When it comes to acoustics and electro-acoustics guitarists have it easy; there are hundreds of instruments to choose from at virtually any price you want to pay.

If you want an acoustic bass, however, you get the short straw. Although acoustic-bodied bass guitars like the Framus Star Bass and Hofner's Violin Bass have been around for a long time, they are essentially standard electric bass guitars.

They may have thinner, semi-hollow bodies, but they rely totally on the pickups for their sound. They don't bridge the gap between electric bass guitars and the traditional, cumbersome upright bass.

In recent years, however, the choice has got broader and here we evaluate a new model for pure acoustic and on-stage use.

Overview

Built in Canada with a super deep, cutaway body and classic looks this is one very classy design. It has a high-gloss natural finish, and is fully bound to the body and neck, with rosewood fingerboard and bridge.

The bridge pins are black with mother-of-pearl insets and the simple coach lines and rosette help to give this a very clean appearance.

What you can't see is the glass-fibre Griffiths Active Top Brace system that combines all the top braces together.

This allows the top to vibrate as a single unit to improve resonance. Strong and yet light in weight it proves a fine choice.

It's difficult to fully evaluate the instrument balance as it sadly only comes with the jack socket/strap button provided.

Fitting an extra button at the heel of the neck is no problem, but it's an unwanted job for the purchaser in our opinion.

Being full scale it's bound to be neck heavy but this gives the best possible intonation when using a traditional single-saddle bridge.

Thanks to the overall size of the Garrison, the natural acoustic voice of this bass is full and warm and that sound can be reproduced pretty accurately when using the onboard electronics.

The ATE-4 unit provides an expansive four-band equaliser as well as a volume control and has easy power pack access.