Bass for each style

[TrevorR]

I mean, we all have preferences regardless of style and models, but what I'm asking is what bass is more suited for a style of music, instead of a musician.

But I think that by the change of emphasis most folks are saying the question itself is fundamentally flawed. There’s no best bass for a particular genre. That’s why “What’s the best bass for metal?” is a hilarious bass meme here and on every other bass forum! Ah, look, just like that...

I wouldn’t pigeon hole yourself like that. You shouldn’t think “I play this genre so I need this bass”

As a few specific examples... take John Wetton (prog rocker from Uriah Heap, King Crimson and Asia) his two basses of note were an old P bass and a Zon, completely different ends of the bass spectrum.

UK session player Herbie Flowers used the same old Jazz with flats or tapes for everything from easy listening pop, to glam with Bowie and T-Rex, to art rock with Lou Reed, to orchestral rock with Sky and Jeff Wayne, to TV theme music - and everything in between. And of course JPJ used his on a host of 60s pop session dates and on Led Zep’s bluesy proto-metal, hard rock and folky interludes.

Country rock (blending into blue-eyed soul and Yacht Rock)? Tiran Porter of The Doobie Brothers used both a passive P bass and an Alembic. Ditto John McVie of Fleetwood Mac in the stadium folk/rock and singer/songwriter, Buckingham/Nicks years.

And my personal one, the one time I saw Chuck Berry at a festival here in the UK he was using a pickup band (as usual) and the bassist sounded great on his pointy Explorer bass - an Aria ZZB IIRC.

There is a reason a Jazz bass is called a Jazz bass

Yes, because Leo thought that a more complicated 6 string guitar with big pickups might appeal to jazz players and so extend his marketing/sales reach. He was completely wrong, the Jazzmaster appealed to surf guitarists, garage bands and later earnest indie rockers. The Jazz bass was aligned with it and he also hoped it would appeal to a new customer base - he wasn’t quite as wrong on that one given the slap, funk and jazz fusion usage.

 

[ComeHomeShane]

Haven't read the whole thing, but I figure there are as many answers as there are people on talkbass... Which bass I choose also depends on the gig or if I want a specific tone... but here's what I typically stick to:

- EBMM Stingray Special: ska, punk, reggae, dub, anything aggressive.
- Fender P bass: anything under the rock or pop umbrella that's not listed above.
- G&L J bass: jazz, funk.
- Reverend Dub King: whenever I'm playing with acoustic guitars. Something about its buttery tone just works really well paired with acoustic guitars. Plus it's a great bass to play with a light-touch finger style.

- Shane

 

[Cabrodante]

I play in two bands (pop punk) (hip hop funk) with a ibanez tmb 600 and a squier mij p bass

 

[Spacewoman]

P is for Punk.

 

[Bushmaster]

Unless a bass player shows up, and they probably already decided if what you're playing is good enough or not based on their preferences.

The problem then more of is the Jazz Police. The will go on ranting about all those things they think you're plain wring about

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

I agree with most of the others that most basses are not limited to a genre and can cover pretty much everything. To your original question, are there specific instruments best suited for certain genres of music? I would say if you are meaning historically authentic, probably yes (but for most genres, we're probably talking before 80's):

Rock - Precision, Jazz, Rickenbacker
Soul, R&B, Motown - P-Bass
Funk - P-Bass, Jazz, Stingray
Disco - P-Bass, Jazz, Stingray
Country - P-Bass, Jazz, Stingray
Punk - P-Bass, Stingray
Reggae/Ska - Jazz, Steinberger(?), Stingray
Gospel - Active Jazz, MTD, Ken Smith
Hard Rock - Spector
Metal - B.C. Rich, Dingwall, Warwick, Spector, + anything with a pointy body and/or headstock

 

[Element Zero]

The Alex Webster (Cannibal Corpse) and Tom Araya (Slayer) signature basses are both excellent for more mellow styles of music, such as jazz fusion.

See/hear for yourself:

I always laugh at the people who “hurr durr active electronics sound terrible. EMGs sound terrible passive fender is the only way”

 

[dasherf17]

Yes.

Oh, absolutely...paraphrasing a guitarist's quote from years ago, "each guitar has its own voice"...so do many different songs...

 

[Herald Becker]

I am going to use a J bass in a gothic styled metal band, taking its inspiration from Eluveitie and Cellar Darling. I use a StingRay for a heavy rock band. I don't really see a one bass per genre stigma in my playing or instrument line-up. Well, maybe a bit more on the guitar side... Well, no actually, no... I have a Fender Stratocaster that I used for playing metal a long time.

 

[rabidgoodra27]

Yeah, like many have said here, it's not as much the bass as it is the player. I use my Soundgear for literally everything (most of the time)

 

[Krakmann]

Salud!

I have two main axes, a J-M 4-strings and a P-M 4-strings. I only use one of them at a given time (for 1-2 year stretches, then switch them). I use them for everything.

 

[Andy_R]

The only reason I have more than one bass is that no-one has the patience for me to remove frets and change strings between songs.

 

[dasherf17]

I have an old MIK P/J bodied bass with a P-split and a J-bridge pickup. No-name/3-left-side-1-right-side headstock...it growls or is punchy, good for my use. I DO have a Thunderbird carcass and parts coming...can't wait to dig in!
And speaking of Thunderbirds, didn't Tiran Porter (the Doobie Brothers) have one of those, too?

 

[2tek]

Hi guys, just looking to soak up on your expertise: What would you say is the appropriate bass for each music style?
Like P bass for rock (and pretty much anything), J for jazz, funk and reggae, Ibañez or Dean for metal...

I’ve just recently purchased my first non jazz bass. It’s a PJ but I only use the P pickups in it. After playing strictly Hamer USA jazz basses for about 30 years, I dig the P sound for some things. I can use my Hamers for any music style though. Never had a problem with blues, funk, grunge, classic rock, metal, or even country if I’m feeling froggy. The PJ is my new experimental bass, but the jazz will always be my go to.

 

[Peter Hess]

My alembic epic does it for me for anything that comes my way. I just got a squire paranormal jazz bass but that’s my banger bass. It’s just something I like to punk out.

 

[dORSY]

TRBX - Overview - Yamaha - Other European Countries

300 and up are doing everything and beyond...

 

[Fuzzbass]

Hi guys, just looking to soak up on your expertise: What would you say is the appropriate bass for each music style?
Like P bass for rock (and pretty much anything), J for jazz, funk and reggae, Ibañez or Dean for metal...

As others have said, THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR is the bassist's ability to play those styles appropriately. Without that, the instrument becomes irrelevant.

Assuming you can play all those styles well enough: unless your bandmates are overly fussy, you shouldn't worry about what bass goes with what music. Fortunately I've never had fussy bandmates. I regularly play slap-funk on a P-bass... sometimes a P-bass strung with flats. I have used a Modulus Quantum for country/bluegrass.

 

[Fuzzbass]

P.S. Yes, "tone is in the fingers", but that's the most abused cliché because many folks say "tone is ONLY in the fingers", which is laughably false. There's NO WAY that Jaco would have sounded the same on an EB0 strung with flats. He could still be recognized by his style, but his tone would be different (and good luck with those upper harmonics on a mudbucker bass).

So yeah... I'd never say bass doesn't matter at all. But as I said just above, no reason to micromanage P vs. J or whatever.

 

[Vanheusen77]

I think a lot of people listen with their eyes. Especially non bassplayers.

 

[Fred P]

For me, my 2 basses really fit into anything I want (or should I say am able) to play. The Bongo 5 HH is pretty versatile for any modern stuff (even in a crappy amp), and I must say I’m really impressed with my Squier VM Jazz 5, tone- and quality-wise. That one I got second-hand for a really decent price, BTW. I keep it for more vintage stuff. The 2 have rounds on them, never dared to try flats/semi-flats on either one, to this day. Empty bank account definitely cured any GAS (... for now...) and continues to help me find ways to keep feeling satisfied with my only 2! (... then again, for now... mouah-ha-ha !)