Bass for Modern Pop?

[buldog5151bass]

Use whatever bass you feel comfortable with. Other than an obvious cosmetic issue (black bass painted with skulls for church), you should be able to get a usable tone from any decent bass.

 

[tvbop]

U cant get a much more modern sound than Durans John Taylor and that was 45 years ago. Anyway, active electrics, rounds will get you there.

 

[Pirate Captain]

 

[sawzalot]

I play in a band like that. The music pretty much demands a 5 string. I played a stingray 5 for decades, then I got a stingray special 5 for this band, which was great. But now I’m really liking my Dingwall combustion for the range of tones and the incredibly clear B string.

 

[jthisdell]

Try rounds on the P Bass

 

[BassicJazzy]

Any bass that you feel comfortable playing, and can play well, will be fine. Unless your metal bass is a giant Satan head with flames, and spikes, it should be fine.

 

[gusrb5]

Not a huge fan of P bass but in this case...you should use P bass imo.

 

[bass player 53]

I remember watching this during Covid and thinking that it’s pretty good. The bass looks like a Fender, from the back, and I’m sure others know more about the bassist and exact instrument.

 

[pepj]

I'd approach this by carefully reviewing the set list and against the way you play.
I love a P Bass in a lot of situations but it won't suit the way I play...
This is because it might be 150% right on one track...but for Covers, you are looking at 30 tracks typically.
This is one big reason I use a Jazz..plus its a 5...
I'd get a quality J5...and develop that P bass mimick deal for certain tracks.

For versatility you want VVT...imv..
Blend is not quite the same.

 

[RattleSnack]

I've seen Dua Lipa with a bassist that uses a Fender PJ. Bruno Marz's bassist uses a P and a J. Can't go wrong with P, J or MM.

+1 on this. Significant part of my covers band repertoire are pop songs from 2000' and 2010' (Lady Gaga, Destiny's Child, Rihanna, Christina Aguilerra, Gwen, Pink...). Four string PJ with multieffect that has octaver and couple of good synth patches, and you're good to go.

 

[Nebadon2000]

Not knowing budget I would consider priced low to high

Yamaha BB 434/5

Sadowsky Metroexpress Modern 4/5

Stingray Special 4HH or 5H

 

[Melik]

Funny that with a background in metal (which means you probably own some sort of extended range, active bass) you're looking to get a new instrument, since the sound aesthetics in modern pop and modern metal are more or less the same

 

[Luckydog]

While I am a long time P-bass lover, I have found over the decades that
I don’t really get very successful results (now) with a flat-strung P playing most “modernish” music. That realization sort of took hold over long period of time, with lots of experimentation with basses, amps, strings, preamps. Even “bright” flats haven’t consistently worked, tho there have been several situational exceptions.

Recording is different story, but live, that combo doesn't work well for me now in current situation. Loud drummer and keys complicates it for me, so I need some roundish high mid punch to poke out of the mix. I’m sure a great sound guy with good ears could carve me out a nice audible space in our busy mix, and soup up the attack envelope so it sounds golden, but for me, it is much easier to use a jazz bass with a good pre (Sadowsky etc), or rounds on a P.

 

[Jack]

I saw the thread title and without any other context I thought 'EBMM ray 5 hh'. Now that I've read the thread I still think that. You can even use it for metal if you ever go back

 

[Dincrest]

+1 on an active 5-string for modern/contemporary pop music. (Or most any kind of music for that matter).

For example, the song "Good 4 U" by Olivia Rodrigo starts out on that low C# (it was recorded using a 5-string bass). Yeah, the song could be played an octave higher, but it doesn't sound as powerful.

 

[GTHintz]

Hi There, this is my first post so I hope i'm in the right section.
So I started playing in a modern pop/dance pop band recently (kinda like Dua Lipa, Miley Cyrus Lady Gaga) after many years playing Metal, and i'm considering buying a new bass for the occasion, but I'm struggling to decide which one. I've considered a Pbass, the warm tone surely serves the purpose, but it feels a little too vintage for this kind of stuff, I know I could get a Jazz and just close the neck pickup, and open it just when I need a little more of attack on the string but i'm not sure. A good compromise would be a PJ to get the split coil and still get an active electronic, but PJs are not really my thing. So i'm kinda stuck and can't decide. What do you think? If you have any suggestion i'm open to it, thank you guys

Every hipster sound engineer and studio owner has p basses all over pop music. With that said I think it’s best to buck the trend and get something that you like that inspires you to play. I had a p bass and honestly I was bored. You can get anything you want for pop and I could name 10 basses right now that would do pop and so much more. I’d use whatever you were using for metal. A nice Warwick streamer would do it for me. If I was going to gig pop I’d probably use my streamer or my Ibanez sr505. Both are really nice for having a deep low end presence and sounds good in everything I try. My schecter or mtd z5 would work too. I like them for rock but honestly aside from Nick Shinzielos most mtd players are jamming gospel, r&b, country, jazz but it’s versatile for anything really.

 

[chris_b]

In reality any/all basses would do the job, but that doesn't matter because you have to find the bass that makes you smile. I played in a few top 40 bands and my Laklands 55-02 and 55-94 sounded just right. Check 'em out.

These days I just use a Mike Lull PJ5, with TI flats, for everything. In 15 years I haven't met a band that the Lull couldn't own.

 

[chris_b]

IMO when you are playing covers, it doesn't matter what bass the original player used. Find the bass that works for you and just play everything on it. You're playing the songs and it's your sound that matters.

 

[pbass2]

While I am a long time P-bass lover, I have found over the decades that
I don’t really get very successful results (now) with a flat-strung P playing most “modernish” music. That realization sort of took hold over long period of time, with lots of experimentation with basses, amps, strings, preamps. Even “bright” flats haven’t consistently worked, tho there have been several situational exceptions.

Recording is different story, but live, that combo doesn't work well for me now in current situation. Loud drummer and keys complicates it for me, so I need some roundish high mid punch to poke out of the mix. I’m sure a great sound guy with good ears could carve me out a nice audible space in our busy mix, and soup up the attack envelope so it sounds golden, but for me, it is much easier to use a jazz bass with a good pre (Sadowsky etc), or rounds on a P.

I was a pretty staunch P-always w flats guy for a looooong time (after years of having all kinds of basses I landed on that sort of retro-grouch mentality in the mid-90's and stayed that way until pretty recently). But between neo soul work and modern country stuff, man, I just realized I needed rounds (and in particular a Sadowsky PJ5 with nickel rounds ticks all the boxes). I still have more basses w flats than rounds, but the roundwound ones--P's, J's, Fivers, are simply more versatile and get most of the work. My roundwound basses can sound perfectly mellow and thumpy in a mix if I need them to, or they can be massaged to jump out more. There's just more there to work with. If I can only have one, it's gonna have rounds.

 

[Ric Vice]

I have a 59 Precision and it’s great, however it’s not a really flexible bass that can change up on the fly like a Lakland 55-02, Sadowsky Metro Express, or Sterling just to name a few choices.