Fender BG-29 Acoustic Bass

Other reviewers have outlined the features well. I'm sure mine is stock.

I've picked up the bass again after a 6-year hiatus. I used to play lefty, but decided that since I forgot everything I knew, I would try to trick my left hand into fretting. I've adapted well enough, though when I dream of playing, I'm always playing lefty.

Thus far I have almost exclusively been playing classical and old jazz. As far as the classical goes, this bass just has a wonderful warm sound that I will never tire of hearing (it's been a year). I love finger-picking, and have found the sweet spot just above the bridge-end of the sound hole. It's no cello, but I can make it sound baroque when I'm delicate.

As for old jazz standards, this guitar comes far closer to the personality of an upright (which I will likely never endeavor to learn) than a solid-body ever will. It's mellow sound makes it easy to play along without drowning out the upright bass track.

I play flatwound strings, which definitely contributes to the mellow tone. I'd say this bass has a fantastic sound, especially for the price, but definitely a limited personality. On the downside, I can't make this otherwise beautiful instrument sound good through an amplifier with the built-in electronics. I'm sure they're fine, it's just not what this bass is made for.

Also, when tuned normally, the G string is just the slightest bit flat in the high frets. I remedy this by tuning the G just a little bit sharp which fixes the high notes, and is subtle enough to be undetectable down low. I considered having a new bridge insert made, but that seemed a little excessive.

I think this bass's sound is it's strong point despite the pre-amp and bridge trouble, so I still feel comfortable giving it a 9.

When I first played this some of the frets buzzed and I noticed that the plastic bridge insert had been filed down on the underside to lower the action. Daddy's replaced it with a new one for no charge and it played great. God only knows what the previous owner was thinking. A bass just doesn't get any easier to play than this. I don't think I'll ever buy a full sized bass again.

I have no strong feelings either way on finish. It's fine. Rating the bass in this category on action and fit alone, I'd have to give it a ten. Sure I've played nicer, but I couldn't discriminate based on the feel.

I bought this bass used and I don't perform, so I can't say too much about the durability. There are some pick scars around the sound hole. I don't play with a pick myself so I can't comment on those. My cousin dropped a power cord on it and it left a nick on the topsheet. Not surprised, not appalled. Neck is dead-straight, keys and bridge are tight. I can't get the pre-amp out to change the battery, but I don't use it so I probably won't bother to fix it. I couldn't say whether that was a defect or caused by the previous owner. Even so, I feel it's a two-point deduction.

Overall I'm extremely satisfied with this guitar. I enjoy playing it far more than I ever enjoyed playing a solid-body. Tacomas are dead sexy, and I have waking dreams about their 5-string acoustic, but at half the price, you aren't giving up much with the BG-29. There was certainly no comparison with the other guitars in the BG's price range.

It is important to realize that this, as well as any acoustic bass guitar, is a limited instrument. Few people would want it as their sole axe. It's been my only bass for a year, and I love playing it every day, but recently I've been looking to get something else to compliment it.

Overall, and for the price, this one's a winner. The only reasonable deduction from the overall rating would be the flat G string. Fender should know better. But it's a small, fixable problem, and I'd buy another one of these in a heartbeat regardless.

This bass was made in Korea. I have no clue when it was made it was in a music store gathering dust. I had played this bass in another store in Petaluma CA, i was upset about the price ($595) and even though I loved the bass right then, I needed to find some place that had a better price. That bass said it was made in 2000. It has five sliders on the side, bass, mid, treble, brilliance, and volume. Classic 4 Fishman pickup(s). 20 frets. Maple body. Gloss black finish. I would guess it is a dreadnought. It included nothing and I paid $499.00 for this bass.

I love this bass most of all because of its sound. The sound is totally worth $500 and even more than that. It has a lot of controld so when I play plugged in i can make it sound completely different from an acoustic sound. Although, it gets feedback when i put the bass slider halfway up. I am more of a treble player so it doesnt bother me at all.

I pretty much bought this bass flawless. It had been sitting for a while at the store and it is scratched mildly. What realy sucks about having a gloss black bass is that you have to keep it clean all of the time. It smudges very easily.

I just bought this bass not to long ago so i havent gotten a chance to play any gigs with it. I will be playing it 2 months from now at a concert, i think it will do well. I have never scratched a musical instrument in my life, as long as my friends dont get a hold of this bass it will survive.

I have been playing for over 3 years, no lessons, but i am still awesome. I own this bass, a Squier special 5-string bass, Rogue lx100b i think, Ibanez roadstarII (80's guitar) and lots more that i dont even want to keep going on about. I own a Crate bx100 bass amp. If it were to be stolen, i would definatly buy anouther one. There is not one thing i dont like about this bass. I wish it came with a strap nut or whatever.

It's Korean made with Fishman Pickups. There are Bass, mid, treble, mid frequency, and volume controls. The body is dreadnought shape, all Maple with a Nato neck and rosewood fingerboard. The finish is gloss black. There are 20 frets. I didn't like that it doesn't come with a top neckstrap button so I had one installed at the base of the neck. It cost me $5 and it's a lot more comfortable.

The shorter scale, shallow body, and smaller string gauge produces a clear, bright, clicky tone. It's nice and loud by itself and very versitile pluged in. You don't get the muddy, fat tone of an electric but you can get closer if you EQ it right through your amp. I love the tone because it's different. It's perfect for playing with a pick but I play fingerstyle mostly. At first when I plugged in and cranked it up I had some distortion but I got a feedback buster hole plug for $8 and set the EQ to get rid of distortion. I have no problem now. The only bummer is there is only a handful of string choices. I still have the stock Phosphor strings on it but I might get a set of Elixers next.

The setup was very good. I played it on several occations at the music store before I bought it. I was impressed but didn't know if I would use it enough. I play it more often then I play my electric. It's definitely different playing with light gauge strings. The finish is really good except for a small run in the paint at the base of the neck in back where it meets the body. It's barely noticable.

I bought a nice hardshell case for it and ofton use it to play with a guitar player and drummer. It's and acoustic so naturally it's more fragile. I give it an 8 for that reason. I have never had any problems. If the pickups malfunctioned I think they would be a pain to fix since they are inside the body.

I have never had to deal with Fender. Never had a problem.

I love it. I have owned it for nearly 3 years and I play it almost every day. I play through a Crate practice amp if I am playing along with a CD player. When I play with friends, I have a Crate BX100. I can crank it up without distortion thanks to the Feedback Buster hole cover. You can get a lot of variation with the tone. Sometimes I play it through an envelope filter and it sounds wild. The attack is very sharp. I got a great deal on it so for the same price I would get the Fender again, however, Dean makes a nice Acousic bass for less money retail.

Made in Korea. I believe it's mid scale not a short scale. I own a Hofner that's definitely short scale and the Fender is at least 2 inches longer. I love the black enamel finish although I'm a bit anal about it as it's caused me not to let people borrow it. I kind of don't like that but she's shiny and makes a statement. It's a Juggernaut body with cut-away and the inlay is just enough for me. The tuners are typical off-shore Fender and a bit touchy. The neck is narrow which may seem why it's short scale. Gig bag, strap, finish protectant and cloth included.

I bought it because of the sound. The shop I bought it from had an larger Epiphone that had a real nice warm unplugged sound. The Fender unplugged is a bit shallow in the upper range. It talks well from E-C but loses some ummph on the D and G strings. I have a 200 watt Bassman with chorus but the 29 doesn't behave well when I mess with EQ. The reason I like BG-29 is because it's acoustic/electric, carries the Fender name and absolutely came alive when I plugged her in at the store. Slapping the G string is hard on the bass so I spend time just popping the G. Acoustically it's a unpresuming presence and does just what I want it to. Electronically I sometimes have to dance around the amp, but she still has a beautiful sound. It just kix the Epiphone's tata into the dirt and the other two acoustic/electric weren't even in the same universe. I spent 4 years saving and chosing. I think I made the right choice for the unplugged party in the front room and a practice bass.

The action is a tad high but that doesn't bother me too much. The finish had a slight flaw but so slight that the things I've done to it since make it indistinguishable.

It's been playing live for 3 years now. Although I play in less raucous environs it's held up fine. I would have liked to have had a strap button located at the butt of the neck. Now I have to tie on my strap. It looks goofy to me. I keep an eye on the neck and adjusted it last year after 2.5 years of use. I can rely on the bass and have no qualms about it, excepting playing around a powerful amp setup. The worry about hum and feedback would definitely distract the player.

Didn't deal with Fender. Dealt with a dealer and it wasn't a good mover for him so I'm most sure he was glad I bought the pretty one. Heaven help me if I have to repair it. That would mean something bad and it's an acoustic body. Damage and acoustic guitar don't go well in the same sentence.

I have played off and on for about 27 years. I own a Hofner and played various off brands. I have no qualms about the bass, I love it and I love playing it. If it were stolen...umm...I'd buy a blond top. You know blonds have more fun, I worry too much about the black enamel. I love it because it's light, it's a fine looking guitar, it's unpluggable so I don't wake up the fam and the neighbors. She also has a wonderful warm sound when plugged in. I hate that the D tuning peg moves easily so when I put it in the gig bag it will turn. My favorite feature is that she's acoustic and black. Another likable feature is I can turn down in performance and during practice and pratice my licks while everyone else is talking or thinking over a phrase or line. She compares favorably with other acoustic basses but she's not a players bass. It's a niche product that you'd buy for particular reasons. It isn't durable enough for young players. I compared to Epiphone and two other brands that easily fell out of contention immediately when I plugged them in. The electronics on the Fender are far and above better than the other brands.

Single cut short scale acoustic bass with a fishman transducer bridge.
Truss nut at the bridge area.
Satin wood finish (not sure of type, but its decent)

Made in Korea (mid 90s?)

The fishman eq section has volume, treble, bass, mid, and mid freq sweep. Great for tone shaping, if its plugged in, I prefer to pull the treble down and focus more on low mids and bass and let resonance factor of the hollow body drive out some thick sustaining notes. Watch out for bass resonant feedback (this can happen with any acoustic bass)

Great acoustic sound, loud and projecting, comparible to something like the tacoma acoustic bass, however the shorter scale of this bass makes it fun to play and practice with unplugged. (great for bass players in apartments with thin walls and bass-hating neighbors)

I keep it strung with elixir acoustic bass strings, they hold their tone for a long long long time.

Purchased used from music go round -- new models Ive seen look nice, its available in black or natural color.

The used model I purchased has a small topical dent (7.5mm X 10 mm roughly) but, thats why it was marked as used and priced nicely.

This bass can withstand live playing, though ive never played it standing up as there is no strap buttons on it, I have mixed feelings about drilling into the heel and installing a nut, as that may take away from the structural integrity of the heel.

The bass is about as strong and durable as an acoustic bass can be.

never dealt with fender

Aside from the lack of a strap button on the neck, I love this instrument for practice and impromptu acoustic jams, and the piezo bridge sounds decent when plugged in.

Also, a thumbrest added to it might be nice.

This is a great instrument at a great price new or if you can find a used one, its pretty reasonable for a nice acoustic bass. It is not my main instrument -- but given the chance and the installation of a strap button, I might play it out a bit, when necessary.

If it was stolen, Id probably buy another, used. I might take the plunge and buy a cheap upright instead, but thats a whole other ballgame.

This bass is really loud and holds its own with acoustic guitars. If you've only a couple hundred bucks to spend or just want something to kick around thats much smaller and comfortable than most long scale acoustic basses, then go for it.