Hello, everyone. I need a bass for marching band. I need something with good tone quality and variety, but at a decent price, because it will undoubtedly get a few scratches. Any recommendations?
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Bass for school's marching band
- Thread starter SiriusXMOctane
- Start date
My high schools' marching band had a bass player. Someone's job was push a dolly with an amp and boat battery. I don't have a suggestion, but I'm curious how your marching band is amplifying it?
When I was in HS my senior year they switched me from tuba to electric bass. They made a freshman drummer push the cart that carried the amp. I used my own bass.
I would look into a price point Soundgear by Ibanez, or a Squier, the budget line of Fender's. I think you should get a reasonably decent bass for $200 to $300 new, even cheaper used.
I would look into a price point Soundgear by Ibanez, or a Squier, the budget line of Fender's. I think you should get a reasonably decent bass for $200 to $300 new, even cheaper used.
I was in a marching band when I was in high school. Granted, I was playing tenor saxophone, but one thing I know is that playing a bass of any kind in that scenario is unrealistic. Electrics are hard to power. Acoustics won't project over the rest of the instruments, and let's not even think of an upright. My advice would be to go the route of percussion.
When you say ‘Marching Band’, to what type of marching band are you referring?
- Field show (sometimes called Half-time show) marching band in which the majority of the band marches on a football field, performing visual maneuvers and effects along with music while a smaller ensemble, called the pit (which normally includes percussion and can include other rhythm section-type instruments, such as bass guitar), stand on the front sidelines, performing music along with the marching unit on the field.
- Traditional parade band in which members march in a uniform and unchanging block, military style, maintaining forward motion while playing (in many cases traditional march) music in a parade.
- Show parade band in which members march in a parade, but perform visual maneuvers and effects akin to a field show performance at various times throughout the parade route.
There may be others…
- Field show (sometimes called Half-time show) marching band in which the majority of the band marches on a football field, performing visual maneuvers and effects along with music while a smaller ensemble, called the pit (which normally includes percussion and can include other rhythm section-type instruments, such as bass guitar), stand on the front sidelines, performing music along with the marching unit on the field.
- Traditional parade band in which members march in a uniform and unchanging block, military style, maintaining forward motion while playing (in many cases traditional march) music in a parade.
- Show parade band in which members march in a parade, but perform visual maneuvers and effects akin to a field show performance at various times throughout the parade route.
There may be others…
Hi,
Yes, I would go with something really cheap, a Squire or similar for two or three hundred dollars max.
During the early 70s when I was in marching band (playing sousaphone) there was a competing school that used a bass guitar in their marching band. I felt sorry for the guys who were pushing that amp cart around. It was huge. As I recall it looked like a full 8x10 cab and it was loud. You had no trouble hearing it above the band. It wasn't a huge marching band, less than 100 but at least 70 or 80.
The bassist didn't really "march" as much as he did the musician's stroll.
He always stayed in place during their football halftime shows. I don't know what kind of battery they were using. They might've had two people pushing the amp cart.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
Yes, I would go with something really cheap, a Squire or similar for two or three hundred dollars max.
During the early 70s when I was in marching band (playing sousaphone) there was a competing school that used a bass guitar in their marching band. I felt sorry for the guys who were pushing that amp cart around. It was huge. As I recall it looked like a full 8x10 cab and it was loud. You had no trouble hearing it above the band. It wasn't a huge marching band, less than 100 but at least 70 or 80.
The bassist didn't really "march" as much as he did the musician's stroll.
He always stayed in place during their football halftime shows. I don't know what kind of battery they were using. They might've had two people pushing the amp cart.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
When I was a band director I bought a Squier VM jazz bass for the school. Beautiful! A band parent made a car battery arrangement for us. The bassist played in the stands on the sideline during field shows.
The problem with going the percussion route is that I'm a trombonist. I have no training with anything I have to strike. I'm only asking at the request of my director, who thinks it would be a good idea to have an electric bass player.
That poor, poor cello.
Sirius, this may seem like an irrelevant question, but bear with me; what are the colors of the marching band?
We all can throw out ideas for decent, maybe even awesome, budget-concious basses. But when it's SHOWTIME, a little esthetic symmetry could help.
Visuals aside, if you want tone and variety, I'd say go with something on the Jazzy or P/J side. There are tons of colors and configurations in the Squier Vintage Modified line, even if I think the Classic Vibe has an edge in the sonic-department.
I was a sax player too. I don't under stand how an electric bass in a marching band would be logical.
Aaaand I work in truck repair shops for a living. So having seen battery explosions, would be a big red flag letting kids cart batteries around.
Aaaand I work in truck repair shops for a living. So having seen battery explosions, would be a big red flag letting kids cart batteries around.
My high school marching band asked me to play electric bass a few years back. We had a Peavey keyboard amp on a hand truck with a Duracell power inverter strapped to the top of it powering the amp. I played my beater Yamaha BB414, and a poor freshman drummer pushed the monstrosity around. It wasn't at all pretty, but I was loud enough to be heard over the rest of the band
I did this back in the late 70's/early 80's at my HS. They found some guy to push the cart carrying the amp and I played my Grabber.
Son switched to bass senior year and the BSEE in me asked him to do it wireless....so he did. An old, beat-to-heck Peavey TKO 65(?) worked fine(I could hear it all the way down at the end zone concession stand. Pics of amp and result below. The Stein makes marching a LOT easier. A Sennheiser 172 system covered the entire field AND worked from the top of the stands with the amp on the ground level. I checked with their engineers and then we did field testing to make sure.
Stein off of eBay or a Rondo bass.
Stein off of eBay or a Rondo bass.
Attachments
Especially if there are horses ahead of you!
If you're in a marching unit in a parade, you can be sure that there will be horses ahead of you. Whoever thought a mounted color guard would look nice leading a parade, also probably thought white shoes were a good look for marching bands.
Get a SX bass from Rondomusic.com They are great players and if you get rained on you won't have to worry about ruining an expensive instrument. Band competitions usually don't stop when it starts raining, or when it's freezing. I worked the pit crew for several years while my son and daughter were in marching band.
You can get a cart for an amp that will hold a car battery and power inverter or have a creative band parent build one. Relying on an extension cord on the field for an amp is problematic and possibly dangerous. An ungrounded cord can kill you on a wet field.
Something as simple as a hand cart with a box to hold the battery and converter and a strap to keep the amp from falling off the cart is really all you need.
Rick B.
You can get a cart for an amp that will hold a car battery and power inverter or have a creative band parent build one. Relying on an extension cord on the field for an amp is problematic and possibly dangerous. An ungrounded cord can kill you on a wet field.
Something as simple as a hand cart with a box to hold the battery and converter and a strap to keep the amp from falling off the cart is really all you need.
Rick B.
