bass:acoustic or electric?

[Haywire]

Any suggestions for what would be the best bass to use strictly for home studio recording; electric or acoustic? I tend to be more of an acoustic guitarist , so I feel an acoustic bass (with pick up) will make sense. But does it hold up the bottom end enough in a variety of demo situations?
Thanks for yr time.

[mazz]

It depends more on the style of music. There's things that you can do on one that you can't do on the other and some of those things are dictated by the style, for instance, slapped/popped funk bass is really only done on an electric. I'm not a bass player but I would imagine that would be difficult, if not impossible to do on an acoustic.

Electric bass is more pervasive (and easier to record by plugging in directly).

I would advise against recording an acoustic bass strictly with a pickup, because you'll lose out on some of what makes an acoustic bass sound like it does: the big wooden body serving to amplify the tone and give it it's distinctive tone.

To most effectively record an acoustic bass, you would need a nice microphone and a decent sounding room. You could mix the pickup sound in with the mic'd sound, which makes for a nice blend.

Mazz

[Len911]

Do they have pickups suitable for an acoustic bass? I am with Mazz, I think if you didn't have the ambiance of a stellar room and have an excellent mic to record it with you would be wasting your time and should probably buy an excellent acoustic bass sample when you need one. So I would go with the electric bass if you want a real one and not a sample.

[billg1]

It depends more on the style of music. There's things that you can do on one that you can't do on the other and some of those things are dictated by the style, for instance, slapped/popped funk bass is really only done on an electric. I'm not a bass player but I would imagine that would be difficult, if not impossible to do on an acoustic.

Electric bass is more pervasive (and easier to record by plugging in directly).

I would advise against recording an acoustic bass strictly with a pickup, because you'll lose out on some of what makes an acoustic bass sound like it does: the big wooden body serving to amplify the tone and give it it's distinctive tone.

To most effectively record an acoustic bass, you would need a nice microphone and a decent sounding room. You could mix the pickup sound in with the mic'd sound, which makes for a nice blend.

Mazz

Just the other day a guy posted a song on the gearslutz forum where he went direct with the pickup in an acoustic bass and also mic'ed the bass at the 12th fret like an acoustic guitar and it sounded fantastic! It wouldn't be the sound you'd want for everything but it was really cool and something I had never thought of, seems logical though.

A Fener P-Bass copy is probably gonna give you the most universal sound, and you really don't have to spend much money to get a good one. I've got a couple of sub $200 Fender knockoffs that are better that my vintage '62 and 74 "real deals" (and they're worth thousands!). You might have to go with a higher end bass for an acoustic, I don't know much about them but it stands to reason since there's more to them than just a plank with some pickups.

[mazz]

mic'ed the bass at the 12th fret

A fretted acoustic bass? This I've gotta see!!

Just ribbing you Bill!!

Mazz

[Len911]

You can try this acoustic bass plugin for free trial, and if you decide to keep it it's only $19.95, and it's downloadable. Nothing to lose here.

http://www.sonivoxmi.com/ProductDetail. ... -+Acoustic

the virtual instrument one (DVI) for Downloadable Virtual Instrument

[matto]

mic'ed the bass at the 12th fret

A fretted acoustic bass? This I've gotta see!!

Just ribbing you Bill!!

Mazz

http://www.amazon.com/Dean-Acoustic-Cut ... B0007A0DSC

They are actually not that uncommon...

Yeah most people would think of an Upright when they here "Acoustic Bass" but that's not the only game in town.
I'm thinking the OP may be thinking of an Acoustic Guitar Bass like the one in my link because the Upright is an entirely different kettle of fish and the majority of bass players couldn't play an Upright...

[mazz]

Yes. As a recovering jazz musician, when I hear the term "acoustic bass", I immediately think of upright. The acoustic type you link to matto, is often used in Mexican music which is probably why you're so familiar with it, being the Swiss Latin music guru, after all!!

[billg1]

Ha! Yup, I wasn't thinking of an upright. Although I have seen fretless "non-upright" acoustic electrics too.

Here's a suggestion for the original poster . . . get both, under $400! Probably usable instruments and this place has a good return policy if not-

http://www.rondomusic.com/burtha.html (a bit more than the dean but comes with a nice case)

http://www.rondomusic.com/spj62vwh.html (a p-bass with a J bridge picK-up)

That covers all your basses (yuck, yuck, couldn't resist!)

[matto]

Yes. As a recovering jazz musician, when I hear the term "acoustic bass", I immediately think of upright. The acoustic type you link to matto, is often used in Mexican music which is probably why you're so familiar with it, being the Swiss Latin music guru, after all!!

Actually the one typically used in Mexican music is yet something different...it's called Guitarron and has 6 strings and no frets:
http://folk-instruments.musiciansfriend ... D=78566953

That's what you get for calling me a "guru"...