Advice on a rig for country gig

[Fred in Vegas]

I would appreciate some advice from my bass colleagues on a rig for my 5-string Ken Smith BSR-B that will give me a tight, fat sound for a country gig.

I currently have a couple of GK MB150s (1 combo and 1 that's head only), a GK 112MBX cabinet, a 15" Bag End speaker cabinet, and a 15" Bag End speaker in a 20-year old Sonic MicroMini 15 cabinet. I've been mostly playing upright on jazz gigs (duos to big bands, small clubs to show rooms and theaters) and with my Fishman Platinum EQ pre-amp, I get great sound for virtually any venue by mixing and matching this combination of components.

I've done some blues gigs on my old 4-string Peavey Dyna-bass with the MB150 driving both Bag End speakers - not the best but it gets the job done. For this country gig, however, besides not enough power, I'm not getting a tight enough, fat enough sound even with adding a Presonus compressor that I borrowed from a friend with a recording studio.

At the moment, price is a major consideration. Is it possible to get something for $800-$1000 or am I dreaming? Any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

[MNAirHead]

You noted a ton of gear -- not sure what you mean by Country.. is this Old Time, Classic, Outlaw, Red Dirt, the new watered down rockish stuff.. who's tone are you trying to cop?

Sounds like there's a ton of unnecessary gear being thrown at this.

Overall (without knowing more) a Peavey Milleneium (or some other higher fi) + tapes. Will be crisp enough for a good attack and sonicly appropriate to stay out of the way of your band's sweet spot foot print..

Much of this is setting the tone and eq from 30 feet away to get out of the sonic foot print of the rest of the band. Gets slightly less interesting if you have Steels, Keys, Acoustics and tenor vocalists to stay away from.

Without knowing more.. less gear.. EQ settings, possibly tapes.. and not trying to "cut through" will get it done for most country genres... if you must buy an amp.. stuff like a Peavey TNT, MarkIV-Vii are kind of the bread and butter of country history.

I've known guys to play a Roland 150 combo, cheap Pbass copy and the right touch to sound killer... I've also known guys to play a botique with bergs who sounded horrid.

Tim

[DanRJBrasil]

having the tone that you want in your mind is the first step to find what you're looking for , there's a lot of not so expansive options , especially if you buy it from a previous owner.
how much power do you need, can you carry only light amps or weight is a big prob?

[NathanTbass]

My first thing I would tell you (from living in Nashville and doing lots of country gigs) would be to buy a Pbass and a really good DI. There you go...Done...thats the sound of country.
However, if you are wanting some stage volume, look into aguilar's smaller cabs. The 1x12 cabs and the like are great cause you retain the low end and get great punch at the same time, without blowing everyone away with volume.
I think most of what you are looking for though is going to come from your hands and your bass that you use...thus i would recommend using a P for that classic country sound (doesnt matter if its old-time, classic, outlaw etc. its all a pbass) You wouldn't take a knife to a gun fight, so make sure you take a gun...

[BrickBatMansion]

Originally Posted by NathanTbass

i would recommend using a P for that classic country sound (doesnt matter if its old-time, classic, outlaw etc. its all a pbass) You wouldn't take a knife to a gun fight, so make sure you take a gun...

Well said!

[Troutdog]

I saw an outlaw/Texas swing country band a few weeks ago. The bass player (a pro country player over 30 years with some major acts) was using simply a Squier CV Jazz through a GK 700RB and GK 4x10. No effects, same bass all night. Sounded great!

[LJ Michaels]

GK 400RB, 1 15" speaker cab, That's what I've been using for 25 years.
Always get comps on my tone.

[ninepoundjammer]

You should be able to get a very passable tone out of the amps/cabs you list -- with the right bass. Ken Smith 5 doesn't scream country to me.

Can't go wrong with a Fender.

[MNAirHead]

Originally Posted by ninepoundjammer

You should be able to get a very passable tone out of the amps/cabs you list -- with the right bass. Ken Smith 5 doesn't scream country to me.

Can't go wrong with a Fender.

Could with a string change to remove some overtones.

[BassMaster4s]

During my trip to Nashville almost every band I saw doing country or southern rock had a bassplayer using a GK 700RB-II. Amazingly, about half of those had a GK Neo 4x12 behind them as well. All in all, GK is a good bet, at least for the head.

[perkidan]

I played country since 82, and the last 15 years or so I have used mostly Eden gear. Right now I have a time traveler head and two of their 112 cabs. Sounds great and portable. I use a Lakland 55-02 deluxe for my ax.

[Munjibunga]

When I went to Fan Fair in Nashville a few years ago, I didn't see a single P Bass. Almost all of the backup bassists were using Stingray 5s or Lakland 55-94s.

[countrybass007]

I use Orange gear with my vintage country band. Lots of Merle and Waylon tunes, with maximum pedal steel, so I keep my bass sounding deep, but bright. If that makes sense. The band likes lots of driving bass, but it's important that it's not muddy or too mid-range sounding. I would think, with a bit of tweaking, your rig would work just fine. I use a wide variety of basses, and just adjust the tone accordingly. My Fender '52 Precision is probably the most "old style" sounding bass I use.

[naturalkinds]

Last time I was in Nashville, I saw two Sadowsky 5s and one Fender Jazz in the three shows I went to. Saw one GK MB150, one Aguilar AG500SC into a single DB112 cabinet, and one guy going DI.

[Fred in Vegas]

Major thanks you to all that posted here. After consulting some local bass colleagues and some manufacturers, I decided to use my 4-string Peavey Dynabass with passive Bartolinis while I look for a good deal on a Fender Jazz. Needing more power and, at this particular point in time, major bang for the buck, I decided to go with a Sansamp Bass Driver DI and a Carvin BX500 driving my Bag End cabinet (or cabinets, depending on venue). $399 for the Carvin on sale and $199 for the Sansamp. Oh, and I think I have a line on a barely used 5-string Fender Jazz Deluxe for $450-$500. I think I did pretty good.

[will33]

You did good. The blessing of playing country is that the other instruments are all played (mostly) pretty clean. That gives you a good space in the mix to sit and be heard without needing the usual huge bottom or cutting mids or incredible volume it takes to cut through distorted guitars. You should sit well with the drums, be below the other instruments and have a big presence all without being obnoxiously loud. Stop playing for 4 beats and you'll realize what a big spectrum of sound you're filling all the while not being overbearing.

[dcr]

Well, I used a Pedulla MVP5 into a Carvin B1500 and Epifani UL2-610 on my country gig last week But I'e also used a Dynabass 5 and a Peavey Mark IV or Mark VI with a Peavey 2x15.

As long as its not an ultra-modern tone just about anything will work.

Bang for the buck will be Carvin and Peavey.



dcr

[BigOldHarry]

Uh, I don't see why the gear you have now won't do the trick. I toured with at CW several years ago using a Ken Lawrence 5 string and my current amp (Epifani cabs /Ashdown head) - - Hardly gear that screams "CW"... Sounded fine.

[Rimshot]

I used to play in a country band that did the Merle, Travis, Willie type stuff and a few Pure Prairie and NGDB kinda things.

P-Bass (clone) into a old Sunn head driving Peavey cabs did the trick for me. I later swapped heads to an Acoustic 360, still good.

So basically +1 on the P-Bass and Peavey IMHO

[will33]

+1 on using a P-bass and rolling the tone down a ways, not off but down a ways. As long as you've got a rig that has decent bottom/lowmids, whatever it is, you'll be fine.