Bass Electric Acoustic
May 9th, 2010 | 
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What are the different techniques from an electric to an acoustic bass guitar?
I've been playin electric bass for about four years now. I know the in and outs of a bass and lookin to broaden my knowledge and experience. I've been recently wanting to get an acoustic bass, but I wasn't quite sure if the techniques were the same from an electric to an acoustic bass. Is the techniques greatly different, and if so, what are the differences to play the acoustic?
The main techniques (fingerstyle and plectrum) are pretty much the same but there are a few techniques which are more limited - particularly slap bass.
Because the sound of an acoustic bass is created through resonance and vibration of the body (rather than mostly a magnetic intereaction between the strings and pickups) the thud of the thumb striking the string/fretboard is amplified to a much greater extent with an acoustic bass. Similarly the pluck/pop sounds are dominated by the metallic sound of the string striking the frets.
Also, you might find that playing an acoustic requires a rather more disciplined left hand technique as buzzes from sloppy fretting are also more obvious. Mind you, this can be a good thing since it forces you to tidy up your technique without you even really thinking about it.
Another thing to consider is whether you will want to amplify hte acoustic bass. There are few which can really hold their own in terms of volume with other instruments. As such, if you intend to use it for group playing at all you will really need to get one with a pickup - probably an undersaddle transducer. When you are amplifying you'll need to be careful about feedback. The large body, low frequencies and acoustic nature of the instrument will be much more prone to feedback than an electric bass.
It may sound from the above that I've got a downer on acoustic basses - quite the opposite, they're great fun and can sound great. They do just take a small readjustment in playing technique. I wouldn't swap mine for the world!
Hope that it works out.
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