Double Bass Different basses for different drummers?

[JBarz]

I sat in on a Rufus Reid masterclass back in college where he mentioned off hand playing with a drummer who liked to choose different ride cymbals for different bassists.

This has stuck with me for 20+ years, as these things sometimes do.

These days I play a regular gig that is often subbed out to different drummers and pianists. I am very fortunate in that I have a stable of bass options (gut/steel, high action/low action, ply/carved, big/small, different pickups, cabs, etc)

I know there are a ton of variables at play, but Im finding that certain basses/rigs work better with some players than others for what seems like a myriad of different possible reasons I can only begin to speculate about.

I'm wondering if any of ya'll regularly swirch out basses or preamps depending on how a drummer (or piano/guitar player) sits on the beat or in the mix?

Thank gang!

 

[Ketbass]

My groups are pretty regular so I don't swap out for that reason. Usually it's due more to the setlist and what I think I hear and I want it to sound like or the vibe of the song.

 

[Don Hergert]

I have no real experience with drummers, but more within my experience range, from an amplification standpoint it's very possible to have multiple modes of amplification installed and ready to use on a single double bass... So with a single instrument a person can select which mode is preferable, or even if a blend of the modes is preferable, for the current situation.

I can imagine that where it gets complicated is having multiple double basses and selecting which acoustic tone is preferable, especially if each double bass is also fitted with multiple modes of amplification as described above.

With banjos, mandolins and especially flutes, I've always said a person can't have too many of them... But despite being so endearing, double basses are always big and in the way -- it's very possible to have too many of them.

 

[bass player 53]

I sat in on a Rufus Reid masterclass back in college where he mentioned off hand playing with a drummer who liked to choose different ride cymbals for different bassists.

This has stuck with me for 20+ years, as these things sometimes do.

These days I play a regular gig that is often subbed out to different drummers and pianists. I am very fortunate in that I have a stable of bass options (gut/steel, high action/low action, ply/carved, big/small, different pickups, cabs, etc)

I know there are a ton of variables at play, but Im finding that certain basses/rigs work better with some players than others for what seems like a myriad of different possible reasons I can only begin to speculate about.

I'm wondering if any of ya'll regularly swirch out basses or preamps depending on how a drummer (or piano/guitar player) sits on the beat or in the mix?

Thank gang!

I'm curious about your 'stable of options'. I can appreciate folks who have to use a travel bass, but I've never heard of such accommodation. Several of my gigs in the last two years consisted of playing with a very accomplished guitarist and a variety of drummers (unknown in advance), in the lobby of an Aloft hotel to a crowd of 5 people or so. What gigs are you doing where you even think about this?

 

[JBarz]

I wish I could just lock in and fall in love with one bass, but unfortunately my eye keeps wandering. No bass I've got is "the one" yet, but they all have stengths and weakness. I've got a Kay, a Pfretz aluminum, a carved Shen 7/8, and an Alter ego EUB, all 5 strings, and a King Mortone 4 string. All fifths tuning. I work on my own basses, so I set them up all where I feel like they "want", 'cause they're all so different. They also all amplify way differently. I switch through various preamps, mostly Sushibox/redeye/tondexter. This gig I'm talking about is also in a hotel lobby - huge awkward room, lots of glass, crowd size varies.

 

[Huy Nguyen]

I wish I could just lock in and fall in love with one bass, but unfortunately my eye keeps wandering. No bass I've got is "the one" yet, but they all have stengths and weakness. I've got a Kay, a Pfretz aluminum, a carved Shen 7/8, and an Alter ego EUB, all 5 strings, and a King Mortone 4 string. All fifths tuning. I work on my own basses, so I set them up all where I feel like they "want", 'cause they're all so different. They also all amplify way differently. I switch through various preamps, mostly Sushibox/redeye/tondexter. This gig I'm talking about is also in a hotel lobby - huge awkward room, lots of glass, crowd size varies.

It's always a space and money constraint and always whether you want to sink all that cash into multiple instruments or one or two very expensive ones. The weird thing now of bc of noise restrictions and learning to make the most out of my Yamaha SLB it's starting to become my main instrument. I've been playing on it almost exclusively for the last two years or more. I'm learning to work with an amplified sound not in working the grease but also adjusting my technique to get different timbres.

Idk man. What works and floats your boat at this point. If you can afford to own all that gear more power to you but then it becomes a burden of choice too.

 

[bass player 53]

I wish I could just lock in and fall in love with one bass, but unfortunately my eye keeps wandering. No bass I've got is "the one" yet, but they all have stengths and weakness. I've got a Kay, a Pfretz aluminum, a carved Shen 7/8, and an Alter ego EUB, all 5 strings, and a King Mortone 4 string. All fifths tuning. I work on my own basses, so I set them up all where I feel like they "want", 'cause they're all so different. They also all amplify way differently. I switch through various preamps, mostly Sushibox/redeye/tondexter. This gig I'm talking about is also in a hotel lobby - huge awkward room, lots of glass, crowd size varies.

Thanks for the reply. I hope your lobby gig is more fulfilling than mine have been.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Aside from having a ply handy for adverse conditions and hopefully having a bass set up for arco someday, no. Every group/drummer has a different sonic vibe. Half the fun of playing is trying to meld with that with the bass/hands that I have. If I keep focused on that, it can cover a whole lot of sonic ground.

 

[bassmanbrent]

I'm wondering if any of ya'll regularly swirch out basses or preamps depending on how a drummer (or piano/guitar player) sits on the beat or in the mix?

Like you, I'm lucky enough to have more than one instrument to choose from. For me, the decision is partly about who I'm playing with and the style of music I'm playing but it's also about the sound of the room and the shape that my hands are in at that moment. All this to say that if it's more about the type of gig than the individual musicians on the gig for me, unless my chops feeling really beat up - then it's just about the right instrument to get through the gig without hurting myself.

 

[JBarz]

Thanks for the reply. I hope your lobby gig is more fulfilling than mine have been.

Looking closely at the photo, you don't seem particularly stoked about it, lol.

I am about to sell the whole fleet, if we're being honest. This time next year I'm hoping Nick Lloyd #73 (Gabrielli 5-string) is everything I've ever wanted in a bass, but in the meantime I'm having fun considering how to juggle the compromises. This next time I've got my favorite drummer and pianist, so I suspect I'll take the King because it's got the most consistent timbre over the whole range and has the most 'magic' - fills the space with a legato drone quality to my lines that this drummer, who is more delicate and sensitive than some of my other cohorts, seems to respond well to for maximum "lock in"… The four string limitations also helps keep me in my lane in terms of my role in the ensemble.

 

[bass player 53]

Looking closely at the photo, you don't seem particularly stoked about it, lol.

I am about to sell the whole fleet, if we're being honest. This time next year I'm hoping Nick Lloyd #73 (Gabrielli 5-string) is everything I've ever wanted in a bass, but in the meantime I'm having fun considering how to juggle the compromises. This next time I've got my favorite drummer and pianist, so I suspect I'll take the King because it's got the most consistent timbre over the whole range and has the most 'magic'. The four string limitations also helps keep me in my lane in terms of my role in the ensemble.

Yeah, not a career highlight for me.
Fantastic about the new bass; Mr. Lloyd does impeccable craftsmanship. Truly extraordinary instruments. Best of luck and fortune with that!

 

[Ryan in PDX]

I can get different sounds out of my bass. YMMV.

 

[groooooove]

it makes sense that some people may like to do this.

I own two basses. a fine carved instrument strung with full premium guts, and a laminate that wears zyex.

the laminate is set up almost like a bass guitar. very low action, the fingerboard is relatively flat, easy to shred on.
the other bass is a more typical bass setup for both arco and pizz..

I could see a world where the drummer on a gig would dictate which bass i'd use. one is acoustically much louder, the other is far easier to amplify.

the repertoire would dictate in a lot of cases more than the drummer or any one person..

basically, if you're a collector with many nice basses on hand, sure, why not.

 

[Wasnex]

Never considered switching instruments specifically because I was playing with a different drummer. However, I switched basses based on the style of arrangements. Towards the end of my playing career, the instruments I used in big band included a fretted Yamaha TRB6P, NS Design US-series EUB (the precursor to the current EU6), and an acoustic upright bass with pickup.

FYI, the NS Design sounded more like a fretless bass guitar than an upright bass.

Frequency of use: 1. The upright was used for jazz standards. 2. The Yamaha was used for pop, funk, Latin. 3. The NS Design was use for certain modern jazz arrangements and ballads.

 

[JazznFunk]

As in having different upright basses for different drummers? Nope. Now if I know a gig/drummer is going to be stupid loud, I'll play electric instead. Usually fretless.

 

[sean_on_bass]

no real gear selections based on drummer, but maybe based on the music to be played or other variables.

 

[Jazzdogg]

I sat in on a Rufus Reid masterclass back in college where he mentioned off hand playing with a drummer who liked to choose different ride cymbals for different bassists.

This has stuck with me for 20+ years, as these things sometimes do.

These days I play a regular gig that is often subbed out to different drummers and pianists. I am very fortunate in that I have a stable of bass options (gut/steel, high action/low action, ply/carved, big/small, different pickups, cabs, etc)

I know there are a ton of variables at play, but Im finding that certain basses/rigs work better with some players than others for what seems like a myriad of different possible reasons I can only begin to speculate about.

I'm wondering if any of ya'll regularly swirch out basses or preamps depending on how a drummer (or piano/guitar player) sits on the beat or in the mix?

Thank gang!

Your post reminds me of drummers whose choice, and use, of cymbals gave me headaches or made it very difficult to hear the other musicians on stage.

In particular, drummers who use ride cymbals that have holes in them into which loose fitting rivets have been installed; can't stand 'em.

Then again, common wisdom often suggests having the bassist stand next to the drummer's hi-hat, which is something I have never enjoyed because having the cymbals so close to my ears has always made it more difficult to hear chorded instruments and vocals easily; it's even worse now that I'm old and wear hearing aids.

Most of the drummers I've worked with have appreciated the way I stack two cabinets, with the bottom cab facing across the stage toward them, and my top cab aimed at my ears as a personal monitor. The most common way I try to accommodate drummers is through the positioning, volume, or EQ of the lower cabinet.

 

[eeyorebass]

I've certainly chosen different basses for different gigs, usually based on the vibe of the band/material as a whole. Selecting based on specific members of the band seems like quite the potential rabbit hole.

What if the drummer works best with Bass A, but the guitar player sounds better with Bass B, and the piano player makes be want to use Bass C through an amp, but the sax player always works better with Bass D miced through the old PA I found at a pawn shop two summers ago, and ....

 

[lurk]

I've got a Pollman and a not so great play labeled King George strung with guts. Once in a while I get a gig where the thump of that ply works better in the section. For example I did an off Broadway show that had a lot of jumpin jive swing. The ply made the rhythm section come alive. It's also useful outside in iffy weather.

 

[JBarz]

I've certainly chosen different basses for different gigs, usually based on the vibe of the band/material as a whole. Selecting based on specific members of the band seems like quite the potential rabbit hole.

You make me realize that it might be relevant to note that the primary pianist likes to lean heavy into the R&B repitore and the #2 guy is like me and pretty much stuck with a pre 1970 conception and likes to play obscure Great American Songbook tunes. The drummers vary from the coolest most laid back in the pocket and out of everyone's way drummers to very energetic/interactive guys who play on top of the beat and are just trying to turn everything around back on top of itself and backwards. It's a pretty wide spectrum, I guess is what I'm trying to say. It's been great for my conception, tbh. Keeps me on my toes.