Essential bass tones for a cover band

[bwl124]

I play in a classic rock/middle of the road cover band and I would like to set my Bass PodXT/Variax up to have a half dozen or so essential tones to cover most songs.

When rehearsing, I like trying different tones during the song to see which one sounds best. Usually, one of the settings will rise above the others as being the most suitable.

I have three that I am using now. A Precision/Ampeg 8x10 setting, a Beatles setting and one called Memphis Bottom, which has the treble rolled off and sounds quite muddy. It doesn’t sound good on it’s own but sits perfectly in the mix with big round notes.

What other essential tones might I add?

[bongomania]

At some point you may be asked to cover an 80's pop/rock tune, which may call for a synthy sound; or a funk tune, which may call for an envelope filter.

[assboglin]

I'd guess it depends on what you're covering, and whether you're trying to cop the sounds from the record or you're trying to take an old song in a new direction. Depending, I would recommend either researching what gear was used on the original recordings and setting up the appropriate patches on your POD or experimenting and deciding on some tones you like to use.

[MrLenny]

I use 3 settings. Thick round bass-Reggae, Motown Neck P.U.
Medium punch, Classic Rock Both P.U.
Midrange for Rock with a pick Mostly bridge P.U. with some neck.
No effects. Trio has guitar synthesizer.
Quartet has 2 guitars with Line 6.
Covers 90% of every gig. Synth sounds would be best with a sound effects pedal IMO.