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How Many Basses at the Live Gig?
- Thread starter bmusic
- Start date
I struggle with this. Guitar player uses 4 per gig depending on the set list. I have 3 basses. I could play my active 5 the entire night and be fine. I also have a passive P that sounds and plays great. I also have a nice jazz bass. I “need” a 5 for one song. Could use it for maybe 3 others, but the other night I got by with my 4 by using DADG and EbAbDbGb tuning and playing a couple notes up an octave. No one really noticed or cared. If we didn’t do Uptown Funk I could get buy without a 5.
In the end I rotate and use whatever the set calls for. I don’t want to ruin the flow. But I also have 3 nice basses, and I like to play all of them.
In the end I rotate and use whatever the set calls for. I don’t want to ruin the flow. But I also have 3 nice basses, and I like to play all of them.
In the photo of me playing the Martin Keith Elfin 5 the two guitarist in that band (classic rock/pop to current-at the time music) changed up instruments so we always had to find "talk time" for the audience while doing so. It did not ruin the flow of the sets.
In the band the other two photos are from (original jazz fusion-world beat-funk) the guitarist changed up instruments so we didn't have any issues there, either.
In the band the other two photos are from (original jazz fusion-world beat-funk) the guitarist changed up instruments so we didn't have any issues there, either.
It can be done without getting in the way of the flow of the set. You need to be ready and efficient. Our guitar player has to make some changes to an acoustic and an alternate tuned guitar. If I decide to make more than "necessary" changes, I'll probably try to time them with his. or in some cases, I may play before him in a song so that doesn't work. I can do everything on my 5, but some things just lay better on an Eb standard tuning like Sweet Child of Mine for example.
And yeah, the audience probably won't notice or care, but if it helps us to play, why not? It isn't ALL about the crowd. I want to have fun as well.
I have issues with this on guitar - usually arrangement issues, as I use a lot of "weird" guitars (baritones, 12-strings, 7-strings, Bigsby, alternate tunings, etc.) and often need those depending on the setlist - but not so much on bass.
I could see needing three if tuning was an issue, though that is ameliorated by using a bass with a B string. I am currently bringing two - a four-string and a five-string. I could do the gig with just the five, but I prefer the four for some things and have always liked having a backup (though IME it is less necessary on bass as the primary reason for guitar backups is broken strings which are far rarer on bass).
I don't see any tonal reason to bring multiples unless there is a big contrast - say, Hofner to Jazz - and even then you could probably "cheat" the darker instrument on the brighter and almost no one would notice.
I could see needing three if tuning was an issue, though that is ameliorated by using a bass with a B string. I am currently bringing two - a four-string and a five-string. I could do the gig with just the five, but I prefer the four for some things and have always liked having a backup (though IME it is less necessary on bass as the primary reason for guitar backups is broken strings which are far rarer on bass).
I don't see any tonal reason to bring multiples unless there is a big contrast - say, Hofner to Jazz - and even then you could probably "cheat" the darker instrument on the brighter and almost no one would notice.
Depending on the particular songs we would arrange the order of the sets to minimize instrument changes. I play fretted or fretless for particular songs, and note that with the jazz fusion band I used two very different sounding fretless basses (Rick Turner and Zon, or Rickenbacker and Rick Turner).
Playing a wide variety of covers (no jazz)...
One bass + backup
The most versatility I've ever used on stage is a recently bought Ray 5 HH, cobalt flats.
I flipped between neck, both, and bridge pups depending on the song.
With my Precision 5, Nickle Lowriders- between the tone knob and plucking position on the strings, I could do just as well.
My amp settings once set, stay the same unless there's an issue.
Honestly, by the time the PA and all that is set up, soundcheck and other issued addressed, I start out a bit stressed and physically tired, and happy to just be playing.
One bass + backup
The most versatility I've ever used on stage is a recently bought Ray 5 HH, cobalt flats.
I flipped between neck, both, and bridge pups depending on the song.
With my Precision 5, Nickle Lowriders- between the tone knob and plucking position on the strings, I could do just as well.
My amp settings once set, stay the same unless there's an issue.
Honestly, by the time the PA and all that is set up, soundcheck and other issued addressed, I start out a bit stressed and physically tired, and happy to just be playing.
I bring 2, only used 1 except for one gig. I play 80s rock stuff (Bon Jovi, Loverboy, Whitesnake....). I change only when I really have to.
I’ve never carried more than 1 bass to a gig and have never felt I needed more than that. I have thought I should start carrying a backup but still haven’t done it.
I feel pretty confident in saying 99.9% of your audience won’t hear the difference between 2 basses.
I feel pretty confident in saying 99.9% of your audience won’t hear the difference between 2 basses.
Spent many years with one bass. Many gigs. Seemed to be okay.
I worked with a singer/songwriter lady for a while, and I played acoustic guitar, Irish bouzouki (of a sort), fretless electric bass, and acoustic electric bass over the course of each gig. Slow paced, and originals, so it was easy to change instrument during the talking intros. If any one of those instruments had failed, I could have got by on one of the others.
Last band I took two similar basses to gigs. One as a backup.
The ONE time I only took one bass with that band, I broke an E string (first time in decades I'd broken a string).
Backups are cool.
I worked with a singer/songwriter lady for a while, and I played acoustic guitar, Irish bouzouki (of a sort), fretless electric bass, and acoustic electric bass over the course of each gig. Slow paced, and originals, so it was easy to change instrument during the talking intros. If any one of those instruments had failed, I could have got by on one of the others.
Last band I took two similar basses to gigs. One as a backup.
The ONE time I only took one bass with that band, I broke an E string (first time in decades I'd broken a string).
Backups are cool.
Unless I'm told otherwise, I like to use one type of bass for an artist/band. But I have a backup of the same bass so if I have to switch, I get the same sound/feel/look. I don't like to switch to a different kind of bass. 4 different basses for one act is way too many IMO/IME.
Playing Bass: I have a passive I play through, and the backup is active. Not only do I have a backup, but if I lose my HX Stomp (my "amp"), I can DI effectively out of the active with decent three band EQ. I can also use that active to try to make up for bad sound support.
<Bonus> Playing Guitar: I play through a Kemper Stage with my HX Stomp as my backup. I use two of the same guitars for one band in standard/half step tuning and swap because it's faster and more predictable than changing tuning in a show with a tight schedule. In the other band I use a normal guitar and one with a hex pickup. In both cases I end up with a backup.
I'll echo what many others have stated here: it's almost always how you play and not what you're playing. If you're solid and can get a decent enough sound of your setup very few people will know the difference. The ones that can are musicians and they're not the bulk of the audience.
Bass players: please avoid turning into a stereotypical guitar player. You mostly know how to get good sound of something reasonable and make it sound different without a bunch of extra stuff. There are too many guitar players that are overly obsessed with their sound to the detriment of their band members and performance (because their attention is elsewhere).
The number of us that have any real application for more than one instrument and a backup, or a tuning swap situation, is small. Keep it simple and focus on the performance.
<Bonus> Playing Guitar: I play through a Kemper Stage with my HX Stomp as my backup. I use two of the same guitars for one band in standard/half step tuning and swap because it's faster and more predictable than changing tuning in a show with a tight schedule. In the other band I use a normal guitar and one with a hex pickup. In both cases I end up with a backup.
I'll echo what many others have stated here: it's almost always how you play and not what you're playing. If you're solid and can get a decent enough sound of your setup very few people will know the difference. The ones that can are musicians and they're not the bulk of the audience.
Bass players: please avoid turning into a stereotypical guitar player. You mostly know how to get good sound of something reasonable and make it sound different without a bunch of extra stuff. There are too many guitar players that are overly obsessed with their sound to the detriment of their band members and performance (because their attention is elsewhere).
The number of us that have any real application for more than one instrument and a backup, or a tuning swap situation, is small. Keep it simple and focus on the performance.
Benefit of doubling on upright is if one bass has a prob I can always finish the set on the other. So pretty much never more than this.
I have identical twin 5 strings except one is fretless. The B is essential for economy of motion and the fretted one is for things that just don't work on a fretless. If I had my druthers it'd be fretless all the time.
