I'm looking for an acoustic bass that won't set me really far back, but hopefully will be a fairly quality instrument. Under $400 would be great, if possible. I'm looking for a four-stringer just for regular practice, so I don't always have to plug in to practice.
Any suggestions/ideas? Is the cheap stuff any good or will I really have to go higher to get something that's playable and has good tone? Looking for advice from anyone who's bought one, because I've never bought an acoustic bass before.
-lunchmeat
If you can up your budget or find a used one, the Breedlove Atlas series are quite good.
For a video review, click Breedlove Atlas in the "channels" menu at the left:
http://www.bassplayer.tv/
Some folks like the Michael Kelly line, but the ones I've seen at GC have been very inconsistent. Some nice, some very poor.
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
Man....checked out that video, and everything looked great! That is, until I heard the price. Don't think I'll be upping my budget any time soon. :P
Soooo.....I guess I'll have to take some steps down in quality, but I don't need something really really nice - just something that will sound okay, it doesn't have to look nice, and hopefully something that isn't shoddy. Shoddiness is really the thing that I'm afraid of in cheaper models.
-lunchmeat
LOL; sorry about that. :oops:
The funny thing with Breedlove is that I've seen them substantially cheaper at mom & pop stores than at GC or online. Shop around, check out Craigslist for a used one if you have it near you, etc.
P.S. Why an acoustic bass?
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
Hey, nah, it's cool. If I had $1000 to spare, I'd probably pick up that 5-string...
I'll check around the local stores, though, see if they have anything worth getting. Kind of odd that it works that way, but maybe the smaller stores get a reduced wholesale price or something? I don't know.
I'm thinking acoustic just because I think it'd be a fun change. It might bring about some differences, which usually ends up bringing out creativity, and I think I'd like to be able to play unplugged sometimes. Plus, there's something about an acoustic anything that you don't really get with an electric - the vibrations. I love taking my guitar and playing an open Emajor chord, or tuning down to DADGAD and playing an open chord there. I'll just sit back and listen. I guess it's kinda weird, but I kinda want that in a bass.
Of course, right now, it's between an acoustic bass and a new amp head/cab, so I guess we'll see what happens! I'll definitely check around for Breedloves at my local shops.
-lunchmeat
