Around 2007, I saw Nathan East playing an acoustic/electric bass guitar at the Crossroads Guitar Festival for the blues song, "If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day" with Eric Clapton. I hadn't ever tried one of these basses, having only played electric and upright bass, so I found a lower line Ibanez model online to try it out. When it arrived, I was more than a bit disappointed. It was big, bulky, and didn't have the sound that I expected from an Ibanez. (That being said, I love Ibanez basses in general--even the cheap ones sound great 99.9% of the time).
So, after only a short period of time, I decided to sell the bass on Ebay...and that was that.
Then, I found the Gold Tone acoustic/electric M-Bass (Microbass) with its rubber Aquila "Thunderguts" strings. I decided on the fretless version of this bass and bought it on a whim. It's super fun to play and ridiculously light. But I don't always want to play fretless, so I felt that I was a bit limited with this bass.
Right before my birthday this year, I noticed that Córdoba had just released an acoustic/electric mini bass. Having owned a Córdoba classical guitar, I knew the quality of even the lower line guitars they produce, so my husband bought me one for my upcoming birthday. I decided on the mahogany version because I lean towards a darker sounding wood...and it was $100 cheaper than the natural spruce option. The bass features an onboard tuner...which is pretty sweet when you consider that it only costs $199.
Sound-wise, the Córdoba Mini ll Bass defies its name. There's nothing mini about the tone or output of this bass. It's great for practicing without an amp...and works just fine in a band setting plugged into an amp. Even with the smaller body, the mahogany body resonates just enough to know you're playing an acoustic.
It doesn't come with a bag/case, but I bought a Córdoba classical guitar padded gig bag for a 1/2 or 3/4 size guitar and that works perfectly. (I think it was around $50).
Full specs for this bass can be found HERE.
