Different Genres - Same or Different Gear for Each?

[Downunderwonder]

3 hours ago, bass_dinger said:

Different instruments ??  I don't even have a different setting on the bass's tone, volume and balance knobs!  The amp is set flat too. 

 

I thought that it was all in the fingers, muting, note length, and where and how one plucks.     

 

Fascist much?

 

The better I get the less I need to twist knobs to get what what I am wanting.

 

There is a helluva lot of tone just in the fingers fo' shizzle.

[uk_lefty]

I've recently left my band of 5 years and joined another. I've gone from standard pub rock covers, where a jazz or p bass sounded right and the Stingray was a little too much, to now doing "pop goes rock". The new band have really thought about rocking up pop songs, i.e. they're not just using a bit of distortion and shouting the lyrics, there's a bit more songcraft. My Stingray is just perfect for this band, and I am encouraged to use effects, that's the biggest change. In the old band there was too much in the same frequencies and too much distorted guitar for anything but a polite clean bass tone, but now the guitarist loves the Helix SVT Beast pre set, the drummer loves the full punchy sound of the Stingray, and the singer likes it when I use fuzz or even wah in the right places. Because these guys gig more frequently than the last lot I've upgraded my cabs too. 

 

Sadly my headless Status/ Washburn doesn't have a place in this band, nor my five string fretless. My dimarzio loaded PJ bitsa with flats on will be my backup bass. If I dare take it out the house my Jack Casady could do something in this band too.

[gjones]

As I've got older I've realised that a decent P bass can play any gig with any band.

 

I tried to resist but but I'm sorry.......it's true.

Edited November 12, 2021 by gjones

[Cato]

I reckon it's one of those entirely personal things where until you've tried it your'e not really going to know whether different gear for each band is going to work better for your particular situation or not.

[neepheid]

58 minutes ago, gjones said:

As I've got older I've realised that a decent P bass can play any gig with any band.

 

I tried to resist but but I'm sorry.......it's true.

 

It can, but that doesn't automatically mean it should.  As long as that distinction is made, you'll be ok.

[SumOne]

I'm asking myself the same question - basically to justify buying new stuff! 

 

I suppose it depends how different the genres are but for me it seems more to do with strings and setup rather than actual Bass. (I'm finding that high action with Tapewounds is great for Reggae, not so good for slap though, so ideally I'd have Basses set up for both - but they could both be identical J Basses). 

 

I've got a Helix with effects and amp sims, clean amp, and a cab with tweeter (that can be turned off) so that covers any genre okay. 

[fretmeister]

23 hours ago, fretmeister said:

I write rock and funk stuff but I play in a big band.

 

Same amp and cab but with different amp settings.

 

I play whatever bass I fancy on the day. Over the last few weeks it's been my Ibby EHB or my Sandberg TT4, both with roundwounds, but we've now got a new set list that includes older classics from the 1920s so this weekend I'm going to dig out the Precision with the ancient TI flats on it and see how that goes.

 

Even though the P bass is a relatively clunky old thing today it sounded particularly good with the older tunes (Basin Street Blues and that sort of stuff) but the amp did need a tweak from my usual. Mostly 12 noon on the controls but with a bass cut to stop it getting boomy, and a twist of the Character control (It's a Tech21) to get a bit more mids.

 

Lovely!

 

[tauzero]

On 12/11/2021 at 20:37, gjones said:

As I've got older I've realised that a decent P bass can play any gig with any band.

 

I tried to resist but but I'm sorry.......it's true.

 

Funnily enough, I've realised exactly the same thing about a 5-string fretless.

[Jonesy]

I use 2 completely different tones for the 2 bands I'm in, so I have a few different setups.

 

Grungy noise band = horrible clanky mess, plenty of hi gain, driven solid state, distortion and bright round wounds.

 

Blues band = smooth buttery fatness with occasional tubey overdrive and flats.

 

I use the same head and cab for both, with a lot of the difference coming from pedals and strings. If the 2 bands were similar sounding then I'd probably get away with sharing gear, but I don't think it's doable.

 

We'll, I tell myself all of this anyway so I can hoard more gear 😁

[Rich]

Soul/pop/party band: Sire V7 5 string, Shuker 5 string.

Ska band: "skabass" (modified J) 4 string, Westone Thunder 1A 4 string.

All basses have Elixir rounds.

Same rig and FX board for both bands. Amp models in the FX do much of the tone shaping.

I used to use the V7 for the ska band, but the two 4 stringers just sound... well... angrier

 

On 12/11/2021 at 14:22, Drax said:

Typically - also have rack at home with variety of J / P / MM / Flat / Rounds / Fretless to cover every occasion, but they mainly serve to trap dust. 
 

I have a similar rack that does exactly the same thing

[SonnyBassPlayer]

I play various genres and own different basses, this is how I face it.

My bigger concern is tuning since I have 4 bands in standard, one in drop-D and one in Eb std.

 

My main bass is a mexi P with upgrades which I try to play in most projects. I use it for shoegaze, alt-rock and pop basically with the same sound: rounds, pick, light overdrive. I just close the tone a bit for alt-rock since it's acoustic and the pop band. I have a small pedalboard in fron of the amp which i use mostly on the shoegaze band.

I could use the same bass in a fourth project which is a trash punk duo but I built a custom bass for that just for the heck of it.

Another alt-rock acoustic duo plays in Eb so I use a second P bass, a CV 60s from 2019 setup as closely as the main one.

The latest band I joined plays modern alt-rock full band this time, and plays in drop-D for which I use a CV 70s Squier Jazz.

 

At the end of the day I'd just play the P bass all the way around but I dislike messing with the tuning, expecially owning more instruments. I will just detune the main P bass for the drop-D band but only for live gigs, I keep on rehearsing and studying on the Jazz.

As far as the amps go, I use my ABM500 and GK CX210 cabinet for all full band gigs with almost the same settings and a Fender Rumble 100 combo for "acoustic" duo gigs. I just like having my tone as a sort of signature and as far as today has gone it has fit all my bills. 

Edited November 17, 2021 by SonnyBassPlayer

[Paul S]

My approach is fairly straight forward these days after many years of shenanigans. 

Bass > tuner > TC Spectradrive > pa (or powered pa speaker if with another band)

That gives me a bit of EQ shaping, bit of compression, bit of drive then take that sound with me wherever I go.

Other than that I have the tone control and right hand position, pick/no pick.

[Newfoundfreedom]

I suppose it depends on your level of professionalism and whether or not you're doing covers and trying to directly emulate a specific band or sound. 

 

For normal weekend warrior pub bands I think it's rather pointless and just an excuse to buy more gear. 

 

Not that there's anything wrong with that. 😆

 

 

[SumOne]

On 12/11/2021 at 20:37, gjones said:

As I've got older I've realised that a decent P bass can play any gig with any band.

 

I tried to resist but but I'm sorry.......it's true.

I keep hearing similar comments and have never owned a P Bass so it's tempting to get one to see if it applies to me.

 

Perhaps incorrectly, I assume that a P is ideal for soul/motown and most rock and punk stuff and perhaps for general pop stuff, it's dependable with good low-mid thump and you can't really get a bad tone out of it. However, they are rarely seen used for Reggae/dub, and aren't the 'go-to' Bass for slap, and they don't seem to be popular for down-tuned metal type stuff.....seeing as those are the three genres I tend to play the most I'm not sure a P Bass is for me, it seems to be one of those things Bass players probably should own at some point though so is an itch I'll need to scratch! 

Edited November 17, 2021 by SumOne

[gjones]

6 minutes ago, SumOne said:

I keep hearing similar comments and have never owned a P Bass so it's tempting to get one to see if it applies to me.

 

Perhaps incorrectly, I assume that a P is ideal for soul/motown and most rock and punk stuff and perhaps for general pop stuff, it's dependable with good low-mid thump and you can't really get a bad tone out of it. However, they are rarely seen used for Reggae/dub, and aren't the 'go-to' Bass for slap, and they don't seem to be popular for down-tuned metal type stuff.....seeing as those are the three genres I tend to play the most I'm not sure a P Bass is for me, it seems to be one of those things Bass players probably should own at some point though so is an itch I'll need to scratch! 

 

I should add that a P bass is great for the music I play, which is rock, pop, blues and country.

 

If you're in a metal band or playing slap, it might not quite be what the doctor ordered.

[SumOne]

24 minutes ago, gjones said:

 

I should add that a P bass is great for the music I play, which is rock, pop, blues and country.

 

If you're in a metal band or playing slap, it might not quite be what the doctor ordered.

 

Yeah, perhaps not my cuppa. It's not going to stop me trying though!

[chris_b]

4 hours ago, gjones said:

I should add that a P bass is great for the music I play, which is rock, pop, blues and country.

If you're in a metal band or playing slap, it might not quite be what the doctor ordered.

 

My P bass has been fine with all those genres, plus Americana, Folk, Reggae, Ska, Soul, top 40 pop covers and original bands.

 

Freddie Washington played, Forget Me Nots, one of the most notable slap riffs, on a P bass.

 

We all have our favourites, but IMO you can play anything on any bass. Music isn't related to instruments.

Edited November 17, 2021 by chris_b

[MacDaddy]

When I was playing in a covers band and a metal band, I used the same basses, just different FX.

The basses stayed the same but amp or DI would change depending on the size of the gig.

[StickyDBRmf]

I showed up for an audition w/ a fretless P bass that had the epoxy removed from the maple neck and roundwound strings. Afterwards, they said, "You'll do." 

I think we were making up our own genre, at the time.

 

[Geek99]

I just take a p bass - it handles everything