Oooops

[tim]

I don't know what happened. I saw it on my screen, got distracted for a minute, and next thing I know I'm blinking at an order confirmation page.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Acoustic-bass-g ... 2489280393

Oh well. These things happen.

[paulo]

I was looking at it yesterday!
Nice score!

[Matt R.]

Very cool. I've been eyeballing those D'Angelico ABGs lately.

[fivebass52]

Was always interested in these... let us now what you think when you get it!

[tim]

I definitely will!

But I will probably try to find a good match of strings for it first (I don't care for phosphor-bronze). Also, my son is in peak destroy-shit phase right now, so for the time being it will live at the office, where I will only get to play it an hour per week.

[Jeroen]

That top-firing soundhole is clever! At first I only saw the small one on the front, and wondered about volume and projection, but I like it! These aren't made to be played without amplification anyway when you're going to accompany other instruments, so it's nice to be able to hear yourself better! I'm looking forward to your review

[tim]

I think it's a neat idea, and I admit that it's the engineer in me that's interested in this particular bass more so than the musician in me (assuming there is one! ).

It's already shipped, so I should see it Wednesday.

[AzWhoFan]

I have the opportunity to play very very spendy MacPhearson acoustic guitars with similar sound hole designs. You can crank up an amp to ear bleeding levels and they won't feedback. A good technology that needs to be incorporated into acoustic basses.

[fivebass52]

I have the opportunity to play very very spendy MacPhearson acoustic guitars with similar sound hole designs. You can crank up an amp to ear bleeding levels and they won't feedback. A good technology that needs to be incorporated into acoustic basses.

OK, so, if I buy this kit:


buy a competer desk grommet, and just use the ring...


Would I get the same result? Hmmmm.....

[tim]

Would I get the same result? Hmmmm.....

Heh heh heh.

This bass arrived today. Very nice workmanship. My comparison is a $200 Dean, but still.

But man, I really REALLY hate phosphor-bronze strings--all zing and clank and no body. I can't wait to rip these off. I ordered new strings after 60 seconds of play time. I can't comment on the sound until that's taken care of.

The bass is basically mint. The strings weren't even broken in, let alone the wood. Even the hard case is pristine.

[tim]

I guess I've been playing this bad boy a couple times per week since I got it in March, so I thought I would circle back with some impressions.

The original subject line isn't exactly helpful and the original link is dead, but this is about the Boulder Creek EBR3-N4L four-string acoustic electric bass. I scored it for about $500.

EBR3-N4L-Lefty1-450x800.jpg (117.07 KiB) Viewed 11755 times

The picture doesn't really do it justice. The wood is a light-ish but deep brown that's more red than yellow. The trim is also subtler than it looks in the picture.

I changed out the strings to D'Addario Chromes, which I also have on my Dean EABC. These strings totally do it for me on both guitars.

The workmanship is fantastic. I love the neck. And it sits in a comfortable position whether I'm sitting or standing. It has a functional built-in tuner. I generally don't have to retune when I take it out of the hard case, but even when I do it's close within a few cents.

The body is smaller and shallower than my Dean, which makes it a bit more comfortable to hold and play. It's a bit quieter than the Dean, or at least seems so based on the difference in tone. The Dean is deeper, probably due to its larger volume, but the low notes are still all there in the Boulder Creek. Maybe there's a bit of a taper on the fundamental of the low E and F, but not a bad one. I would say the Dean hums while the Boulder Creek sings. Even if I kept them in the same place, I think it would probably take me a while to develop a preference to one or the other. But since I have a two-year old boy at home, the Boulder Creek is staying at the office.

I haven't plugged it in and have no plans to.

Thoughts about the "Solitaire" design. Boulder Creek uses a different bracing system from the X-bracing traditionally found in acoustic guitars. As both a player and an engineer, it seems gimmicky and inelegant:

sbs-vs-x-brace-bracing_1024x519-1024x519.jpg (82.69 KiB) Viewed 11755 times

There's just nothing musical about aluminum poles mounted with rectangular plastic brackets. But you know what? Sounds great. It has an even tone and volume from string to string, with a timbre that seems completely natural.

Price. Well, at $500 used but mint, I consider it a steal. At nearly a grand for a new one with case, it seems pretty steep for an instrument made overseas. But it's a fine acoustic bass and probably a very good choice if you plan to play it live plugged in.

Tl;dr: I'm very happy and won't be selling it any time soon.

[fivebass52]

Thanks for the review, always wanted one of these...

[pjmuck]

Thanks for the hands on review, Tim. I had a brief chance to try one a few years ago and I was impressed.