This forum looked lonely, so I thought I'd relate my search for an acoustic bass guitar.

Several years ago, I was playing bass regularly with the contemporary Choir at my church. I decided I'd like to own an acoustic bass guitar. However, I didn't want it only to be able to use it plugged in, but also unplugged (say for a living room jam with a few guitars). I also thought it would be great for practicing (no need to fire up an amp).

I played every acoustic bass I could get my hands on, including Martins, Guilds and Taylors. I also tried several different budget acoustic basses. With one notable exception, the unplugged tone of these basses was mediocre to terrible. None of them (save the one) had what I would consider a usable tone. That exception? The Tacoma Thunderchief. Here's a link to a description:

http://www.tacomaguitars.com/products/search.php?partno=0381200721

I'm not sure if the volume would have been adequate for playing with a few guitars, but it had a very nice, full bass tone and reasonable volume. It went for just under $1000 with electronics.

I finally decided to stick with electric basses (I have four of them). They sound just as good (if not better) amplified and it's not that hard to come up with an amp if you need one.

So, what does this have to do with carbon fiber guitars? So far, nothing. However, after I became aware of CA guitars, it occurred to me that carbon fiber would be ideal for acoustic basses. When you hear how much bass and volume can be achieved with the design of the Cargo, it becomes obvious that CF could be used to build a better acoustic bass than is possible with wood. CA dabbled with a bass design, but I don't believe it was ever offered for sale. I would have loved to try one. I know Emerald has one and it would certainly be worth looking into. The offset soundhole Emerald uses certainly makes sense for an acoustic bass.

Bottom line: in my opinion, the two basses worth looking at if you're looking for a good sounding acoustic bass guitar are the Tacoma Thunderchief (not their lower priced one) and the Emerald. I wouldn't even consider any of theothers I've tried unless they were purely for practicing or playing plugged in.