More on Acoustic Basses

Since I was in the neighborhood and had 10 minutes, I stopped at Guitar Center yesterday to see what they had in acoustic basses. I was surprised that they had several.

Ibanez AEB5 cutaway ($199)
Dean EAB cutaway ($199)
Dean Exotica ($499)
Washburn AB 4 string (slots rather than a proper sound hole). Don't remember the cost...but it was probably $499 as I don't remember any priced higher than that. The Guitar Center website doesn't list the bass that I saw. Maybe an old model.

I feel like there was one more too but I can't think of what...perhaps it was a second Ibanez AEB10 cutaway at about $349-$499. Don't remember.

I was ill prepared and in a rush, so the testing was minimal. Played riff of I Bleed, Here Comes Your Man, and Is She Weird on each one. Forgot a pick and didn't have time to ask to borrow one. For sure these instruments require playing with a pick to get any serious volume(which means practicing with a pick too). I didn't try plugging any of them in.

My impression is that none of them were great projection wise. The cheap Dean has the biggest body of all of them (which would seem a plus) but this didn't seem to help the volume. I want to test a non-cutaway and see if that extra body space helps.

The Washburn was terrible...no volume at all. And I thought it was ugly.

The Ibanez's didn't blow me away and I didn't hate them.

The Dean Exotica is a really nice looking instrument. Unique and different than the standard black acoustic bass. I don't think the sound was $300 better than the basic Dean though. And the fingerboard was different...and I'm not sure in a good way.

The scales felt a little different between instruments and I should check that.

I also get the feeling that the kind and age of strings could make a significant contribution. I prefer a dull deep tone...but a bright tone will be louder and cut through better...so new strings (perhaps a certain kind or gauge made for brightness) may be in order.

In general they were all set up well...playable without much if any buzz. A good setup will be key too and maybe a reason to buy at a bricks and mortor store (I'm sure Guitar Center could order me any thing the company carries even if they don't normally have it in stock).

I'd like to go somewhere and play a nicer instrument and see if it makes any difference at all. I should call Spruce Tree and see if they have any.