Country players..

[rockstarbassist]

Nice I will check them out when I get home and YT isn't blocked!

 

[bassist4dalord]

Hey guys I'm letting you know I'm playing with little big town tonight on Jimmy Kimmel if you can catch it. P Bass C#F#BE. I hope it sounds good.

I saw "Kiss Goodbye". Watched on my school's crap TV, so I didn't hear any bass. I'll watch it on YouTube with my headphones. Looked like a fun gig!

 

[JohnThomasson]

Hey Steve
D'Addario nickel mediums. Maybe medium light. Saddles are raised just a bit but not crazy high.
I forgot to let you know I played a show on upright at Eddie's Attic in Decateur on Sunday. I'll be sure to let you know next time.

John

 

[hennessybass]

From Austin, TX. Played more than a few "country" gigs, and seen a hell of a lot more than that...

Let me preface by saying that "country" seem to be subjective. Taylor Swift (or any one of many interchangeable names) is a heavily produced pop artist, influenced by country. I guess, depending if you are actually playing country music vs. pop music that may effect your rig choices, but...

IMHO... You DO NOT need a 5 string for country, and you do not need any particular rig for country.

Country music is about one thing... (clue: it's not your bass rig). In country music, the song is king! You are there for one thing only - to make the song sound good. Country music is not about personal expression. Get a tone that works with the rest of the instrumentation in the band, and play to support the song. The more simple (in terms of rig and playing) the better.

Think about how the nashvill system works... the songwriter is king. There are producers, engineers, and sidemen. Everyone in Nashville has a distinct role that they play... you are a sideman. Make the song and the band sound good with simple lines that provide a straight rhythm and a clear tonal foundation. That is all.

 

[The Butler]

Hey Steve
D'Addario nickel mediums. Maybe medium light. Saddles are raised just a bit but not crazy high.
I forgot to let you know I played a show on upright at Eddie's Attic in Decateur on Sunday. I'll be sure to let you know next time.

John

John,
Please do. My wife & I just went to dinner the other night at Brick Store Pub right around the corner from Eddie's Attic. Who were you there with?
Steve

 

[DavidE]

The Aldean tunes you've listed, She's Country and Hicktown, are in D flat.

Not when we play them. ;-) Can you imagine the dead air while a whole band tunes down a 1/2 step? Not gonna happen. Our singers kill them in drop D just fine.

 

[bassbully]

Hey Steve
D'Addario nickel mediums. Maybe medium light. Saddles are raised just a bit but not crazy high.
I forgot to let you know I played a show on upright at Eddie's Attic in Decateur on Sunday. I'll be sure to let you know next time.

John

Very nice! Great music love the band.

 

[DavidE]

Not sure exactly what Jimmie Lee uses, but he does like to tune down and sometimes even capo (so I've heard). I have one bass tuned to DGCF and one C#F#BE with Little Big Town. BTW, we are playing on Jimmy Kimmel Wednesday and I'll be at C#F#BE that night. I really ride the low C# on their new single A Kiss Goodbye and I hope that doesn't sound like A$# on TV. I've done Kimmel before and hated my bass sound that last time I did it.

We just added Little White Church to our set list. Love it except it's hard to clap and get back to the bass on time... ;-)

 

[rockstarbassist]

Not when we play them. ;-) Can you imagine the dead air while a whole band tunes down a 1/2 step? Not gonna happen. Our singers kill them in drop D just fine.

It takes you more than about 10 seconds (if that) to tune half-step? man. Maybe y'all should practice some lol. Do your vocal mics quit working during this time too?

 

[svtb15]

Hey John, How is that beautiful Sonic Blue -ish J bass doing?

I have been in Austin alot the past few months. coming through Nashville in 2 weeks... I need to hook you up with my producer friend in Nashville.
Kirk

I've heard that Mike is usually taking two 4 string jazz basses and two 4 string precisions to sessions now. I heard that from a drummer friend of mine that has done some sessions with him. That might have just been his flavor of the month.

Jimmie Lee Sloas uses tuned down 4 strings and sometimes uses a capo so he always has open strings for the key. He play's on all of the Little Big Town stuff (and just about everything else), so I have gotten to really know his playing. Lots of guys use 5 string basses but you should use your best judgement if you are going for a gig here in Nashville. There is a bit of backlash to the 5 string bass/ Paul Reed Smith guitar thing in some circles. None of this matters outside of Nashville, but it is happening here.

 

[DavidE]

It takes you more than about 10 seconds (if that) to tune half-step? man. Maybe y'all should practice some lol. Do your vocal mics quit working during this time too?

10 seconds to retune 6 strings? The lead electric player, the acoustic player, (not sure if the female singer is playing guitar on these), the bass, and I can't remember if our keyboard/guitar player is playing guitar or keys on this. It's ridiculous. Just play it in drop D and there's no break and there's there's one string to tune down for the electric player and I hit my Hipshot. And there's no retuning for everyone after the song.

 

[DavidE]

It takes you more than about 10 seconds (if that) to tune half-step? man. Maybe y'all should practice some lol. Do your vocal mics quit working during this time too?

Of course if you're just talking about tuning the low E down to D, we do that and it takes maybe 10 seconds for the lead guitar player to do that. I flip a lever.

 

[svtb15]

+1 to the passive 4 string..
I was doing a coutry session in texas recently.. Pulled out the alleva coppolo passive 4 string to show to my engineer friend... the artist said, man im glad you didnt pull out a 5 string.... The 5er was in my gig bag that i was going to use that day.. but i had to show off the 4 to my buddy first.
Hey the artist is who is paying me... so i just well enough alone and went with it... All was great.

Those are all older clips, 2-3+ years old and with the older artists. The last time I saw Michael Rhodes and the players play he was using a 4 string p/j Sadowsky. There are definitely tons of people playing 5 string basses, but it is becoming less common and Nashville artists are always trying to be more "authentic" . Nathan and I are just telling you what we see as Nashville guys playing with National acts and it doesn't mean anything outside of that world. Play whatever you want but I would show up to an audition in Nashville with at least one passive four string.

 

[rockstarbassist]

+1 to the passive 4 string..
I was doing a coutry session in texas recently.. Pulled out the alleva coppolo passive 4 string to show to my engineer friend... the artist said, man im glad you didnt pull out a 5 string.... The 5er was in my gig bag that i was going to use that day.. but i had to show off the 4 to my buddy first.
Hey the artist is who is paying me... so i just well enough alone and went with it... All was great.

LOL did you ask him why he was so terrified of the low B? Man maybe I'm glad I don't run in these circles as much as I like playing some of this stuff live in cover acts. The fact that you could lose a recording session or not get call backs for simply having an extra string is mind-boggling. I mean it's not like it's a requirement to use that string if your 5'er is your fave ax in the first place.
I play everything on my NS5, even though I only use the B on about 1/3 of our tunes.
I know it's not in-studio, but the last cover country gig I did I got in part b/c of how good my bass sounded (had a late 90's Modulus Q5 w/ a chechen fretboard and Mesa rig) compared to some of the other guys and just a Fender 4 and small Ampeg combo, according to the band anyway... Our full time sound guy was a bassist too and always pumped me in the mix b/c of my tone.

 

[rockstarbassist]

10 seconds to retune 6 strings? The lead electric player, the acoustic player, (not sure if the female singer is playing guitar on these), the bass, and I can't remember if our keyboard/guitar player is playing guitar or keys on this. It's ridiculous. Just play it in drop D and there's no break and there's there's one string to tune down for the electric player and I hit my Hipshot. And there's no retuning for everyone after the song.

Haha I'm just givin' ya a hard time . I understand what you mean. I guess that's true if you're already in E standard going down to C# is a bit of a hassle and def not worth for just 1/2 songs having a whole extra guitar.

 

[JohnThomasson]

We just added Little White Church to our set list. Love it except it's hard to clap and get back to the bass on time... ;-)

That's great. I stopped trying to fit in the claps on that song. Kimberly and Karen look much better doing it. Plus we use a track that has a drum loop and hand claps from the record. Are you using any effects on the breakdown section? I use a fulltone bass drive there but it didn't work as well on the p bass as it does on my jazz.

John

 

[JohnThomasson]

Hey John, How is that beautiful Sonic Blue -ish J bass doing?

I have been in Austin alot the past few months. coming through Nashville in 2 weeks... I need to hook you up with my producer friend in Nashville.
Kirk

It's my main bass. I'll own it the rest of my life. Im so glad it survived the flood. That thing is a tank. Fender really knows how to make a working man's bass. That p bass i was playing was also under water. I sent you a PM about getting together in Nashville or Dallas if it works out.

J

 

[svtb15]

Thanks John, talk soon.. have a great chritsmas and holiday season with your family.

It's my main bass. I'll own it the rest of my life. Im so glad it survived the flood. That thing is a tank. Fender really knows how to make a working man's bass. That p bass i was playing was also under water. I sent you a PM about getting together in Nashville or Dallas if it works out.

J

 

[svtb15]

no sir.. Just kept my mouth shut,, and went with the flow..
Worked out great and the check cleared.. its all good then..

LOL did you ask him why he was so terrified of the low B? Man maybe I'm glad I don't run in these circles as much as I like playing some of this stuff live in cover acts. The fact that you could lose a recording session or not get call backs for simply having an extra string is mind-boggling. I mean it's not like it's a requirement to use that string if your 5'er is your fave ax in the first place.
I play everything on my NS5, even though I only use the B on about 1/3 of our tunes.
I know it's not in-studio, but the last cover country gig I did I got in part b/c of how good my bass sounded (had a late 90's Modulus Q5 w/ a chechen fretboard and Mesa rig) compared to some of the other guys and just a Fender 4 and small Ampeg combo, according to the band anyway... Our full time sound guy was a bassist too and always pumped me in the mix b/c of my tone.

 

[DavidE]

That's great. I stopped trying to fit in the claps on that song. Kimberly and Karen look much better doing it. Plus we use a track that has a drum loop and hand claps from the record. Are you using any effects on the breakdown section? I use a fulltone bass drive there but it didn't work as well on the p bass as it does on my jazz.

John

I'm actually new to playing bass and don't use any effects. Straight into the amp. BUT, as a long time guitar player, I've been using fulltone bass drives for my electrics for years so I have the gear if I ever get that far. Of course now I'm going to listen to the recording for the breakdown to see/hear what I'm missing. I've been playing a Jazz but am moving to an EBMM Sterling.