to a mike. I use a very simple Bassmax pickup from K and K easy to install, no tools necessary takes 3 or 4 minutes, and gets a darn good sound for about 75 dollars. Contact Bob Gollihur. he has an acoustic bass website. Also for amplification, you can't beat the Acoustic Image bass amp He also handles this line Fantastic and easy to transport. I have always preferred an acoustic bass to an electric. long before I started playing, for jazz and folk, it is just a purer sound. Kind of like why do folkies play Martin and Gibson and many other flattop guitars when they could just as easily play the same music on a stratacaster. you should get lots of opinions on thes question   Cheers

Subject: RE: Acoustic Bass vs. Electric Bass
From: GUEST,mandomaniac
Date: 26 Jan 03 - 04:57 PM

Hey Richie,
Have been playing bass in a variety of situations and have found upright works best in an all acoustic,ie mics only situation. In a hybrid(mix of mics and piezos)a straight electric gives you a little more latitude in terms of amplification/eq/mix. The Guild B30E is a good, functional cross between the two as it's designed to be used either way and is much more portable than an upright, obviously. And it 'looks' cool! There will be other posters, I'm sure who will be able to give advice on equiptment, etc. My rig is a Peavey Basic 112(Solid State-50Watts), Boss Bass eq pedal and a '76 Gibson Grabber G3(cheaper than a Fender P-bass)and a Guild B30E. I use both basses with the same rig with no problems. You have to cut the highs alittle with the Guild, but that can be done with it's on-board eq. Eveything else I just leave the same. Hope this is helpful.

Subject: RE: Acoustic Bass vs. Electric Bass
From: Ebbie
Date: 26 Jan 03 - 07:11 PM

Last night on TV I watched an informal jazz presentation. The standup bass was wonderful. There's a depth of sound the electric just can't approximate.

Once playing at a dance in Sitka, the upright-bass player who sat in with us was in his 'real' life a jazz player. Gorgeous- carried us on his wings.

A friend of mine bought his wife an electric bass; she played it in the band for awhile but was never quite happy with it. So they bought an upright, and now she's got two of them. One for here, and they keep another one in Kentucky for when they snowbird out of here each winter.

Subject: RE: Acoustic Bass vs. Electric Bass
From: Richie
Date: 27 Jan 03 - 09:35 AM

Thanks for the posts,

I just bought an acoustic bass for my bluegrass group (my bass player plays electric) and you've given me some ideas on amplification.

Do you recommend lowering the bridge to make it esier to play? What height should the bridge be to get a good tone?

Also I wanted to teach him the slap style like Lee Rocker and some old-time and bluegrass bassers play. Can anyone give me the details on how to play that style?

-Richie

Subject: RE: Acoustic Bass vs. Electric Bass
From: wilco
Date: 27 Jan 03 - 09:56 AM

Richie: I've been looking at upright basses too, and they all need to be "set-up" for bluegrass. This involves (usually) changing the strings and modifying the bridge. Good luck!!!

Subject: RE: Acoustic Bass vs. Electric Bass
From: JedMarum
Date: 27 Jan 03 - 10:32 AM

There is no sound more beautiful and powerful then an upright bass with acoustic music! I love it. It drives the sound and it adds a beauty and richness that no bass guitar can match.

Subject: RE: Acoustic Bass vs. Electric Bass
From: Les from Hull
Date: 27 Jan 03 - 10:46 AM

Although the instuments do a similar job, they do it quite differently. I will always be a bass guitarist, though - I'm not carrying one of them big wooden things around.

I do love the sound of the upright bass. Favourite player, Danny Thompson (remember him from Pentangle?) without a doubt.

Subject: RE: Acoustic Bass vs. Electric Bass
From: Mitch the Bass
Date: 27 Jan 03 - 11:18 AM

I play bass guitar, acoustic bass guitar, electric upright and acoustic upright. They all have different playing and sound characteristics and I use them in different situations.

The upright is, obviously, perfect for acoustic situations and I use an electret microphone mounted in front of one of the f-holes when needed. I've tried various combinations of pick-ups and mics and found the simple solution to be best in terms of sound quality and lack of string noise. It may not however be best in high volume situations. I also find a mic much better when playing with a bow. Pick-ups tend to give too much bow noise.

I use the EUB, a Bridge Cetus, for stage work, often with a wireless transmitter attached. It plays like an acoustic upright but has a greater sustain and a wider range of tones and no feedback problems. I prefer to use a wide range foldback (monitor) rather than back line for both these instruments.

The acoustic bass guitar was bought as a portable alternative. It's just ok unamplified in quiet sessions. With a small combo it's fine for small venues. It has a brighter sound, possibly because of round wound strings. I've also used it for recording because there's no spill problems.

I rarely use the bass guitar these days just occasionally when we particularly want a rock feel.

For slap, it's usual to lower the strings but be careful not to go too far and get buzzes. Changing the string height at the nut by a small amount has a marked effect on the action without significantly changing the string height above the end of the finger board.

regards

Mitch
http://www.stradivarious.co.uk

Subject: RE: Acoustic Bass vs. Electric Bass
From: Pied Piper
Date: 27 Jan 03 - 11:28 AM

Hi Richie.
A French guy used to come to a session here in Manchester and play a sort of updated "tea box" bass. It consisted of a large plastic bucket as the sound box and a broom handle with a piece of rope attached from the handle to the centre of the inverted bucket.
He was really good on it and it had some of the punch of an acoustic Bass.
All the best
PP

Subject: what about for ease of learning?
From: Jim Colbert
Date: 27 Jan 03 - 11:35 AM

Let me ask a twist to this question. I'd like to get a bass someday to fill out my home recordings of vocal and acoustic guitars a bit. Is either one (acoustic vs. electric) easier to learn the fundamentals on? My intent would be purely home recording. Now, I'm talking electric vs. guitar-style acoustic bass, not upright.

(and ooooh, yeah, listening to a good upright bass player is a thing of beauty. Danny Thompson is wonderful... ever hear the Richard Thompson live thing with Danny on bass?)

jim

Subject: RE: Acoustic Bass vs. Electric Bass
From: jimmyt
Date: 27 Jan 03 - 11:43 AM

Jim, It would seem that it is a matter of frets or fretless, then a fretted instrument should be vastly easier to get a handle on.

Subject: RE: Acoustic Bass vs. Electric Bass
From: Ed.
Date: 27 Jan 03 - 11:46 AM

Drifting slightly, has anyone tried the Resonator Bass?

There was a thread a while back about acoustic basses being too quiet. This would seem to go someway towards addressing that.

The Quicktime Movie of it (slow download), sounds good to my ears.

Subject: RE: Acoustic Bass vs. Electric Bass
From: Steve-o
Date: 27 Jan 03 - 01:16 PM

Victor Wooten is the most amazingly wonderful bass player I've ever heard (Bela Fleck's Flecktones). When they do concerts, Bela and Futureman leave the stage while Victor plays two or three songs all by himself- sounds like he has 15 fingers and three instruments. Rob Wasserman's not too shabby either- he made an album called "Trios" where he plays all different types of basses...it is stunning.

Subject: RE: Acoustic Bass vs. Electric Bass
From: JedMarum
Date: 27 Jan 03 - 01:38 PM

I have to say in my enthusiastic comments re: the upright bass - I don;t mean to slight the bass guitar - played well it is a fine instrument in its right, and certainly appropriate for many kinds of music ... but I do love working with a good upright bass player!

Subject: RE: Acoustic Bass vs. Electric Bass
From: Richie
Date: 28 Jan 03 - 10:29 AM

Does anyone have info on acoustic slap bass technique? We played a concert with the old-time band, Old Crow Medicine Show and their bass player was really slapping out a rhythm. It was great!

I'd like to find out more about the technique.

-Richie

Subject: RE: Acoustic Bass vs. Electric Bass
From: GUEST,Ms.Secretive
Date: 16 Jul 10 - 03:11 PM

Well I've been wanting a bass and i think I will get ans electric one.I would really like to play Covers on my favorite songs like Seven Nation Army.

    Ms.S

Subject: RE: Acoustic Bass vs. Electric Bass
From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker
Date: 16 Jul 10 - 07:14 PM

"Does anyone have info on acoustic slap bass technique?
.. I'd like to find out more about the technique."

you wouldn't be the first...

"Billy Fury's 1960 10" album The Sound Of Fury.

The whole album was produced by Jack Good and recorded
(apart from one already completed track) in two epic three-hour sessions on 14th April.
It speaks volumes that in order to get the slap-bass sound they knew from records
by Gene Vincent, Bill Haley and the like
they needed two bass players, one to play the notes on bass guitar
and the other to slap the [acoustic]bass,
because no-one knew the technique. Don't knock it though, it worked"

So.. Acoustic Bass vs. Electric Bass ???

well that's one legendary moment in recording history
when Acoustic Bass & Electric Bass were absolutely inseparable
for reasons of ingenious creative pragmatic necessity....

Subject: RE: Acoustic Bass vs. Electric Bass
From: Nick
Date: 17 Jul 10 - 06:15 AM

Walk on the Wild Side by Lou Reed has both too - there's a nice thing on Youtube with Herbie Flowers talking about it here

Subject: RE: Acoustic Bass vs. Electric Bass
From: erosconpollo
Date: 17 Jul 10 - 07:28 AM

Using both acoustic and bass guitar was common practice in Nashville in the 60s, with the standup providing the substance of the bass and the bass guitar -- usually a Danelectro -- giving it definition. The added electric was referred to as 'tic-tac' bass.