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[Bass] Ideas for playing in public without amplification? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Hi /c/guitars,

I'm a bassist (there's not really a good community for bassists on Lemmy yet), and something I've been wanting to do for a while now is do an acoustic-y jam at a public park with friends.

The problem is, most cities draw the line at amplification. It's a bit annoying because an unamplified drum set can be crazy loud and that's okay, but a slightly amplified bass will get you in trouble.

The way I think of it, I have 3 options

(1) Unamplified acoustic bass. The problem is, these are just not that loud.
(2) Secretly amplified acoustic bass? Hear me out. I was thinking if I got a small battery powered amp, and hid it in a backpack, and only had it slightly on, it might not get noticed. I would only need a slight boost.
(3) Get a really cheap double bass? I've always wanted a double bass, but those things are crazy expensive. There are technically ones for like $1k or under, but everyone says to stay away because they are pieces of crap. Maybe that's what I'm looking for though? I don't think I'd want to bring a nice $6000 upright bass to a public park...

Anyway, just curious what thoughts anyone has, especially anyone who has done this before in a big city.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

The way for an acoustic concert is to have an appropriately "quiet" drum set and adapt the music to it. Something like a caja drum if the music style allows is ideal (it's amazing how versatile a well played caja can be).

Failing that, a very dampened drum kit. I know there are practice cymbals designed to be quieter while still providing a good tone. There's dampeners for drums and I'm sure there must be out of the box quiet drums too.

Then go with a full acoustic bass and a classic guitar. I've seen both the caja setup and the heavily dampened drums and both work well.