B-50 in the house

fronobulax

Bassist, GAD and the Hot Mess Mods
Joined
May 3, 2007
Messages
24,708
Reaction score
8,836
Location
Central Virginia, USA
Guild Total
5
IMG_0119.jpg

My favorite of the pre-sale cell phone camera pictures. I will eventually take and post some of my own. 1982 B-50 bass with Guild case and after-market Baggs I-Beam pickup installed. The seller's description said "the arched back and sides are mahogany and the top is vintage toned AAA sitka spruce. The fretboard and bridge are rosewood and the neck is mahogany. The silver plated tuning machines are Guild." and that is correct as far as I can tell. One of the things that I appreciated about LMG 2010 was learning to appreciate an acoustic guitar as a finely crafted work of art and this bass definitely rates high on that standard.

I bought it as an upgrade to my B-4 based upon the opinions of Grot and Smithfield Fair and an understanding of physics that suggested bigger would be louder. They were right.

Compared to the B-4 the B-50 is huge with the biggest difference being depth. It is almost awkward in comparison although that is probably just because I am used to smaller instruments. I have already noticed I look at the fingerboard a lot and I actually cannot see all four strings in some playing positions.

I can feel the back of the B-50 vibrating while playing which was not true of the B-4. The tone of the B-50 is sweet and it rings. In fairness to the B-4 I could be comparing strings of dubious age and origin as well as the instruments the strings are on. It seems louder although the acid test will be to see what happens with someone else playing with me. The B-4 could just barely hold its own in a living room against a D-25 cannon so I will repeat that experiment as soon as I get a chance.

I plugged it in to an amp and almost immediately got feedback. I'm going to have to remember that is a problem. The PU reproduces the sound of the bass well but in a dining room with a 5 foot cord it isn't being amplified too much before feedback kicks in. More experimentation is called for.

I'm really happy with it.

Part of the pre-purchase negotiations with Mrs. Fro. included an understanding that the B-4 would get sold. I'm not yet organized but one picture is here. There is a black B-4 that has been offered, but unsold, for about a year on eBay and other places. Its current price is $775. I believe my B-4 is in better condition and will be offered for less. I'd love a preemptive PM. :wink:

Time to go play it again.
 

twocorgis

Venerated Member
Gold Supporting
Joined
Jan 8, 2010
Messages
13,923
Reaction score
6,520
Location
Lawn Guyland
Guild Total
18
It's a beauty alright Frono! I'd have been sorely tempted to bite if you didn't, but I've already got too many cases in the man cave. :lol:

Play it in good health!
 

FNG

Enlightened Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2006
Messages
5,961
Reaction score
1,516
Location
Planet Earth
Guild Total
596
I think the Liberator Jerre has for sale is particularly Grotworthy.
 

bluesypicky

Enlightened Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2009
Messages
7,763
Reaction score
394
Location
Jupiter, FL.
Nice, congrats.
When played acoustic, is it balanced in level with a 6 strings acoustic?
What kind of strings does it require (if any particular type)?
 

fronobulax

Bassist, GAD and the Hot Mess Mods
Joined
May 3, 2007
Messages
24,708
Reaction score
8,836
Location
Central Virginia, USA
Guild Total
5
bluesypicky said:
Nice, congrats.
When played acoustic, is it balanced in level with a 6 strings acoustic?
What kind of strings does it require (if any particular type)?

There are acoustic bass guitar strings. I know it has DR Strings and my guess is that these are the current equivalent of what is on now.

I have yet to try it with another instrument but that has to happen soon, hopefully this weekend. I will report back because, after all, the volume was my justification for upgrading.
 

fronobulax

Bassist, GAD and the Hot Mess Mods
Joined
May 3, 2007
Messages
24,708
Reaction score
8,836
Location
Central Virginia, USA
Guild Total
5
The weekend I planned and the weekend I got were two different things. I had about 15 minutes with the B-50 and D-25 and no chance to A/B the B-50 and B-4 directly. The plans for side by side photos were the first to go.

Anyway, I played the B-50 while Mrs. Fro. played the D-25. Her playing had gotten more confident than I recalled and the D-25 is loud. The unscientific results were that:

a) I can hear myself with the B-50 whereas I could not always hear myself with the B-4. That was true regardless of where the D-25 was in the room and it may be explained by the arched back vibrating on my pot belly.

b) If we stood facing each other about 4 feet apart (or closer) she could hear the B-50. That was not true at greater distances and we both recalled that a similar distance for hearing the B-4 was about a foot.

c) We will be playing this weekend with a keyboard and possibly another guitar. We both agree that I still need an amp. My hope is to take the B-50 but I need to work at managing feedback first otherwise the B-4 will get the nod because the pre-amp has a volume control.
 
Joined
Nov 19, 2005
Messages
458
Reaction score
0
Location
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Frono -- As you know - this instruments is one of my passions, and one of my brother's as well (as he's actually our bassist). Congrats on getting a truly wonderful instrument - something of the art that was the Westerly Guild legacy. I LOVE this instrument and wouldn't trade mine for all the fried chicken in the world (though I would think about it and sigh).

Let me make a few observations in response to your postings. First, the bass uses short-scale, bronze acoustic strings. The most common and similar to the original Guild strings are the Martin's, which you can get pretty easily (String This! and Just Strings!, as well as other bulk houses usually have them for a fraction of what the stores sell for. I think you can even get them from Musician's Friend. Occasionally on E-bay, you can get a set or two of the old Guild strings in someone's stock liquidation. But, the Martin's are good. I used to love the Ernie Ball Earthwoods, too, but I haven't seen them in a while, but they may be available still. They are excellent.

As far as the feedback and pick-up problem, we've gone to the K&K Pure Bass pick-up and pre-amp. It is an excellent representation of what the bass actually sounds like. As an under-bridge set-up, feedback is minimalized and the Pure Bass preamp is amazing (it's also an active DI for when you play larger venues and run through the house sound). If you want to stick with the I-Beam, you may want to try the Baggs Para-DI preamp and active DI. Try one out first - I'm sure a local store has one or a friend will let you try it. If it works, you can find them used on E-Bay at a savings. Either way, you can preserve the real acoustic sound of the B-50, get rid of the feedback, and get the signal boost you'll need to compete in a larger setting with more instruments.

I hope this helps and, again, congrats! dbs
 

frettedstrings

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2010
Messages
1,376
Reaction score
0
Location
Flat Rock, Michigan
Frono,

Are you the only LTG member that owns a B-50? I want one too! :cry: What did you have to pay for your 1982? Even if I have to save up little by little, I think that a B-50 (maybe even a fretless if I can find one) will be be my next Guild.
 

fronobulax

Bassist, GAD and the Hot Mess Mods
Joined
May 3, 2007
Messages
24,708
Reaction score
8,836
Location
Central Virginia, USA
Guild Total
5
Grot has a B-50 and SmithField Fair is a huge fan and has owned several. I'm thinking mine was $1,200 or $1,300 including case, shipping and aftermarket pickup. I'll look at the checkbook later.
 
Top