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Bass for each style
- Thread starter Bexuga
- Start date
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Play what you want - unless it's something visual, it shouldn't be an issue.
1. Take a look at how many times Townshend and Entwistle changed axes the the years.
2. Tiran Porter used to change basses every album, so he could more easily date photos.
3. On an amateur level, for two decades I played the same bass for rock (originals and covers, all genres), jazz (from big band to small combo), church group, pit band, folk, and bluegrass. Never had a complaint.
1. Take a look at how many times Townshend and Entwistle changed axes the the years.
2. Tiran Porter used to change basses every album, so he could more easily date photos.
3. On an amateur level, for two decades I played the same bass for rock (originals and covers, all genres), jazz (from big band to small combo), church group, pit band, folk, and bluegrass. Never had a complaint.
This is related to the one-bass-to-do-it-all thread, where the idea is to cull your collection down to just one bass that's the best compromise for everything you do. Though in this thread, you're allowed more than one bass 
.
For me, what I find is I could do everything I wanted to do with just my L2000 fretted bass and my Tony Franklin. I have a Jaco Artist also, but it's similar enough in tone to my Tony Franklin that I could let it go if I needed to. But otherwise, just those 3 basses (pic below) would cover everything I would intend to do.
If I were gigging, though, chances are a little above 50% that I'd need a 5 string of some sort.
Fender flats would be on all 3. Right now just the Jaco has flats on it, as I'm too cheap to change strings on the L2K and Tony Franklin. But their roundwounds are fully dead now so they're pretty close to flats in tone.
L
. For me, what I find is I could do everything I wanted to do with just my L2000 fretted bass and my Tony Franklin. I have a Jaco Artist also, but it's similar enough in tone to my Tony Franklin that I could let it go if I needed to. But otherwise, just those 3 basses (pic below) would cover everything I would intend to do.
If I were gigging, though, chances are a little above 50% that I'd need a 5 string of some sort.
Fender flats would be on all 3. Right now just the Jaco has flats on it, as I'm too cheap to change strings on the L2K and Tony Franklin. But their roundwounds are fully dead now so they're pretty close to flats in tone.
L
JeezyMcNuggles
Inactive
- Feb 23, 2018
- 14,723
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- I suck, but nobody really notices
Pj for rock. Active works too.
Pj for metal. Active works too.
Pj for reggea. Active works too.
Pj for funk. Active works too.
Pj for jazz. Active works too.
Pj for country. Active works too.
Pj for gospel. Active works too.
This is related to the one-bass-to-do-it-all thread, where the idea is to cull your collection down to just one bass that's the best compromise for everything you do. Though in this thread, you're allowed more than one bass
For me, what I find is I could do everything I wanted to do with just my L2000 fretted bass and my Tony Franklin. I have a Jaco Artist also, but it's similar enough in tone to my Tony Franklin that I could let it go if I needed to. But otherwise, just those 3 basses (pic below) would cover everything I would intend to do.
If I were gigging, though, chances are a little above 50% that I'd need a 5 string of some sort.
Fender flats would be on all 3. Right now just the Jaco has flats on it, as I'm too cheap to change strings on the L2K and Tony Franklin. But their roundwounds are fully dead now so they're pretty close to flats in tone.
L
View attachment 4166000
Well, not exactly, I mean the opposite. We all know that a nice P (or better yet a PJ) can do almost anything, but I'm more wondering: if you could have a bass for each genre, heck, if you could have a bass for each song.
The configurations I own are P, J and dual humbucker.
The only limitation I ever encountered is when you take the J and want to do some brutal metal with overdrive into fuzz into a distorted amp on the neck pickup soloed.
Apart from that I can make any bass work in any genre. The limit is my clumsy fingers.
The only limitation I ever encountered is when you take the J and want to do some brutal metal with overdrive into fuzz into a distorted amp on the neck pickup soloed.
Apart from that I can make any bass work in any genre. The limit is my clumsy fingers.
Sean has (and brings with him to a recording gig) several types of basses. He's known for playing with a P with flats, and he has an endorsement with Fender, so you see him with a P most of the time, but that's not his only talent.
I can take a P bass, rewire the pickups to parallel, change strings, do a bunch of different things with setup and electrical loading, and give it different vibes. I just changed a set of strings on one of my basses this morning (NOT a P in this case), and it went from "am I going to keep this thing?" to "yeah, that's it!"
Prog on a Rick has everything to do with a bunch of us wanting to be as cool as Chris Squire. Ultimately, we failed, but we looked cool (or at least thought we did) in the attempt.
i would say a Fender bass for anything written before 1980. 80 and beyond it’s doubtful to tell much of a difference thanks to advances in signal processing and production. 40 years ago if you tried to tell me that a Uke with strings that flop like rubber bands on a cigar box could make a credible bass sound I’d would have said you were insane.
Any bass for anything, but I do have preferences.
Jazz/latin jazz: DB
R&B/soul/funk: J or ray
Latin: fretless BG (lotta guys play fretted 5 or 6 string BG for modern salsa, I just prefer fretless)
Rock: P or L-2500
Anything I gotta read: 5- or 6-string
Jazz/latin jazz: DB
R&B/soul/funk: J or ray
Latin: fretless BG (lotta guys play fretted 5 or 6 string BG for modern salsa, I just prefer fretless)
Rock: P or L-2500
Anything I gotta read: 5- or 6-string
I have used a PJ5 for Rock, Classic Rock, Indy-stuff, Country, Jam-band, Singer-Songwriter, Blues and pretty much every genre I've played that doesn't require my Electric Upright. One has stainless, one has flats, both have preamps and there's really nothing I can't cover well with those 2 basses and 3-4 pedals. It's been like this for years.
I try and match the bass and its tonal characteristics to "best" fit the gig and the instrumentation of the group.
For example, ill use a Jazz Bass with a trio, or when i need to accompany an acoustic player, or there is nothing else in the low end. Ill use a P bass for classic rock, country, and/or when there may be an organ stepping on the low end. Ill use a Stingray for more "modern" stuff, or when i really need to cut. None of this is set in stone, different strings and eq can allow me to go one way or the other...but this is a generalization.
Only in the aesthetics.
Don’t assume the instrument you see being played live or on video is the one used on a recording.
Often the visual image on stage is more important than the sound.
Yeah I agree
For creative artistic being we are quite stuck on convention ... something that I never understood... especially post Rock music where the goal was to make music without all the conventions of Classical music and Jazz...
I'm guessing you're young, and weren't part of the music scene before 1980.
You might be suprised that the British invasion guys (Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc.) made their music without Fender basses (they couldn't afford them). Add in Chris Squire (70's on a Rick - Rick sold a LOT of 4001's in the 70's), Geddy (he didn't play Fenders until well AFTER 1980), Jack Bruce (Gibsons) and a few others (Fender didn't sell many basses in the later 1970's - they were poorly built and didn't have points on them), and...I think you'd be surprised how much music was made before 1980 on non-Fender basses.
Oh, and the 1980's were about as Fender free as any decade. People wanted pointy basses and Spandex, and Fender didn't sell either.
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