• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Bassists at progressive Christian churches...pix!

#41
I play a wasburn bantam xb400 for the last 13 yrs in church i was broke and it was all i could afford at the time, but i am now in the process of buying and switching to a stingray 5 HH, i play through an swr 700 watt head and a Goliath 3 cab, we have a very rock almost u2ish, coldplay type sound, i play in vegas at," The church at south las vegas", It is Pastor Benny Perez's Church.
 
#44
but little did we know that the guy leading the band would start rambling about the presence of God in the middle of the song, so we had to repeat the verse and chorus figures a bajillion times before he came back in and we hit the bridge. song clocked in at just over 11 minutes.
Click to expand...

I'm just going from just what I have read here in your post. But if the band/song leader sincerely feels the move of the spirit and the need to speak to the congregation about the presence of God you should respect that.

Playing worship music in church is to prepare the people to worship God, to bring them into the Holy of Holies - the presence of God. So if the spirit leads the music/song leader to continue repeating the same verses and choruses - by all means do it. The music isn't about you or what you want to play or how bored you are with a peace of music. It is about preparing peoples hearts for worship. Worship pleases God and God blesses those who sincerely worship Him.

And to give you some insight. If a mediocre musician is sensitine to the move of the spirit and follows the heart of God in a service - that individual can minister to many more hearts than a top rated musician playing just to play or because he is getting paided for it.

The ego of a musician has no place during a service where the presence of God is moving and touching lives. Sure it is nice to be know for being a good bassist, etc. But all of that should go out the door when God moves.

God also moves in ways that are not convinent for us and our interests. God moves when his timing is right. A person can and will be punished for intentionally quenching the spirit when God is moving. Just keep that in mind.

Music is nice to have in church services, but God doesn't even need the music if He is ready to move and the musician are not. All need to strive to be humble before God.

In a service where the presence of God is REALLY heavy you may not even be able to stand on your feet. You would probably litterly be on your face on the floor, because that is the only way you can stand to be in His presence.
 
#46
My Lakland 44-01 through the church's SWR Workingman's 15 sounds right nice. The bass plays nice and sounds great with that amp. I have been playing at a friends church for several months now, filling in when they need me, and have really been enjoying it. I have had very few gigs that are as rewarding as this one.
l_4dd71d9489f2318da63bf2f5373cf71b.png
 
#47
I usually play my sax in church but occasionally I fill in on bass. I have used a Carvin 5 string, a P- bass, a G&L L- 2000, a Geddy Lee jazz and a MIM Fender 5 string. We are in a school cafeteria with poor acoustics so they have the bass DI into the board. We use in ear monitors without any stage monitors. It's all about God, not the equipment.
 
#50
Every once in a while I attend the Jazz Worship at the Old South Church here in Boston, the dude there (Doug Rich) plays a real nice red Pedulla MVP 6 string through an SWR 1x12 combo. It's a real small gathering, the band is Bass, Piano, Sax. Great stuff.
 
#51
PastorofMuppets, . . . it looks like you are all just levatating in that picture [of you all jumping]. Nice shot!

From what I can tell, most people are using some sort of bass that has a more "youthful" appearance. Very few of what I would call "high end jazz type basses" being used. Exotic woods and such.

Cerb, your handmade 4 string fretless looks a lot like my handmade 5 string fretless:

ForWarmothFront.jpg


I have no idea if this picture will show up or not.
 
#52
No pics of me in action, but I usually play my Epiphone Viola at church... Every time I grab my other bass, I just feel like the Epi would fit better... and it sounds great. The new pastor leads the music and plays guitar & keyboard... he has a real "eagles" thing going, so a lot of the stuff we play gets into that groove... (Amzing Grace a la Peaceful Easy Feeling, etc...)

And PS: Pastor of Muppets is the best SN I have ever heard.
 
#55
I play at the Crystal Cathedral's C3 in Garden Grove, CA on Sundays with the Kyle Steven Band.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

The main bass for this gig is my 72 jazz bass. Also in rotation is my Fbass AC5 and in the next few weeks my new angel will be hitting the stage.

We use in ear monitors at our main venue, the Freed Theater. When we play the main cathedral, I usually bring a small setup, WWU and Schroeder Mini 12+, for stage monitoring.
 
#56
I play a Schecter Elite-4 through a Zoom 908II to an Ashdown MAG210-T. It's a fairly simple setup, with a lot of tonal flexability but still sending a good clean signal to the board. Not that I actually need to run it to the board :D
 
#57
K-frog, I'm sure you're right about a decent DI with tone-shaping/distortion, and it's great that we have an amp there at all... The amp just has no definition (1x15, no horn/tweeter) so it works for a tubby, thumpy tone (makes a Pbass with rounds sound like a Pbass with flats) but not for a more modern, defined tone. And it actually sounds really good cranked up to around halfway, but that's way, way too loud for our church!

Steve
 
#58
I use my Lakland 55-94 amber (see my avatar) with TI flatsmost of time, but also a Brice 6 string (natural) with rounds and an NS Design WAV4 with the stock strings replaced by Obligatos for more "classical" moments at Christmas & Easter. All go straight to the board through a Radial Bassbone. No effects. In-ear monitors -- no on-stage sound for the guitars or drums except through wedges for the string & horn players.
 
#60
I'm using a MTD 535 Ash Quill Maple Top Wenge/Wenge, Sadowsky MV5 '59 Burst Maple/Maple, Carvin AC50F Fretless. SWR cabs and Gallien Kruger 1001 or SWR SM-900 heads. These basses just sound great, everything from motown/Gospel thump to smooth Jazz and Rock, these are covering the bases very nicely! The Fretless is very, very warm with tons of Mwah...
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back