Good instrument to replace bass guitar if I can't use amplification?
I play drums in a 4-piece band. We want to try busking, but the issue is that in my city, we are not allowed to use any type of electrical amplification. I would play cajon, and the two guitarists would play acoustic guitars, but the bassist is left with nothing! We know that a normal acoustic bass isn't nearly loud enough, and an upright bass or a guitarron is too expensive and/or cumbersome. Our bassist is pretty good at a lot of different instruments, so we're open to something new. It doesn't even necessarily need to be bassy; it just needs to fill the hole that's left by leaving out the bass. I've thought about giving him my melodica, which is the most likely option, but I want ideas from people who know more about instruments. We don't want to have him just play a third guitar cuz that's boring. We're on kind of a tight budget, but if it's something we can find used for cheaper, we're open to it. Feel free to think of something weird; it'd be nice to have a funny gimmick instrument. I'd rather it not be percussion, I've got that under control. We have to stay strictly acoustic and preferably smaller than a guitarron.