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Church Bass

#43
I honestly don't know how much difference the bass will make, depending on your sound system. It's really going to be up to your sound man. He can make your sound go however he wants (again, depending on your system). Me for example, I play a custom made P Bass and a custom made J bass with EMG active pickups in them both and a home made bass with a music man pickup. I also use a sansamp DI and can make any sound I like. But my sound guy always counters what I do on the board and takes the edge off my sound. They all blend nicely, but you can't tell a huge difference on the recording of our music. Ultimately it's what you are most comfortable with IMP
 
#44
Based on your sound preferences I'd say any decent J/J or P/J might cover a lot of ground. Sometimes worship leaders also have a preference (e.g. 5 String) and the music style in your church can also play a role. That said I'd try to play a number of different basses and configurations to narrow it down if I were you.
 
#48
marchone said:
How is a bass for playing in a church different than a bass for playing anywhere else? Maybe not one with Satan stickers on it I could see ............
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Except for the "aesthetic" requirement that you note, there is absolutely nothing special about a bass used in church. A four string Precision will work just fine. As in most other music, what you play is far more important than what you play it on. Some of the graphics and inlays that you see on certain metal and signature basses would be unwelcome at church but truth be told, one of our bassists (not me, honest!) does play a bass with a Badass bridge. ;)

As far as the music that is suitable for an electric bass is concerned, any bass that you like and play well is a great choice for church music. I made the recommendations I made above simply because the OP wanted a versatile bass. The only times I have longed for something special in the way of an instrument are times when the music really seems more suited to a bowed instrument, a double bass or EUB. Some congregational music and a lot of choir music would be better served with a bow. But an electric bass will do quite well enough!

Ken
 
#50
khutch said:
Except for the "aesthetic" requirement that you note, there is absolutely nothing special about a bass used in church. A four string Precision will work just fine. As in most other music, what you play is far more important than what you play it on. Some of the graphics and inlays that you see on certain metal and signature basses would be unwelcome at church but truth be told, one of our bassists (not me, honest!) does play a bass with a Badass bridge. ;)

As far as the music that is suitable for an electric bass is concerned, any bass that you like and play well is a great choice for church music. I made the recommendations I made above simply because the OP wanted a versatile bass. The only times I have longed for something special in the way of an instrument are times when the music really seems more suited to a bowed instrument, a double bass or EUB. Some congregational music and a lot of choir music would be better served with a bow. But an electric bass will do quite well enough!

Ken
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Eventually I may transition to EUB but not anytime soon... I'm gonna get a little more experience under my belt first... I may also try the E-bow in the mean time for songs that would be good for that
 
#55
Rhegedor said:
I'm a huge fan of the big al I tried one out a month ago and it was great. Hard to find a bass that's more versatile I believe you can make it sound like a p bass or a j bass and many other sounds to
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That's what I was thinking, I don't think you could beat its versatility but I wanna shop around before I set my decision in stone...
Thank you all for your input, please keep it coming xD
 
#56
So it's now between the big al SSS jbass and sadowsky... Both the Big Al and Sadowsky seem to cover the J bass tone so I might take that out, stingray is pretty much out (but I may get one at a later time anyway), I've gotten a few Warwick suggestions that I'll look into as well...
 
#58
Use whatever feels right in your hands!
Been pretty much the only bassist at my church for nearly 2 years now... except for when I need a break. (Our fearless leader is quite the bassist and rocks his 90's Peavey Cirrus 5 string). For the first 4 months I used my Ibanez SR prestige (2000 model) 4 string... Then I moved to my awesome bday present being an Ibanez BTB 776... 6 string... While I still feel like I'm adjusting to this massive beast of strings and wood, I'll tell ya, it's made my life a little easier. Our fearless leader tends to make key changes on the fly, to suit the different singing talent we have floating in and out... And the tones I can get out of the BTB are plentiful. We perform a vast variety of material from the standard P&W stuff to older country swing to walk-in music featuring the likes of: Europe, Micheal Jackson, the Police, Alice Cooper (lol... the looks were amazing)... the list goes on and on. So it's a nice swiss army knife for me. Still break out the prestige from time to time cuz it's just sweet to play.
Though, I have to agree with many of the previous posts regarding tone. Your sound man is the key. We have an amazing/powerful sound system...with our weakest link being those who run the board... I am direct: bass>DI>board. The musicians all use IEM, so no amps... We have 3 sound men on rotation. So sometimes I sit in the mix quite well. Other times, I have to boost my preamp and play more aggressively.
 

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