A Bass resonator?

[KATMAN]

When I was at one store checking out cheap classicals,I noticed a resonator with four bass strings. I had to take a double look,than a triple look and so on to make sure I wasn't seeing things. It looked like a newer model,I think it was a Oscar Schimdt.I'm having a hard time to wonder why anyone would play one,especially today when a electric bass is cheaper.Maybe they would want a bluegrass feel and can't afford the $3000 for a stand up bass?

[Bernie P.]

Here's a Kruger Brothers vid on YT with Joel Landsberg playing one.

 

Until I saw this I never knew there was such a thing.I asked about them in the HC bass forum but nobody knew much about them.

[Terry Allan Hall]

Dobro, Gold Tone and Regal all make 'em...the resonator makes for a sound that cuts through in an acoustic-only gathering/jam much better than most unplugged ABGs can...

[KATMAN]

Dobro, Gold Tone and Regal all make 'em...the resonator makes for a sound that cuts through in an acoustic-only gathering/jam much better than most unplugged ABGs can...

 

That makes a lot of sense when you think about it. I never heard of them before.I guess buying a Regal resonator bass would be cheaper than the big standup acoustic basses. Not to mention it would be a easier to load and carry around.

[Terry Allan Hall]

That makes a lot of sense when you think about it. I never heard of them before.I guess buying a Regal resonator bass would be cheaper than the big standup acoustic basses. Not to mention it would be a easier to load and carry around.

 

Yeah... in very good condition, a used string bass'll still run ya around $1k and up. Street price on the PBB is around $550, I think...and a lot easier to haul around, too!

 

 

http://www.goldtone.com/products/details/w/instrument/444/PBB-New-for-2010

 

 

The Regal RD-05 Studio Series Dobro Bass seems to be about $100 more, street price again.

 

 

http://www.sagamusic.com/catalog/details.asp?ProductID=RD-05&CategoryID=2&FamilyID=2&BrandID=27

[boxorox]

Acoustic bass guitars have been getting more common. Honestly though, none have the power or punch to play with even a small acoustic ensemble without being plugged in. The resonator models are a step above. They may not have the authority to hold their own in a "no holds barred" Bluegrass jam, but they are the best of a bad lot.

[Terry Allan Hall]

Acoustic bass guitars have been getting more common. Honestly though, none have the power or punch to play with even a small acoustic ensemble without being plugged in. The resonator models are a step above. They may not have the authority to hold their own in a "no holds barred" Bluegrass jam, but they are the best of a bad lot.

 

True, but when jamming w/ an ABGist, we do have the opton of adjusting our volume to match that of the ABG...

 

Used to rehearse unplugged w/ Kat (congas and such and harmony vox) and Wendy (bass and harmony vox) and by controlling our individual volumes, we never drowned out Wendy's Applause ABG.

[guitarist21]

Makes a lot of sense to me. People who bring acoustic bass guitars to jams are often drowned out by everyone trying to be a "banjo killer."

[Bernie P.]

 

Acoustic bass guitars have been getting more common. Honestly though, none have the power or punch to play with even a small acoustic ensemble without being plugged in. The resonator models are a step above. They may not have the authority to hold their own in a "no holds barred" Bluegrass jam, but they are the best of a bad lot.

 

 

I wouldn't go so far as to refer to AB's as a bad lot just because they lack volume.Many of them sound great especially some of the fretless versions.