Does bass appearance matter for genre?

[fourstringbliss]

If you're playing in a classic rock cover band do you need to be playing a vintage style instrument? I have a Peavey Millennium Plus which is definitely a modern looking bass but I can get vintage sounding tones. Would it be acceptable to play it in a classic rock cover band?

Here's my bass

 

[bolophonic]

Of course.

 

[Webtroll]

It wouldn't bother me, but then I'm not an anal band leader or promoter.

 

[fourstringbliss]

Of course.

Of course it matters or of course I could play it?

 

[ZombieSpacebat]

Looks don't really matter as long as it sounds good, playing a warlock in a country band might get a few odd looks though...

 

[Wesley R]

Not to me, yet I was not always the deciding factor. Hmmmm, maybe I was, as in I could leave the band.

Too some it matter greatly.

 

[the wako kid]

I think withh most basses it doesn't really matter,but as the above poster said,something like a warlock only works for metal.

 

[inate_hex]

i think it matters to a certain degree but it is not as important as the clothes you wear onstage.

 

[garmenteros]

It matters, even more so on the pro level and higher profile gigs. Show up to a lenny kravitz audition with a fodera or warrior (great basses but completely different to a fender p or j) to see how far you'll go. That said those are not the gigs most of us are up for. I try to match whatever I'm playing with a given instrument. Motorhead covers: rickenbacker, led zeppelin: jazz bass, black sabbath: precision.

 

[oddgrowth]

Jesus wept..

 

[backup]

man play what you like. if somebody has got a problem with your instrument then you can either tell him to buy you another one and then demand extra pay for playing that piece of **** or tell him to go **** himself right away.
that's what I'd do.

 

[Jimmy Stump]

It does to an extent.

I wouldn't show up to an old time country gig with this for example...

 

[CnB77]

I think the more "serious" the music is generally considered to be, the more looks matter. You could show up to a death metal gig with a Jazz Bass and nobody would mind. If you showed up to an orchestra with a BC Rich Warlock you'd at the very least get some looks

 

[seanm]

If you're playing in a classic rock cover band do you need to be playing a vintage style instrument? I have a Peavey Millennium Plus which is definitely a modern looking bass but I can get vintage sounding tones. Would it be acceptable to play it in a classic rock cover band?

I don't see why not. I would say that the Peavey looks like a "normal" bass. Only the most pedantic "must be Fender or nothing" BL would object.

 

[backup]

if it really matters to you fender precision looks good in every possible situation

 

[fourstringbliss]

My Peavey looks like this:

Okay for classic rock?

 

[Vinnie Boombatz]

It shouldn't matter, but it does. I don't think anyone will give you flack for showing up to any gig with a P bass! But people might look at you weird if you showed up to a country, or even punk, indie, metal, etc. rehearsal with a Bootsy signature model.

It's just like having tattoos. Even though the culture has changed a bit over the years, and the stigma isn't as strong as it used to be, If you decided to get sleeved up with tattoos and get them on your neck (what I like to call 'job killers') you have to go into it assuming that, although it's not right, people are just going to judge you differently. Trust me, I work as a registered nurse in a children's hospital and have sleeves, and some facilities were not cool with it, while others make me cover them up, and then there are a few that could care less!

 

[fourstringbliss]

I should sell it and get a G&L L2000, huh?

 

[Gearhead17]

The Tom Araya ESP bass might be a bad idea for Church gigs, Country gigs or something pertaining to playing with kids. Maybe avoiding the neon sparkle finishes would help, but I honestly feel that 95% or more of basses are perfectly suitable in live situations.

I think the idea of IMAGE with bands exists mostly in their own heads. Can anyone remember the last time an audience member left the show because the bass player's bass did not fit the demographic of the band? Once the music starts, I don't think anyone really cares what the bassist is playing.

I play Spector basses in my cover band - I cover every genre out there from the 70's to today. Looks just fine.

In reality, it is how you sound with THAT bass.

 

[Gearhead17]

My Peavey looks like this:

Okay for classic rock?

1000000% YES. Perfectly fine. Not one thing wrong with it!