Looking for a bass for worship?

[brianrost]

For the money, If I was donating a bass in your position, I'd just look at an Ibanez Micro. 28.6 scale and only $219 at sweetwater.


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This is a great suggestion, way better than an Epiphone short scale soundwise.

A guitarist friend used one of these when he needed to play bass. It sounded great both fingerstyle and with a pick. Some experienced bass players might not want to use it, but they probably have a bass of their own already.

 

[TDR1138]

I’ve been doing the worship thing for years, so I’ll add my thoughts.

For the bass, I’d get a Precision. Something in the Squier line, whatever your budget allows. Any bass can work, but some basses require the player to know how to make them work. A P is very basic for the player, easy for the sound guy to mix, reliable and quiet. It’s a simple plug-and-play option.

For the DI, if it’s a newer church plant, I’m guessing they got a PA starter setup that includes a bunch of Whirlwind or similar DI boxes. Those are adequate. If I were bringing my own gear, I’d bring a better DI, but for the church itself, I don’t see any reason to splurge on a better DI than anyone else would have.

Pedals, I wouldn’t go down that road yet, other than a tuner. Pedals add a lot of variables that can be negatively impacted by someone who is sitting in for the week and doesn’t know the gear.
Edit to add: pedals need power. Power supply is a source of failure. Whether it’s batteries getting drained by things not being unplugged or wall warts getting unplugged or not having available outlets. Just something to consider.

As for the amp, if you’re looking for something that can allow you to play without PA support, a “practice amp” probably wouldn’t let you do much more than practice with some acoustic guitars or electrics with similar sized amps. It would probably have trouble keeping up with drums or projecting any real volume to a congregation. So I’d take a good look at amps with more power if you’re going to be using it for anything more than just practice.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

There are multiple reasons for a church (especially a small church) to have a bass. Probably the biggest is when the bassist can't be there at the last minute so someone else steps in. That happened more than once at our last church.

 

[michael_t]

My suggestion would be to keep it simple. A passive 4-string Precision or Jazz. Squier Classic Vibe series are a great value for the money. I've just scored a deal on a "like new" Classic Vibe Precision for $325 USD.

I've been an active church bassist since 2013. My main bass is an active 5-string, but I don't necessarily consider it a "must". In fact, I feel more at home when I'm playing one of my Fenders (all passive 4-string).

 

[oldcatfish]

For the money, If I was donating a bass in your position, I'd just look at an Ibanez Micro. 28.6 scale and only $219 at sweetwater.
I went shortscale recently with a reverend wattplower and for worship, I might not ever go back to my medium or long scale basses... But they're a bit out of your proce range.

Almost any bass can do the trick with a decent setup.

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I have played in many churches and also taught many church musicians. If you were a dedicated bass player looking for the most versatile bass, I would say get a 5 string with an active/passive switch.

BUT….the scenario that you’re describing sounds like the above mentioned Ibanez Mikro would be a far better fit. It’s just slightly larger than a regular 6 string electric guitar, has a thin neck, is light weight, versatile, and doesn’t LOOK unusual to people not that familiar with instruments. Any guitar player should be able to adapt pretty quickly to this instrument. It sounds good through any decent amplification too.

 

[JamesGrant]

There are multiple reasons for a church (especially a small church) to have a bass. Probably the biggest is when the bassist can't be there at the last minute so someone else steps in. That happened more than once at our last church.

Understood, but my point is ‘more than once’… is that worth $500?

Ask a bass player to donate a bass, get a beater for free from Craigslist. A tax on the church for a ‘just in case’ $500 bass seems like very poor value to me. In my humble opinion of course!!

 

[JenderBazzFass]

I don't think the church needs to own a bass. Anybody who can play bass to a decent standard probably owns one already. Save the funds for something with more impact.

Honestly, if I caught sick one morning I don't think anybody would "step in", they'd just carry on without bass and it'd be fine. I don't think our church would need to own one at all.

If you really want to buy one so someone could use it in a pinch, find a Squier Precision Bass on craigslist or what have you.

 

[high mileage]

I’m on my church’s worship team. I bring an active 5, but the others bring what they like. I agree that neither a church-owned bass or pedals are probably necessary, other than a good direct box - so maybe a preamp pedal for that. Inexpensive practice amps don’t usually have them built in either.

But if your church had a bass, a short-scale 4 is a good bet. Heck, if I showed up Sunday and was asked to fill in last second, it would be fun to play it as well. Probably an easier option for a guitar player that’s filling in but the ‘regulars’ all bring their own.

 

[Wfrance3]

Am a church bassist. For a really long time actually...
I have an Ibanez 205. It's been modified a little. I like flats, so It has Jim dunlop flats that are brighter than most. The'yre a good fit for that bass.
I'm a tinker-er, so I pulled the preamp and put in a Bartolini 918 that has stacked volume knobs, stacked treble and bass, a passive tone, and an on-off swtich for the amp in case the battery dies. - My battery has never given up on me mid session, but I like the security of having that switch!

If a 5 string doesn't feel like a good fit for you, a 4 string mex fender P will get the job done. I have one strung up with LFTs. and it's my goto anytime I don't need my 5.

Either of these would fit your budget if you buy used.

 

[micguy]

Any bass without swastikas or devil worship symbols will work fine. If you’re reasonably competent, easy to work with, and show up on time, prepared, nobody will care what bass you bring. Yes, I speak from experience.

 

[Geogio]

Ibanez

 

[Evan J]

I would go a used Jazz bass of some kind

Squier classic vibe jazz or pbass into a aguilar tone hammer will let you run straight DI into your board and sound fantastic.
I always buy used.

+1

And if you like the Tone Hammer sound I recommend the Jazz over the P bass. The Jazz pickups pair perfectly with Tone Hammer drive. Turn the gain to edge of breakup and scoop the low mids.

If someone is selling a squire Jazz with after market pickups I would go for it.

 

[Cardsfan85]

I would go a used Jazz bass of some kind

+1

And if you like the Tone Hammer sound I recommend the Jazz over the P bass. The Jazz pickups pair perfectly with Tone Hammer drive. Turn the gain to edge of breakup and scoop the low mids.

If someone is selling a squire Jazz with after market pickups I would go for it.

Completely agree with all this!

 

[crazycloud]

I don't think the church needs to own a bass. Anybody who can play bass to a decent standard probably owns one already. Save the funds for something with more impact.

Honestly, if I caught sick one morning I don't think anybody would "step in", they'd just carry on without bass and it'd be fine. I don't think our church would need to own one at all.

Any bass without swastikas or devil worship symbols will work fine. If you’re reasonably competent, easy to work with, and show up on time, prepared, nobody will care what bass you bring. Yes, I speak from experience.

Yup, let the bass player bring their own and no one will care at all what it is as micguy says. The Church should have a DI for it, and that's about it.

My Church is getting an upgrade, extension and some renovations because the congregation is growing, and I'm on the committee to select the gear to be purchased and instruments were not even on the list. Everything is being paid for through donation so we are being very tight on dollars spent, making some hard decisions to get the most we can AV wise with the limited budget. Apart from the old piano, drums and organ which the Church already owns, if you want to play, bring it yourself. We have several decent singers so this is more than enough to praise with, anything extra is a bonus and a blessing.

 

[micguy]

Apart from the old piano, drums and organ which the Church already owns, if you want to play, bring it yourself.

The church I play at (multiple locations), despite being a very large (at least the biggest location) church that most would think of as "well resourced" works like this, though we have a Nord keyboard at each location. We have, at times, supplied the drums and expected the drummers to bring their own cymbals; at this point there is a set of cymbals at each location (all locations have the same set), but a lot of drummers still bring their own. Some drummers will even bring their own snare.

 

[crazycloud]

My Church is small, only a couple of hundred practitioners, so our drums are as-is, though I'm sure you could bring some of your own if you wished. The kit is pretty poor actually, so I've had my drummer friend on the lookout for a decent set second hand locally that we might be able to donate.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

The church I play at (multiple locations), despite being a very large (at least the biggest location) church that most would think of as "well resourced" works like this, though we have a Nord keyboard at each location. We have, at times, supplied the drums and expected the drummers to bring their own cymbals; at this point there is a set of cymbals at each location (all locations have the same set), but a lot of drummers still bring their own. Some drummers will even bring their own snare.

Our previous church had a nice drum set. Some drummers used it as is, others brought one or more cymbals. One even brought a snare. You like what you like, and that's fine. (We also had one left handed drummer so the kit had to be reversed before and after they played.)

 

[micguy]

Remember a "regular" 34" scale length 5-string is a short scale bass if you play at the 5th fret!

If you capo one of my basses at the 5th fret, that is true - it's actually a "strat scale" (25.5"), but the "nut" at that location is 2 1/4" wide.