Acoustic or Electric (and budget friendly recommendations please)

Switch625Switch625 Frets: 576
Hey all,

I've been thinking of getting a bass for my girlfriend. I keep an acoustic over at her place and she used to play a bit of bass years ago so I think it'll be cool if we start playing some simple songs together.

So my first question is this - will an acoustic bass be loud enough to play along with an acoustic guitar? The reason I'm going towards an acoustic rather than an electric is that she has a fairly small flat and I can't see her wanting to have an amp lying around somewhere. But if we're not going to be able to hear the acoustic bass over the acoustic guitar without it being plugged in then there's not much point in getting one.

Second question - any recommendations for about £200, second hand preferred, for either an acoustic bass (if it'll be loud enough) or a bass + simple/space friendly amp.

Ta
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Comments

  • munckeemunckee Frets: 12255
    I think the blackstar id core has a bass setting and is not too big or expensive, would also double as a guitar amp for when you start stashing an electric there too : ).  pretty sure thats what I played a bass on at @Fuengi s gaff. 

    Never played an acoustic bass so can’t say. Fuengi has a Jaguar bass which is short scale so nice and easy to play. 
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14323
    Unplugged acoustic bass guitar is always too quiet as soon as any other instrument joins in. 

    In a small room, acoustic guitar played meaningfully is often louder than an electric guitar, through small amplification, set at a low volume.

    Bass frequencies resonate through walls. 

    The two of you might be better served by a multi-channel headphone monitoring system.


    Alternative suggestions: ukulele or mandolin.
    Be seeing you.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
    An acoustic bass almost certainly won't be loud enough unless it's huge and expensive, like a Guild or Martin.

    You can get a very usable electric bass for about £100 - any kind of P-Bass copy, or something like an Epiphone EB-0 - and a small practice amp for similar... if you put it on a soft surface (bed, a cushion etc) then the frequencies won't travel through the building anywhere near as much, it's the contact with a wall or floor which mostly allows them to. Smaller speakers also tend to cause less trouble, I would stick to 8" or less.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • Switch625Switch625 Frets: 576
    Thanks chaps, sounds like an electric bass is the way to go. I'll keep an eye on various classifieds to see what comes up.

    If there's any specific recommendations for a small amp then please do let me know. I'm not too worried about noise as one of her neighbours in the building apparently plays acoustic drums during the day and it's not bothered any of the other tenants so far!
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
    switch625 said:

    If there's any specific recommendations for a small amp then please do let me know.
    The Fender Rumble 15 is excellent - for such a low-powered amp it has a big tone (though not earth-shaking lows, which is probably what you want) and an excellent permanently-active limiter which prevents farty distortion without even being obvious it's working, mostly.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • Am thinking of selling my Takamine eg512c semi acoustic with hard shell case if you are interested?  Absolutely immaculate.  PM me if you are interested...........
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  • spev11spev11 Frets: 300
    Ive got one of the Gear4Music short scale basses and a Blackstar Fly Bass amp, its great, plays well and sounds ok to me (i'm supposedly a guitarist). Mate has an Ibanez Talman short scale which he rates also. Worth a look maybe
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  • Thanks guys. I picked up a Yamaha BB604 recently, but it’s pretty nice and I might keep it for myself... 
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  • I just bought a Harley Benton warlock £115 
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  • Ask her
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  • An electric bass. That way she'd be able to do gigs if it ever came to it.
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