Summer is the time for outdoor fun. No news there, but with the great selection of acoustic bass guitars (ABG) these days, now you can add jamming to your list of summer activities.
I spent most of my vacation days last year on the beaches of sunny Vancouver BC playing my Ovation Celebrity CC074. Most days, I was one of only 2 bass players on the entire beach, and I had my choice of 1 or 2 dozen guitarists or groups to sit in with. Talk about being popular. Dozens of girls in bikinis sitting at my feet didn’t hurt either. So… what did you do for fun last summer?
The only drawback to ABGs is the fact that without additional amplification you tend to be drowned out by the rest of the band. Even my round backed Ovation doesn’t project enough to compete with a heavily strummed acoustic guitar and vocals. Add a drummer, and you might as well just pretend to be playing. But fear not — a portable rechargeable amp like Fender’s AmpCan can help. The small speaker means you’ll likely have to do some fiddling with your ABG’s onboard EQ (if available) and the amp’s tone to find a tone that sounds good without overloading the speaker… but it’s workable. With my rig, I found good tone by setting the AmpCan’s tone on 10, boosting my Ovation’s bass EQ to the max, and leaving the mid and treble basically flat. Fender says their AmpCan is good for 4-6 hours per charge. For the record, I’ve never had mine run out of juice on the beach yet.
An acoustic bass is also the ideal practice instrument. Forget the hassle (and noise) of your big amp or uncomfortable, warm headphones. My ABG follows me around the whole house, in front of the TV, out to the back yard… anywhere I feel like learning. I love it.
Below are links to a selection of ABGs for any budget. If you have a suggestion to add, leave a comment here. Please include the company website address and product link if possible.
ARIA
FEB-02
CARVIN
AC40 4-String ($699 Direct)
AC50
CORT
NTLB
DEAN
Performer Series: CE, Plus and 5 Plus
EPIPHONE
El Capitan
El Capitan Fretless
El Segundo
IBANEZ
AE Series AEB45LG
FENDER
BG-29 ($810)
CARVIN
AC40 4-String ($699 Direct)
AC50 5-String ($769 Direct)
CORT
NTLB
DEAN
Performer Series: CE, Plus and 5 Plus
EPIPHONE
El Capitan
El Capitan Fretless
El Segundo
IBANEZ
AE Series AEB45LG
FENDER
BG-29 ($810)
New BG-32 ($730)
GODIN
A4 Semi Acoustic
GRETSCH
G6175 Acoustic Fretted
G6175W Acoustic Fretted, Western
G6176 Acoustic Fretless
MARTIN
BM (Road series) ($1249)
B1 (1 series) ($1499)
BC-15E (15 series) ($1499)
OVATION (2000 Specialty Series)
Celebrity CC074
B778
WASHBURN
AB10 ($999)
AB34 ($1099)
AB35 5 String ($1199)
AB35FL
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