- Jun 16, 2010
- 56
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- Endorsing Artist: Aguilar Amplification, dAddario, Kala uBass
yeah man. still doing stuff for her in the studio...not so much live anymore unless she really needs me to jump in
Tell Loren I said hey!
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Country players..
- Thread starter deltadave
- Start date
yeah man. still doing stuff for her in the studio...not so much live anymore unless she really needs me to jump in
Tell Loren I said hey!
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
- Jan 21, 2006
- 16,223
- 7,614
- 76
- Disclosures
- fEARful Kool-Aid dispensing liberal academic card-carrying union member Musicians Local 72-147
To the OP: here is a rig I have used on a country tour—mostly medium sized Honky-Tonks in New Mexico and N. Dakota. There was PA support (note Countryman DI on the floor). We traveled with our own PA, and it was huge.
I traveled with 3 basses: a Sadowsky 4-string P/J (see above), a Lakland 55-01D 5-string (below), and a Fender Jazz. The latter was a backup that I carried in the Van for practicing as we traveled. The Lakland was great, and the artist liked it, but he actually prefered my Sadowsky. Why? Not the number of strings, not the look, not the type of pickups, simply the tone in the mix. He actually asked me to try the Lakland for several nights. In all honesty, I felt more secure on the 4-string because it was what I had learned his shows on—though I am a regular 5-string player.
Last Fall, when opening for Pat Green as a sub with Backseat Molly (great band, BTW), I needed a lot more stage volume, and though I have upgraded it a bit, here is my "big rig." It also assumes PA support (pardon my messy music library). Here you can also see the Lakland 5-string:
I traveled with 3 basses: a Sadowsky 4-string P/J (see above), a Lakland 55-01D 5-string (below), and a Fender Jazz. The latter was a backup that I carried in the Van for practicing as we traveled. The Lakland was great, and the artist liked it, but he actually prefered my Sadowsky. Why? Not the number of strings, not the look, not the type of pickups, simply the tone in the mix. He actually asked me to try the Lakland for several nights. In all honesty, I felt more secure on the 4-string because it was what I had learned his shows on—though I am a regular 5-string player.
Last Fall, when opening for Pat Green as a sub with Backseat Molly (great band, BTW), I needed a lot more stage volume, and though I have upgraded it a bit, here is my "big rig." It also assumes PA support (pardon my messy music library). Here you can also see the Lakland 5-string:
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
- Jan 21, 2006
- 16,223
- 7,614
- 76
- Disclosures
- fEARful Kool-Aid dispensing liberal academic card-carrying union member Musicians Local 72-147
As a side-note in the 5 vs 4 silliness, here are two pictures of a favorite bass owned and used by Kevin "Swine" Grantt, perhaps best known for his work with Brad Paisley. Yes, it is a Sadowsky 5-string Jazz bass.
I can contribute very little to the conversation regarding whether or not Nashville or recording producers in general are open- or close-minded - my recording experience is pretty pitiful. However, the OP I think is looking at a country cover band, I don't think I saw any indication that he will be recording or even in Nashville...
OP, you'll do fine, play what you want. You can't go wrong with a Fender Jazz or Precision for a country gig, whether it is 4 or 5 string - however, either way I recommend something with a rosewood fretboard and a tortoise shell or pearloid pickguard!
Don't forget the boots, the shirt, the hat and the jeans - all essentials as well.
OP, you'll do fine, play what you want. You can't go wrong with a Fender Jazz or Precision for a country gig, whether it is 4 or 5 string - however, either way I recommend something with a rosewood fretboard and a tortoise shell or pearloid pickguard!
Don't forget the boots, the shirt, the hat and the jeans - all essentials as well.
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
- Jan 21, 2006
- 16,223
- 7,614
- 76
- Disclosures
- fEARful Kool-Aid dispensing liberal academic card-carrying union member Musicians Local 72-147
I can contribute very little to the conversation regarding whether or not Nashville or recording producers in general are open- or close-minded - my recording experience is pretty pitiful. However, the OP I think is looking at a country cover band, I don't think I saw any indication that he will be recording or even in Nashville...
OP, you'll do fine, play what you want. You can't go wrong with a Fender Jazz or Precision for a country gig, whether it is 4 or 5 string - however, either way I recommend something with a rosewood fretboard and a tortoise shell or pearloid pickguard!
Don't forget the boots, the shirt, the hat and the jeans - all essentials as well.
+1
Good advice Bill, but ya forgot that if yer in Texas, ya needs a bandana!
Coupla things...
To understand preference for and/or prejudice against fives - in Nashville at least - you have to understand the (at least) two schools of thought. And, of course, there are exceptions to every rule.
The first fives we started seeing here in Nashville (late 80s) were Steinbergers. EMG HB pickups, and REAL narrow string spacing. They sounded extremely pop. That didn't work for many of the producers or artists at the time, but for some, who were trying to sound more pop, it did. At the time, there were the neo-trad artists, like Randy Travis, Ricky Skaggs, etc., who were HUGE. And they wanted vintage sounds. Fives had been making inroads into pop music, largely because with CDs becoming more common and stereo equipment improving, pop producers and artists were recording things with lower notes. Broader range.
So the five was symbolic of a pop SENSIBILITY. Sure, you could get the desired sounds on a five (some fives, anyway), but a five made a statement; "I'm into the pop stuff where all the extended range, big-pillow sounds are happening." It said something about your musical leanings as a player. There were lots of people coming to Nashville at the time from Berklee, Miami, and other schools, and most of them got here not understanding how to keep it simple and play in a real country pocket. The prejudice - when I first saw it - grew out of a nervousness about five-string players being popsters first, sometimes even holding the trad stuff in low regard even as they took the gigs and cashed the paychecks.
Slowly, this began to change. You started seeing session guys with fives. And the music changed. Note that country is only a portion of what's recorded here. Most Praise & Worship was recorded here at the time, a ton of Contemporary Christian, and lots of rock & roll (going all the way back to Buddy Holly, who cut more than half of his stuff at the Quonset Hut on 16th). So guys who were doing a lot of different kinds of work started getting fives, as those other styles were using lower, pillow-ey sounds as well.
In the 90s, artists started cutting stuff that sounded even more pop. The jump-the-shark moment was Shania Twain's "Woman In Me" CD. Huge, almost orchestral range. With its success, everyone started clamoring to get in on the payday, and cut pop-ish stuff. Fives ruled. At that time, if you DIDN'T walk in with a five, they assumed you didn't get what they were doing.
All that has evolved into two schools of thought in mainstream country and an offshoot (Americana) that, with any luck, will overcome them both in time. You have the more pop oriented acts (Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, etc.), and the backlash/trad/"country" stuff (Blake Shelton, Josh Turner, etc.). In truth, fives and fours are largely interchangeable (allowing for range) within those camps, but there is still a knee-jerk reaction in some quarters to being seen as "going pop," and a five is sometimes symbolic of that in some people's minds.
All that said, I would never walk into a studio here without a Fender four. For one, I know I can get a sound that works on almost any tune with it. As for symbolism, it does say to everyone there that I get the basics, and whatever I do on top of that is probably going to be accepted.
BTW, Kevin Grantt (yes, two "t"s), shown in a post above with his Sadowsky 5JJ, plays most of Brad Paisley's tracks with early 60s Fender Jazz basses. I've been at the sessions. Kevin's cartage company shows up with two coffins, containing eight or nine basses, and on those records he mostly chooses one of his (many) older Jazz basses. I've seen him cut with Josh Turner as well, and he used his well-worn Music Man 5 on a couple tracks, the Sad. 5 on another, and an early Jazz on the rest. The five in the picture in this thread was stolen from Kevin several years ago, and through a really tangled turn of events, he got it back about three years ago. He loves the bass for lots of reasons, but it's not his most-frequently-used bass in the studio by a long shot.
Michael Rhodes has come up here as well. Michael's a good friend. I bought his first Sadowsky five (maple FB, JJ, VTC) from him a few years ago. Like most session heavies, he has a LOT of basses. Think 30 or so. In the last 3 or 4 years, his go-to bass for MOST things is a Sadowsky RW PJ5. But he grew into that being his everyday bass. He also uses 4s a lot, almost always Sadowsky these days. I saw him on an Oz Noy set last year; started out with an early (EARLY) Fender Jazz, nearly threw it into a stand after the first tune, and went to one of his Sadowsky 4 JJs for the rest of the set.
Happened upon Brignardello at two sessions and one live gig in the last year. Both sessions: tracking with a Sadowsky 4 JJ. In the rack, a Fender Jazz, Fender P, and a five of some kind. Live gig (Grooveyard with John Cowan): All Sadowsky 4JJ, all night.
Dave Roe was the first to turn me onto the lowered-tuning thing. Lots of guys ARE using it here, often with heavy-gauge flats. I've tuned one bass down and will try it for the first time on a session next week. It really does bring a whole new, broader thing to the track, from what I've heard. Hope some of that's interesting.
To understand preference for and/or prejudice against fives - in Nashville at least - you have to understand the (at least) two schools of thought. And, of course, there are exceptions to every rule.
The first fives we started seeing here in Nashville (late 80s) were Steinbergers. EMG HB pickups, and REAL narrow string spacing. They sounded extremely pop. That didn't work for many of the producers or artists at the time, but for some, who were trying to sound more pop, it did. At the time, there were the neo-trad artists, like Randy Travis, Ricky Skaggs, etc., who were HUGE. And they wanted vintage sounds. Fives had been making inroads into pop music, largely because with CDs becoming more common and stereo equipment improving, pop producers and artists were recording things with lower notes. Broader range.
So the five was symbolic of a pop SENSIBILITY. Sure, you could get the desired sounds on a five (some fives, anyway), but a five made a statement; "I'm into the pop stuff where all the extended range, big-pillow sounds are happening." It said something about your musical leanings as a player. There were lots of people coming to Nashville at the time from Berklee, Miami, and other schools, and most of them got here not understanding how to keep it simple and play in a real country pocket. The prejudice - when I first saw it - grew out of a nervousness about five-string players being popsters first, sometimes even holding the trad stuff in low regard even as they took the gigs and cashed the paychecks.
Slowly, this began to change. You started seeing session guys with fives. And the music changed. Note that country is only a portion of what's recorded here. Most Praise & Worship was recorded here at the time, a ton of Contemporary Christian, and lots of rock & roll (going all the way back to Buddy Holly, who cut more than half of his stuff at the Quonset Hut on 16th). So guys who were doing a lot of different kinds of work started getting fives, as those other styles were using lower, pillow-ey sounds as well.
In the 90s, artists started cutting stuff that sounded even more pop. The jump-the-shark moment was Shania Twain's "Woman In Me" CD. Huge, almost orchestral range. With its success, everyone started clamoring to get in on the payday, and cut pop-ish stuff. Fives ruled. At that time, if you DIDN'T walk in with a five, they assumed you didn't get what they were doing.
All that has evolved into two schools of thought in mainstream country and an offshoot (Americana) that, with any luck, will overcome them both in time. You have the more pop oriented acts (Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, etc.), and the backlash/trad/"country" stuff (Blake Shelton, Josh Turner, etc.). In truth, fives and fours are largely interchangeable (allowing for range) within those camps, but there is still a knee-jerk reaction in some quarters to being seen as "going pop," and a five is sometimes symbolic of that in some people's minds.
All that said, I would never walk into a studio here without a Fender four. For one, I know I can get a sound that works on almost any tune with it. As for symbolism, it does say to everyone there that I get the basics, and whatever I do on top of that is probably going to be accepted.
BTW, Kevin Grantt (yes, two "t"s), shown in a post above with his Sadowsky 5JJ, plays most of Brad Paisley's tracks with early 60s Fender Jazz basses. I've been at the sessions. Kevin's cartage company shows up with two coffins, containing eight or nine basses, and on those records he mostly chooses one of his (many) older Jazz basses. I've seen him cut with Josh Turner as well, and he used his well-worn Music Man 5 on a couple tracks, the Sad. 5 on another, and an early Jazz on the rest. The five in the picture in this thread was stolen from Kevin several years ago, and through a really tangled turn of events, he got it back about three years ago. He loves the bass for lots of reasons, but it's not his most-frequently-used bass in the studio by a long shot.
Michael Rhodes has come up here as well. Michael's a good friend. I bought his first Sadowsky five (maple FB, JJ, VTC) from him a few years ago. Like most session heavies, he has a LOT of basses. Think 30 or so. In the last 3 or 4 years, his go-to bass for MOST things is a Sadowsky RW PJ5. But he grew into that being his everyday bass. He also uses 4s a lot, almost always Sadowsky these days. I saw him on an Oz Noy set last year; started out with an early (EARLY) Fender Jazz, nearly threw it into a stand after the first tune, and went to one of his Sadowsky 4 JJs for the rest of the set.
Happened upon Brignardello at two sessions and one live gig in the last year. Both sessions: tracking with a Sadowsky 4 JJ. In the rack, a Fender Jazz, Fender P, and a five of some kind. Live gig (Grooveyard with John Cowan): All Sadowsky 4JJ, all night.
Dave Roe was the first to turn me onto the lowered-tuning thing. Lots of guys ARE using it here, often with heavy-gauge flats. I've tuned one bass down and will try it for the first time on a session next week. It really does bring a whole new, broader thing to the track, from what I've heard. Hope some of that's interesting.
Although I don't play with a large major lable act, I could have if I wanted to. Thanks Tully!, but I make more money playing in the tri-state area for whom ever needs me and plus I have a kid that I don't want to not see. I do and have played with some decent bands. One of which the singer came in 2nd place at the most recent Colgate Country showdown. But I play both 4's and 5's, depended on the situation. In my neck of the woods, I've been playing a 5 way before the masses. So the singers in my area dig if you play a 5. Recently 5's are becoming more popular around here. We're quite a few years behind Nashville up here!
+1
Good advice Bill, but ya forgot that if yer in Texas, ya needs a bandana!
I think I saw that guy in Vegas!
A couple of quick questions:
1. As for effects, do any of you use them? I can see the need for maybe a bit of dirt on the more modern stuff, but not really sure about anything else.
2. Not sure if this is the right place, but for those who tune down, how do you approach playing in a different tuning? I find myself kind of transposing in my head, ie. if a song is in Bb, I'll pretend that it's in C and play it that way. Is there a better way of thinking this through or is it just something you have to get used to?
1. As for effects, do any of you use them? I can see the need for maybe a bit of dirt on the more modern stuff, but not really sure about anything else.
2. Not sure if this is the right place, but for those who tune down, how do you approach playing in a different tuning? I find myself kind of transposing in my head, ie. if a song is in Bb, I'll pretend that it's in C and play it that way. Is there a better way of thinking this through or is it just something you have to get used to?
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
- Jan 21, 2006
- 16,223
- 7,614
- 76
- Disclosures
- fEARful Kool-Aid dispensing liberal academic card-carrying union member Musicians Local 72-147
On last Fall's tour, I used a small amount of (real) tube drive and compression via my ART tube channel. It was pretty much just because I wanted a little warmth and fattening. The Artist didn't seem to notice.
I never tune down anymore, I use a 5er if I have to "go low." When I used to tune down, I transposed, and I practiced a lot.
I never tune down anymore, I use a 5er if I have to "go low." When I used to tune down, I transposed, and I practiced a lot.
Current setup is a GK 1001RB but I'm moving up to a Fusion 550. (not that the RB doesn't do a good job, but i'm looking for a "warmer" tone that only tubes can give you.) I am running either 1 GK 4x10 NEO cab for smaller clubs and 2 GK 4x10 NEO cabs for larger/outdoor events. I also run a dbx noise gate and dbx rackmount compressor through the effects loop. I also use nothing but 5r's with passive electronics. I play mostly in the 2nd possition so the "B" string really makes it easy. A lot of newer music (Jason Aldean, Trace Atkins, Josh Turner, Troy Olsen, Jake Owens, Billy Currington, all need the low "B" string. If you ever have the chance to go to Nashville and go to the clubs up and down the strip you'll notice that just about every club has a GK settup as a house amp and most bassists are playing 5 string Jazz basses.
Good luck.
Good luck.
I normally play reggae but I just joined a country band. It's not country like I thought, but sorta like rock-country if that makes sense, lol. Anywho I got compliments on both my bass (Fretless Precesion with flats), and my tone (Very Aston Barrett like).
Stingray 4, Peavey T40, and Spector 5 are what I use. I run them through an MXR BassDI (M80) and split a signal into the amp--which for now is an old Peavey keyboard amp.
A few of the songs require drop D on the Ray and T40, but it's not that many.
A few of the songs require drop D on the Ray and T40, but it's not that many.
I use a Tech 21 VT Bass pedal and a Korg tuner. The only other effect I've used is a Boss octave pedal on just a bit to fatten things up on "Save a horse, Ride a cowboy." I despise that song but its popular.
I've downtuned a whole step once in a while and at first I played the same pattern just a step up. Lately I've tried to take advantage of the open strings and trying parts in different spots on the neck. Another interesting thing to try is downtune and use a capo.
I've downtuned a whole step once in a while and at first I played the same pattern just a step up. Lately I've tried to take advantage of the open strings and trying parts in different spots on the neck. Another interesting thing to try is downtune and use a capo.
i like a 5 string for the simple fact of being prepared. you may not need that low B string all the time but its nice to have. most of your modern day country songs are either in D or G. a few are in F and either E or A so its always nice to have the lower ranges there when you need them....just my opinion though.
rockstarbassist
Inactive
Man this is making my head hurt! Who knew it was so tough to play country with the right toanez??
+1 to all of this.
I've been playing exclusively in DGCF for about three years now. I think it really does help to fatten your tone up in a way that is different from just changing your eq. The bass responds differently, and to me feels more vibrant and less "sproingy," if that makes any sense. I also do this for my 5-string basses, strung ADGCF, so it's not really a range thing - I just prefer the sound and feel of downtuned strings.
I had been flirting with downtuning before I moved to nashville, and during my first month there I had the opportunity to be a fly-on-the-wall at a demo session that Mike Brignardello was playing. During that session, he used both standard tuning and lowered tunings (and used the same bass for both), and the change in the "thickness" of the bass sound was very apparent. I've since learned that downtuning is much more pervasive in Nashville then I first realized.
