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Best Church Bass

#24
Swampman Cory said:
Reinforcing the fact that any good bass would be the ideal 'church bass'. If it sounds good with the tunes, then you're set. Probably don't want to scare them off with a fretless, but I'm sure someone will chime in and say the contrary.
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That'd be me. I play fretless (five string) almost 100% of the time and no one has ever been scared off. About twice a year I bring in my BTB405 fretted just because I feel like doing something different that day, then I go right back to the fretless. Does not seem to matter with our worship team and I don't think the congregation really even notices.
 
#27
While most that have posted here seem to favor 5ers for church playing, I've never found it necessary and I've been playing nearly every Sunday morning for several years now. Lately I've been favoring my MIA Peavey Millenium, before I got it I mostly used my Warwick Corvette Standard, both are 4-bangers.

I'd probably recommend something with active electronics, it's nice to have that extra flexibility if you're playing on a house amp like I usually do. I EQ my bass to get the sound I'm looking for, and leave the amp flat so other players can do their thing.
 
#28
I currently play my short scale, 6 string, tuned EADGBE :), but when I do fill in on bass I use my Peavey TL5 and in the past I have used: a Peavey Foundation 5 (which the current main bass player owns and plays), a four string Fbass, a 6 string washburn, a fretless pbass, a four string Ibanez SR, a five string Ibanez SR, a four string Ibanez Musician and a washburn status bass. Wow, I have owned a bunch more basses than I thought. My point being, the bass doesn't matter, the playing does.

lowsound
 
#30
I play this at church:
stuff013-1.jpg


Your sound can be eq'd differently for the mix. Just get what you like. I personally don't have any money to buy a new bass, so I'm stuck with what I have whether I like it or not.
 
#31
Someone at the church I used to go to played a red J bass with this pickguard:

Link Removed

They had her volume as low as they could go and they just told her to play the root note and sustain it until another was needed.

When I played at that church in high school I played an Ibanez SR885. I was kicked out because I was drawing attention away from the guitarist and was "distracting from prayer and the meaning of the songs." Which is funny because everyone would compliment how good I sounded after the services except for the guitarist/singer who was later fired for being a pompous jerk.
 
#33
I've been playing for my church for 20 years now, and I've done fine with my Fender P and J basses, all four stringers, including one fretless J that I bring out every so often for something different. It's about your ability to be able to play the music first, and then how you fit in the mix, depending on your situation.
 
#34
SoonerMatt said:
Someone at the church I used to go to played a red J bass with this pickguard:

Link Removed

They had her volume as low as they could go and they just told her to play the root note and sustain it until another was needed.

When I played at that church in high school I played an Ibanez SR885. I was kicked out because I was drawing attention away from the guitarist and was "distracting from prayer and the meaning of the songs." Which is funny because everyone would compliment how good I sounded after the services except for the guitarist/singer who was later fired for being a pompous jerk.
Click to expand...

Black Crowes, yeah baby!
 
#35
I use a Fender jazz with active EMGs. The engineer loves it . I get regularly get compliments on how it sounds and technique alone allows me a good deal of tonal variation.It's sits great in the mix and is a fun bass to play.

I make the 4 string work for every thing we do(mostly modern P&W)


That being said, I just bought a Yamaha TRB 1005 5 string for the choir/orchestra stuff as they seem to fond of the key of E flat. I did not NEED it but I wanted to able to play one.

I run direct to FOH and use IEM's with an Aviom system
 
#37
+1 to the Lakland 55-02/94 comments. I've played bass in church for 15 years. I love the variety - you can go from a latin jazz vibe on a Tommy Walker tune to pseudo-punk over-driven eighth notes to a ballad that calls for a ton of dynamic range. Of the basses I've played over the years, the Lakland 55-02 has proven the most flexible for one instrument. I also agree that a five string is more of a must-have than a nice-to-have. Lots of Eb and D, and you really need to get down to the low end of things when you are likely to be playing with so many instruments (organ, keys, two guitars, drums, percussion).
 
#38
I've used an Ibanez SR400, a 5-string Traben Array, and for the last 2 months.... A Wishbass Fantasy!!

Of all of them, though, the Wishbass sits in the mix the best.

I was getting a lot of flack for the Traben being too flashy. Go figure. Ever SEE a Wishbass Fantasy?
 
#39
In reality almost ANY bass can work well. Versatility and a 'pleasant-sounding' quality bass with good fundamentals and clear (but not overpowering mids) will do great.

It all really depends on the kind of music you'll play, what the band needs, the kind of band you have, taking into consideration what the worship leader likes to hear (take this with a grain of salt!), the kind of amp you have, how you EQ it, the size of your sanctuary, etc etc etc :)

IMO, the most important is if your playing will glorify God and that your heart is totally focused on him.
 

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