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How Many Basses at the Live Gig?
- Thread starter bmusic
- Start date
- Aug 21, 2003
- 11,609
- 18,667
- Disclosures
- A-Designs Mike Lull GK Tsunami Cables GHS Strings RMI Basswitch Nordstrand Pickups Darkglass
(2) %99 of the time…
Some fly outs only have the budget for 1.
Otherwise 2, I have done 3 for a few acts but not often.
Some fly outs only have the budget for 1.
Otherwise 2, I have done 3 for a few acts but not often.
Myself I bring two - the main player and a backup. I don’t switch unless something goes wrong.
But you seem to have valid artistic reasons for wanting to use different basses on different songs.
My advice would be to try it at rehearsal. If you already know the song order, even better. I say this because while it seems no one has problems with a guitarist switching guitars, they often seem to develop a kind of amnesia about the bassist switching and they’re prone to starting tunes before you are ready.
And you are putting a lot of switching into the set - each bass that is only used on one song frames that song in some lengthy dead air on either side of it. Your mates have got to be onboard with it.
I predict that they may only feel like the fretless switch is worth it, in terms of sonic differentiation. But who knows, maybe you’re in with some sensitive artist types who like to talk to the crowd, in which case satisfy your artistic and aesthetic impulses!
1. I brought a back-up for several years and never had a need for it. In fact, I have never had a bass fail on me at gigs or when practicing.
Usually two basses max......the second rarely leaves my van. Mostly because I am pretty devoted to the "set it and forget it" method.
That's awesome that you are so focused on giving your artist friend the works in sound and quality but 4 basses is working it too hard unless it matters for you to play songs correctly. Sometimes too much throws off the flow and other players might not hear what you hear. I would do one bass, probably a p bass with full tones and keep it simple. Have fun!
How Many Basses at the Live Gig?
for me: no more than 15 lbs. worth
--- that's two!
i take two for fun (one is a backup, usually, i might switch if i think the second ax would suit me better ATM).
for me: no more than 15 lbs. worth
--- that's two! i take two for fun (one is a backup, usually, i might switch if i think the second ax would suit me better ATM).
I use P/J's live and I bring 2 that are identical to each other (same make, model, manufacturer) anything else is overkill IMHO
I bring two.
Over the course of the night (45-50 songs) I mostly use one (with a Drop pedal for the 1/2 step down songs), however there is a block of songs that are all in drop Db...And I just don't care for the sound of the Drop pedal for that tuning, so I use a second bass for that block of songs, plus there is just something about that bass that just brings the thunder, so using it is always a treat.
Over the course of the night (45-50 songs) I mostly use one (with a Drop pedal for the 1/2 step down songs), however there is a block of songs that are all in drop Db...And I just don't care for the sound of the Drop pedal for that tuning, so I use a second bass for that block of songs, plus there is just something about that bass that just brings the thunder, so using it is always a treat.
I take two basses to every gig, but, man, I'd never take 3+. I tend to either play one the entire gig, with one in the rack as a backup, or play one for the first set and one for the second (we usually do 3 hour / 2 set gigs). Would never think about swapping basses mid-set unless, maybe, for a fretless tune. But even then - my approach is "If I'm going to play a fretless on one tune, I'll play a fretless the entire set" unless it was really not doable.
As so many others have said, 98.5% of the audience won't hear the different between any of your fretted basses, and maybe 20% will notice a fretless. Just not worth that many basses and killing momentum/flow from song to song. And I'd imagine (a) if you have a FOH guy/gal, they would not appreciate the changes in levels, and (b) if you are running your own PA and can't turn knobs on the fly, your levels are gonna be all over the place.
As so many others have said, 98.5% of the audience won't hear the different between any of your fretted basses, and maybe 20% will notice a fretless. Just not worth that many basses and killing momentum/flow from song to song. And I'd imagine (a) if you have a FOH guy/gal, they would not appreciate the changes in levels, and (b) if you are running your own PA and can't turn knobs on the fly, your levels are gonna be all over the place.
- Jan 26, 2014
- 768
- 1,555
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist;DNA Amplification, GHS strings
I played with a guitar player who forgot his guitar. He didn't have a wife to bring it to him, and rather than ask the drummer or me for a 20min round-trip ride back to his place to get it (he didn't drive), he called his mom who lived 45+min away and asked her to get it. An hour and a half later, we started the gig, 30min late.
He was a great guitarist and pianist, but regular life stuff wasn't his forte.
First FOH guy you encounter is going to try and slot each of those basses into the same sonic region. Don't sweat it so much. Take 1. If one song screams for fretless, I'd use that fretless on every tune.
~25-30 years ago I played in a band where it was incumbent upon me to bring three basses to every gig:
- fretted (originally 4-string, then 6-string)
- fretless
- 8-string (octave courses)
because the material we played was composed expressly for those sounds.
btw, I got off pretty easy: The woodwind players in that band had 9 or 10 instruments between the two of them.
But these days I'm mostly playing music that either A) isn't as specific in its sonic demands, or else B) doesn't have as wide-ranging a scope of sonic demands within an evening's set list. So I can almost always get away with two basses, either a fretted and a fretless, or a main and a backup, depending on which fits the requirements of the music.
And frankly, if the music just requires a main and a backup, more often than not I tempt fate and just bring one bass. It has to be a pretty high profile gig for me to worry about having a backup nowadays.
- fretted (originally 4-string, then 6-string)
- fretless
- 8-string (octave courses)
because the material we played was composed expressly for those sounds.
btw, I got off pretty easy: The woodwind players in that band had 9 or 10 instruments between the two of them.
But these days I'm mostly playing music that either A) isn't as specific in its sonic demands, or else B) doesn't have as wide-ranging a scope of sonic demands within an evening's set list. So I can almost always get away with two basses, either a fretted and a fretless, or a main and a backup, depending on which fits the requirements of the music.
And frankly, if the music just requires a main and a backup, more often than not I tempt fate and just bring one bass. It has to be a pretty high profile gig for me to worry about having a backup nowadays.
- Dec 21, 2007
- 15,233
- 45,122
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- Lark in the Morning Instructional Videos; Audix Microphones
I bring one.
If it were to die, I'd sing my parts acapella.
If it were to die, I'd sing my parts acapella.
I play with a lead guitarist who brings 5-6 guitars to a gig. To give me something to do while he is changing guitars, and occasionally amps, I bring 3 basses: a 4 string (P bass) for 80% of songs; a 5 string (Pedulla) for songs needing lower notes, and a fretless (Pedulla). Looks nice in the bass rack, and gives me something to do while guitarist is changing, tuning, etc.
