Acoustic bass guitar

The acoustic bass guitar is a lute instrument of the guitar family and is tuned like a bass guitar or double bass.

In everyday language, the acoustic bass guitar is often referred to only as " Acoustic Bass ". In the design of the acoustic bass usually resembles a western guitar, but has a slightly larger body. It must be distinguished from the bass guitar, which is built on the one hand with two necks and on the other hand as a bass instrument of the classical concert guitar.

Since most acoustic basses differ in their body volume only slightly from an ordinary guitar, they are often equipped with a pickup to ensure the necessary assertiveness. For the sake of the sound almost exclusively piezoelectric pickup to be installed.

An exception is the Stoll- acoustic bass, which in the body shape, although based on the shape of the guitar, but in its dimensions far greater failure than other acoustic basses. The increased body volume allows unreinforced a punchy sound, although the Stoll- Acoustic Bass is usually equipped with a McLoud pickup.

In the seventies of the last century has been the so-called Earthwood acoustic built by the Ernie Ball Company Incorporation in the United States Bass, who is due to its size, as well as a full acoustic instrument. The production came to a halt in the early 1980s. The most famous user of the Earthwood acoustic bass is Brian Ritchie of the Violent Femmes.

The transitions to similar types of instruments are fluid. On the one hand there are " semi-acoustic " instruments with tiny resonators, which are acoustically suitable maximum for practice ( become popular as the Hofner " Beatle Bass " by Paul McCartney ). These are usually equipped with conventional steel or nickel strings and electromagnetic pickups. On the other hand, there are also instruments that go into the size and partly also in their structure ( sting, tailpiece, F- holes) in the direction of electric double bass or double bass (for example, the model Takamine B10).

In Germany they have distinguished themselves on the acoustic bass to the seen in the image with the Stoll -Bass Alexander Wood and the often occurring solo Ralf Gauck.