I've been playing for 45+ years and have owned a lot of gear. I'm currently playing 2 slabs, an ABG, and an upright. The styles I play are all over the map; my last band was hard rock, metal, & originals. I'm currently doing an acoustic blues (Hot Tuna-type) thing, I jammed with classic rockers over the weekend, I'm backing up a uke band tomorrow night at a holiday show, and have an acoustic originals show Friday, among other things.
I had a somewhat unfulfilling experience with my URB yesterday. Couldn't get a good sound, wouldn't punch through, the decay on the notes is so quick I might as well be playing drums, etc. I'm thinking that as much as I like playing it, it doesn't really fit with a lot of the music I play.
My ABG (Samick AB-2) is not a professional quality instrument, and has a funky truss rod. It's tight, but still makes a clunky sound that gets set buzzing on G harmonics. Can only use the piezo pickup, if I so much as crack open the mic pickup it feeds back. And it plays like a cheap-ish acoustic guitar, and has lots of fret noise even with flatwounds.
I woke up this morning thinking alternately of a Epiphone Jack Casady model, and a Breedlove Solo Bass FL. The first most know, the second is a decent quality fretless ABG, which a local dealer says is a very good/"best" ABG for the money. OK, the lesser "Pursuit" bass gets the "for the money" comment, but they're a known maker, and it represents a price point if nothing else.
The thing is, no one is complaining about my current axes (eg, "you can't play that slab electric bass in this acoustic blues act"), though I wonder about the overall vibe presented to the audience. So I'm probably just experiencing GAS, but I've been thinking about it for a while.
I've also been thinking about picking up a passive bass, since both my slabs (Schecter, Lakland) are active. I'm a bit of a traditionalist at times, and fear ripping battery wires out at inopportune times (I've come close once or twice).
I've owned a semi-hollow bass before, a cheap Ibanez Artcore AB2, that lasted for about a year until I flipped it for something else. It wasn't a terrible guitar, but one thing that did bug me was the way the sharp edges dug into my ribs and arm when I played. Are the Casaday models any more comfortable?
So, I guess the question comes down to, what is the TB community thought on this? Believe it or not many here obsess about equipment far more than I do
, so I'm wondering, if you were in my shoes would you be looking to make a change? Should I ditch the current ABG and one of the slabs and get something nice, focus on that? The ABG is nice for grabbing quick while sitting on the couch, if nothing else.
And yes, I have thought about selling all my current gear including the URB to fund a Marleux Diva, which I think is about the sexiest thing ever, but isn't hollow nor acoustic, and is a whole different can of worms...
GAS and bass thoughts for a Monday morning.
I had a somewhat unfulfilling experience with my URB yesterday. Couldn't get a good sound, wouldn't punch through, the decay on the notes is so quick I might as well be playing drums, etc. I'm thinking that as much as I like playing it, it doesn't really fit with a lot of the music I play.
My ABG (Samick AB-2) is not a professional quality instrument, and has a funky truss rod. It's tight, but still makes a clunky sound that gets set buzzing on G harmonics. Can only use the piezo pickup, if I so much as crack open the mic pickup it feeds back. And it plays like a cheap-ish acoustic guitar, and has lots of fret noise even with flatwounds.
I woke up this morning thinking alternately of a Epiphone Jack Casady model, and a Breedlove Solo Bass FL. The first most know, the second is a decent quality fretless ABG, which a local dealer says is a very good/"best" ABG for the money. OK, the lesser "Pursuit" bass gets the "for the money" comment, but they're a known maker, and it represents a price point if nothing else.
The thing is, no one is complaining about my current axes (eg, "you can't play that slab electric bass in this acoustic blues act"), though I wonder about the overall vibe presented to the audience. So I'm probably just experiencing GAS, but I've been thinking about it for a while.
I've also been thinking about picking up a passive bass, since both my slabs (Schecter, Lakland) are active. I'm a bit of a traditionalist at times, and fear ripping battery wires out at inopportune times (I've come close once or twice).
I've owned a semi-hollow bass before, a cheap Ibanez Artcore AB2, that lasted for about a year until I flipped it for something else. It wasn't a terrible guitar, but one thing that did bug me was the way the sharp edges dug into my ribs and arm when I played. Are the Casaday models any more comfortable?
So, I guess the question comes down to, what is the TB community thought on this? Believe it or not many here obsess about equipment far more than I do
, so I'm wondering, if you were in my shoes would you be looking to make a change? Should I ditch the current ABG and one of the slabs and get something nice, focus on that? The ABG is nice for grabbing quick while sitting on the couch, if nothing else.And yes, I have thought about selling all my current gear including the URB to fund a Marleux Diva, which I think is about the sexiest thing ever, but isn't hollow nor acoustic, and is a whole different can of worms...
GAS and bass thoughts for a Monday morning.
