noob question about playing with two different basses

jonp9576 · #1 01-21-2009, 05:22 PM

so i am a complete noob. i started playing bass about a year ago.
my friend left his band and said here is a bass, your now in a band.

any way, i found a good deal on an ibanez iceman bass and i've been playing it for the past year.

the other day i decided i wanted a different bass for a backup and for playing drop tuned songs so i dont have to tune on the fly.

my question is, the new dean is much louder(active pickups) than the ibanez. this would not be a problem for shows where there is no house sound, but for our bigger gigs, i am not in control of my volume, the sound guy is.

should it be on him to control my volume, or should i use my vol control on the guitar and do it that way.

any other ideas. i know i am not the only one who plays one bass with active and one passive. am i?

sonic assassin · #2 01-21-2009, 06:02 PM

you'll likely have to engage a pad or switch inputs on your amp, so it shouldnt be that big of a difference. if its a couple decibels, the FOH guy can handle it. might want to give him a heads up as to WHEN you plan to change basses so hes prepared.

im sure he will understand. shouldnt be any problem at all.

jonp9576 · #3 01-21-2009, 09:42 PM

thanks for the input. i figure i'll let him know, and we can sound check both basses so he knows right where to go.
i would only be switching for drop tuned songs. we tend to put them together in a set, so its only one switch any way

jonp9576 · #4 01-22-2009, 02:57 PM

is there a pedal that can run two volumes for me, or something like that? if is there a setting on the smp i can use? should i just put new pickups in my ibanez?

Shindig · #5 01-24-2009, 07:42 AM

You can also pickup a Raven Labs MDB-1. I allows adjusting the volume for 3 basses. It's small and helps buffer your tone.
Raven doesn't make them any more but they do show up for sale on this forum.
Good luck!

Shindig