Hi, RubiCheck -- Sorry I didn't see this post earlier, but despite my tardiness - as others will tell you I am VERY opinionated when it comes to acoustic basses and a BIG proponent of the B-50. First, let me say that the B-50 has been Smithfield Fair's bass of choice starting in 1978/9 when we were still Charmer. The B-50 has appeared on all Charmer recordings (
www.myspace.com/charmeracousticmusic) and almost all Smithfield Fair recordings since Bob Smith has returned to the fold. I'll try to be succinct...
What provoked us to start using the B-50? Well, we are an acoustic and vocal group - and have always rejected the general "acoustic-electric" sound as inferior. Yes, that means micorphones for amplification, not pick-ups (thought some have gotten decidedly better and we now use the K&K Pure Bass on Bob's Fretless basses - though I still use a Shure Sm-11 mic. on my fretted B-50). In those days, the only well-considered acoustic bass - other than an upright - was the Ernie Ball Earthwood. Few and far between, they weren't in production long and were hard to find even then. I bought Bob's first B-50 for $400 in Pensacola after sitting down and plyaing it. I told Bob - "I've found what we're looking for," and we've never changed our opinion.
The slight changes to the B-50 - making it into the later B-30 - all served to make the sound muddy and indistinct and also took away presence. The split saddle helps with the intonation on the lower strings - the soft underbelly in the B-50's considerable armor. In the studio, we normally mic. the B-50 with the AKG414 or a Neumann mic. Recently, so happy with the K&K Pure bass, we used a mic. and combined the sound with the pure bass with exceptional results.
Nothing else on the market then or today comes even close to the B-50 for punch, presence, projection, tone, ease of playing, and a true acoustic bass sound. Judge for yourself on the recordings posted on the two MySpace pages above - or check out some clips on YouTube (
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_t ... +Fair&aq=f).
Acoustically, the B-50 is the winner, but the B-30 isn't far behind (amazing how some little changes could make such a difference, but they did) and the B-30 is still way out front of the pack - even of custom build instruments. Using a mic or pick-up in a live setting - given a little experimentation (some pick-ups just WILL NOT do the B-50 justice), it can sound amazing and is a perfect substitute for an upright - with portability tipping the scale to the Guild.
Thanks to Carlo Greco for designing this outstanding instrument. Hope this helps and, again, sorry to be such a "Johnny Come lately". All the best....dbs