No, but please keep us informed as to your progress. I have always wanted to pick up an acoustic bass but have been advised that they are not worth the expense.

I'm guessing you mean changing over to an Acoustic Bass Guitar. Acoustic instruments and especially ABGs do expose those little noises that most electrics cover up. Many players combat this with EQing out the highs, using older dead strings, flat wound or even nylon tape wound strings on their ABGs, I'll admit to tryinag all of those from time to time. I also know of two players that use a foam mute under the strings to cover up those sounds. Others keep the action on their ABGs higher than they would on electric but this can lead to intonation issues if you play up high and down low or chords.
Others find ways to use those new sounds and textures to their advantage expanding thier pallet of sounds, and that is the camp I am in now. Abraham Laboriel, Jonas Hellborg, Carles Benevent, Steve Swallow and Michael Manring are players that use those nuances of the ABG in their playing.
Woodshedding on the ABG is essential to getting those sounds under control. I find myself having to return to the basics [scales, simple patterns and bass lines playing slowly and making each note dead on] on ABG as well as my Electric Upright to get the tone and intonation just right, things I already had covered on electric and fretless bass. But then it is always good to revisit those fundamental things anyway. BassBrad

My suggestion would be to go back to electric. I have never liked the feel or sound of those basses. :) Seriously, if you like it that's cool. I agree that there is too much buzz, and the strings make a terrible noise when you slide up the neck.

Carvin makes some really nice basses which look more like an electric but have a nice acoustic sound.

like before mention strings.

i play my acoustic more than my electric when im alone at home. and i have really old dead strings on em. leave em on for about a year or more. boil them every 6 months in vinigar.

it still buzzes. but it has a nice flat response. very similar to the acoustic sound here on the website when you play a lesson.

i find playing the acoustic makes me better on my elecric.

well they say that playing acoustic guitar helps electric guitar skill and it must be the same for electric bass and acoustic bass apparently

Hi there

A progress but first thank you for the reponses.

Whilst the advice go back to electric is well meant it doesn't cover where I'm wanting to play which is acoustic pub sessions, electric is a big no-no. For other stuff I'll use the electric.

I've gone back to the Patitucci DVD "Dictionary of Grooves etc" And I'm working on hand position and "the spider" all the way up the neck. Likewise the scales and really concentrating on a clean on-off technique to cut back the squeaking etc. Doesn't help that I have small hands but such is life! As a by-product it's helping my mandolin playing as I've always avoided using my little finger and now I'm consciously working it.

Keep you posted

All the best

Steve

PS for those interested I have reviewed the bass.

So three years down the road how have I got on.

OK I think... I ende up taking lessons to clean up my hand positions and technique. I also learnt to listen, not just to the beat but to the sound I was making. I recorded all my practice sessions on a Zoom H2 so I could hear what I sounded like, not what I thought I sounded like. It's been a challenge and I've ended up a better bass player (but still not as good as I want to be)

Steve

(but still not as good as I want to be)

I think that I am always going to feel this way lol.

Though I still play my electric, I picked up an acoustic to help some friends with their acoustic set for certain venues.

I use a Breedlove Atlas Series. I found that the neck is longer than my Fender P-bass and that caused me to have to "re-learn" the fretboard spatially. The reach for my pinky is just enough to be too big to get a clean note using my usual left-hand technique.

In fact, I had to change my whole approach to use this bass. For example, I play sitting down, I no longer use a pick, and I had to experiment with different angles for my right arm (the body is over 5 inches thick) in order to get a comfortable position for right hand technique.

Having said that, I am happy with the sound that this bass makes. It really has a beautiful tone, and it compliments the two guitars that I accompany. The built-in tuner is pretty sweet, and I find that I practice more because I can just pick it up and get started. No amp, no disturbing the wife or kids (I'm an early riser).

I don't know if that is any help for you. I know that sitting on a stool and getting used to the longer spaces between frets were the first two major adjustments that I had to make.

Good luck, and let us know how it is going!

Well, I'll jump into this old thread.

When I took up the bass again after many years laying out, the first instrument I got was a Jay Turser five string EAB. It was an early one, made in Korea - excellent playability, well-balanced, and very handsome to look at.



Right off the bat, I got rid of the crap strings it came with and put on some Dean Markley phosphor bronzes which improved the tone considerably, although I hated the sound of the under-the-saddle piezo pickup. A new set of Gotoh tuners solved tuning issues.

Tone was somewhat improved when I invested in a set of K&K Pure pickups from Mr. Gollihur; as did bypassing the crap Belcat preamp that was built into the instrument in favor of an outboard Electroharmonix LPB-1 and my trusty old TAPCO rack graphic EQ in front of the amp.

I put in a "feedback buster" (a rubber plug that fills the soundhole) and was almost there, but not quite.

One day I idly took the Dean Markley pickup out of my beat up old acoustic 12-string and popped into the bass - whoa-wa! That was what I was looking for, but the bronze strings had to go, so I put on my favorite D'Addario Nickel 1/2 rounds, and that did the trick. I had my sound and playability.

I don't play it much, but when I do I play it straight through my 50-year old Ampeg Rocket amp, and it sounds great!

J