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A bass for a Who tribute?

bassgod76

bassgod76

Garbage bassist, but I love this goofy instrument
Mar 13, 2003
5,329
1,133
South Florida
#1
I have a buddy who is looking to form a Who tribute. He can spend up to $1,000 for a bass that would look appropriate for this gig.

I was thinking either a used P Bass or Thunderbird. Any other suggestions for his budget?
 
#7
#9
Maple fretboard???
JohnEntwhistleSkeletonSuit_zpscfd080f8.jpg
 
#15
My input would be this: for a tribute band, you want a bass that is visually associated with the player by casual to serious fans, but don't think you have to satisfy bass nerds like us. Two problems with The Who: a) long career, so they used lots of different equipment over time, b) The Ox had a million different axes in his arsenal.

gp-jaecoll02.jpg


If it were me, I would resist the urge to be absolutely perfect. Just like props on stage, you want to get "close enough" to trigger the visual memory of movies, photos, and album covers in the minds of fans. So, in other words, you need a playable prop. Or two. Or three.

Some other ideas:

  • Eastwood Stormbird. This one has the non-reverse body but not the Fender-shaped headstock.
  • Dean Metalman 4. Not sure if this is a really giggable bass, but to your casual Who fan, it would "read" like an Ox axe.

For a tribute band, I'd also be looking for basses you could unload easily after the project is over, unless you really got attached to the sound. Take my view with a grain of salt because I believe the following:

  1. People pay far less attention to your gear than you think they do; they are more likely to pay attention to your clothes, stage presence, and the notes you play than the gearhead stuff we care about.
  2. Properly set up, even extremely cheap basses are perfectly giggable. I played a bunch of gigs on under-$200 basses; as long as a good tech gives them a good working over, most basses can get the job done.

There are PLENTY of people who don't believe #1 and #2 above, so factor that in.

--Steve
 
#16
I mainly use my '79 pbass with maple neck for Live at Leeds. I'll run through the overdrive section of a Pigtronix Disnortion into and SVT and 810 cab...or two. :-)
For Quadrophenia I'll usually use my jazz bass or Alembic Epic. Same if were just doing a "hits" show.

Really, who cares? Just get the best tone, put on your Entwistle, and have fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1VsJzg6P9U&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Pay no attention to my screw up at the beginning. ;-) I lost it when it went dark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pxNi4FEWko&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
#18
As someone that has owned a Stormbird I would NOT reccomend it, absolutely a terrible bass, probably the worst instrument I've ever owned. Carlo makes several basses that would certainly be right at home for a Who Tribute and they are priced right as well. Beyound that there are good Thunderbirds out there from Greco, Orville, Epiphone (Elitist or the new Classic) and of course Gibson........

Here's a buddy of mine getting it done right, check the SUNN rig!

 
#19
ko stradivarius said:
I mainly use my '79 pbass with maple neck for Live at Leeds.
For Quadrophenia I'll usually use my jazz bass or Alembic Epic.
Really, who cares? Just get the best tone, put on your Entwistle, and have fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1VsJzg6P9U&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Pay no attention to my screw up at the beginning. ;-) I lost it when it went dark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pxNi4FEWko&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Click to expand...

Well, I think he's going for the Isle of Wight look with the skeleton suit, so...
 

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