Hmm.
Ron Carter: Realist, LaBella black nylon.
George Mraz: Underwood, Spiros.
Rufus Reid: Animas, Schertler.
John Patitucci: Realist/mic, various Pirastros.
Ray Brown: Polytone, Spiros.
And so on, and so on. . .
None of these guys sound like ****, amplified or not. They know how to make their sound work in whatever situation. Most of these guys gig every night, through an amp and have to know how to make that work for them. Most of US have to do the same, even though it might only be a couple of times a week.
Developing an acoustic sound is of utmost importance, but knowing how to get your sound out of an amp is almost as important. In a perfect world, we would all be heard exactly as we sound in the practice room. In the real world, we're all dealing with different variables: strings, basses, pickups, amps, rooms, etc. Make no mistake. Ron Carter's acoustic sound is a thing of beauty (IMHO), but if you see him on a gig, you're going to hear that sound with the pickup. Learn to make it work. Some guys even practice with the pickup (Avishai Cohen, for example). It almost seems silly to think that if you gig with a pickup 5x/week that you try not to deal with it when you practice. It's practically part of the instrument. . .but that's another thread.
As far as the EPs go, they're still on my bass. Still making them work, amplified and acoustically. I've had to really change how I'm playing the bass and how I hear the sound of the bass. I'm touching the bass a bit lighter now, but this fundamental kills. The arco is also to die for. They're working well, and I'm finding ways around that "bump" they put out when they're amplified (via Full Circle).
