Acoustic Bass for a beginner?

StoneysteveStoneysteve Posts: 15Member
edited April 2017 in Guitar Chat
Any recommendations for a reasonably priced acoustic Bass for a beginner?

And also can you play an acoustic bass through an acoustic amp??

Ta much

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    Hi there,

    Two bassists I know have got the Aria AMB-50B , which I tried and was quite impressed with. It's not quite loud enough to play unplugged with an acoustic guitar (even with a pick), but only the really expensive ones are. I haven't tried it plugged in, but unplugged it had a nice warm tone and was very easy to play. There's also a couple of strap buttons so you can play it standing up. I seem to remember they both paid around £200 for it. \:\)

    EDIT: There's also the Tanglewood TMO-7 that Regent sell for £279. I haven't tried it though, so I don't know what it's like. A third alternative might be to look at the Aria Sinsonido , which has an acoustic-y type tone (according to Total Guitar - I haven't played it). I think someone on this board has got one though.

    I don't know about playing through an acoustic amp but I'd imagine it might cause the same problems as playing a eletric bass through an guitar amp - the speaker can't handle the low frequencies.

    2nd Edit:

    Right, I've just dug out that issue and the review is as follows:

     Quote:

    Dragging a hefty bass round to your mate's house for a rehearsal has never been a lot of fun, but it's just got a whole lot easier. Aria's Sinsonido bass has to be one of the lightest and most transportable basses ever, and what's more, it sounds good too.
    Although it's a bolt-on construction it look like a neckthru body design without the body wings. Instead the body outline is created by means of inserting two foam-covered wire frames that give the impression of playing a more conventional bass without the weight or size. Take it all apart and it all packs up - Day Of The Jackal-style - into a nice little gig bag about the size of a shotgun case.
    The tuners are regular sealed gear units, but as this is a headless design they're placed in the slotted, er... tailstock, that utilises a single saddle bridge. A transducer is fitted under this and there's a preamp on board, so with the aid of the fold-up headphones (that come as part of the package) you can have the most intimate of practice sessions or plug it into an amp for the full experience. And this is definitely something worth doing. In spite of its highly unusual presentation, the sound is everything that an electrified acoustic bass should be, and that's the closest sound comparison we can offer. Even using the headphones the depth of sound is quite remarkable and the tonal variation is more than adequate.
    It feels incredibly comfortable to play, standing or sitting, as the frame offers the bass in the conventional way, but of course you could be radical and use it without. The neck pocket does present a lot of wood under the left hand so reaching the upper frets is not exactly comfortable, but it's a small price to pay for something this versatile. It's also available as a fretless and in many ways that is the better sounding of the two models, bearing in mind the acoustic elements it possesses. Both instruments are the same price, but make sure you try one out - it will definitely surprise you.

    Rating: 4/5


    Sounds nice - I'm quite tempted by it now! \:\)

    HTH,

    James

    [ 17 July 2003: Message edited by: donut ]

    [ 17 July 2003: Message edited by: donut ]
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