• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Only Fender basses for recording??

G

gsandorx

May 13, 2018
46
24
#1
Hey folks,

Is it true those tales that some ppl have brought non-Fender-but-top-quality basses (e.g. Warwicks, Ibanez Premiums/Prestige, etc) to recording studios and they have been told to put them away and pick a Fender P (J sometimes) instead?

If that's true, how come guys like Nathan East (one of the most recorded bass players ever) have survived with his Yahama BBNE?

I'd love to hear your stories from the trenches.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Watchootognbout and alanloomis1980
#4
If you're a hired gun, and a certain tone is desired, then go with the flow.

If you're an artist recording originals (as was the case in my one instance noted above), then yes, it says more about the laziness of the engineer than anything about your bass.

Those are the times when it pays to have a producer on hand. I did have one in the instance above who was willing to go to bat for me, though I went for the path of least resistance and used the Precision over my StingRay 5. I wouldn't do so again unless it was my call - thankfully it's never come up again.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PartyFretless, Frenchy-Lefty, Watchootognbout and 1 other person
#5
I went into the studio in 1977 with my band. At the time I was playing a Gretsch bass, looked like a Gretsch guitar. The engineer told me that I should get a Fender, but I couldn't afford one. He was right. After the recordings were done, I did end up with a nice Precision, thanks to the kindness of a fellow bassist.

That said, many great recordings in the 1960s were done with other brands.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Frenchy-Lefty and MonetBass
#6
AGCurry said:
I went into the studio in 1977 with my band. At the time I was playing a Gretsch bass, looked like a Gretsch guitar. The engineer told me that I should get a Fender, but I couldn't afford one. He was right. After the recordings were done, I did end up with a nice Precision, thanks to the kindness of a fellow bassist.

That said, many great recordings in the 1960s were done with other brands.
Click to expand...

Nice to know.... although back in the day there weren't many other good options...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Watchootognbout
#7
There was a poster, who, formerly, was a session guy in Nashville. He talked about the bias against basses that weren't Fender. I think it is a sticky, somewhere, on the site...pretty long read.
 
#8
I have never told someone which instrument to play. A good recording is made by a competent engineer, well-prepared good musicians playing good songs, and everyone feeling good and relaxed. If an instrument won't get or stay in tune, that's one thing. If the sound isn't right for the song, that's another. But most of the time, the bass player plays the bass they are comfortable with, the bass they have played when the songs were being written and has performed the songs with that bass dozens or hundreds of times, it's going to work on the song. I might insist on rounds vs flats if they're looking for a bright sound... but for me, no. I will never tell a bassist that they must play a particular brand, model, style, etc. It's counterproductive because probably whatever bass they have will work in the mix, and you're starting your session by being a jerk and ruining the vibe. The vibe is more important than which kind of bass is used as far as producing a quality product. If you have an engineer putting up a fight about which bass you are using, find a different engineer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: The Owl
#10
Yes, it does happens. And to @Kro's point, if you are a hired gun, then you generally accommodate the producer...unless, of course, you don't want to be on the receiving end of any more session calls.

A fellow bass player who does way more session work than me once mentioned that a certain producer informed him that not only would he be playing a Fender bass on the track, but that he would be playing the studio's Fender.
Chad Michael said:
(there was a brief period when the Yamaha DX7 was allowed)
Click to expand...
I'd go even further and say that during a certain decade, the DX7 was not only allowed, but pretty much required. ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: DrMole, David Jayne, Watchootognbout and 1 other person
#11
IME I have been told that as well but only once. By an engineer at a quite nice recording studio. I asked why, he told me they record better. I laughed at him (quite simply because it's so ridiculous), thinking about the many tracks that were recorded with other branded instruments and said to the producer, I will set up the equipment and it'll be fine or you can hire another player if you want. He said if I was able to do it, then do it. I did and it was fine.
FTR When I was at uni I did recording papers, therefore learnt how to record pretty much anything.
I ended up laying down tracks on many of that producer's sessions until I moved from that town.
I guess for some "engineers" better is an excuse for not understanding how to work equipment.
There are definitely great tracks recorded with fenders, just as there are great tracks recorded using other basses.
When I have been hired as the producer I am trying to get the best performance from the players, I have never told the players they must play a certain instrument. I have suggested other things but I play back a rough mix first so they can hear why I've suggested what I've suggested. It's usually when everyone has chosen tones that cut through the mix, if everyone one is cutting who is supporting.
I don't tell them to do it, I ask them "is this what sound you were after?"
Sometimes they say yes, most times they say no.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Watchootognbout, gsandorx and Kro
#12
If it is your own band, no one cares. As it was mentioned above by Kro and others, if you are a hired gun and the people paying the bill want a certain bass tone, you do what they say.

Now in the 70's it was a different story because in the 60's people did not play "Electric bass" they played the "Fender bass". So when some new type of basses came on the market in the late 70's, with all the active electronic and so on, some engineers did not want to change the settings on their board and would often complain about non-Fender basses.

Of course when I say "Fender" now it could also be a Lakland or whatever copy.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: gsandorx
#15
This is a bit of a myth. It comes from when "Fender Bass" was a job title for the AFM. When you requested a bass player, from the union for an upright bass, acoustic bass, rock bassist or Fender Bass which meant a basic electric bass & bass playing for which the musician could be playing a Fender Precision, Jazz, Gibson EB or many others. This actually goes back to the 1950's when 99% of professional electric bass playing was a Fender Precision. It was the closest sounding to an upright without sounding like an upright bass. Most other basses from the 1950's either sounded like crap or more like downtuned guitars (think Danelectro)
 
#16
WebJunk said:
This is a bit of a myth. It comes from when "Fender Bass" was a job title for the AFM. When you requested a bass player, from the union for an upright bass, acoustic bass, rock bassist or Fender Bass which meant a basic electric bass & bass playing for which the musician could be playing a Fender Precision, Jazz, Gibson EB or many others. This actually goes back to the 1950's when 99% of professional electric bass playing was a Fender Precision. It was the closest sounding to an upright without sounding like an upright bass. Most other basses from the 1950's either sounded like crap or more like downtuned guitars (think Danelectro)
Click to expand...

Yes, that makes sense.. but 60+ years later, is that still a thing?
 
#17
gsandorx said:
Yes, that makes sense.. but 60+ years later, is that still a thing?
Click to expand...
No. I do work at several studios these days and unless a Producer is specifically looking for a Precision sound for his own project but that is only because it is THEIR own project. But if you are hiring a specific bassist even for your own project, than the Producer probably wants that bassist's sound which is their own bass. That's how I work.
For a Producer's project that is not their own, that may have a sound preference but a decent Producer will want to work with the musicians and that translates to working with the instruments those musicians are comfortable with. Demanding a bassist put away their trusted bass to play one they are probably not used to will probably mean that Producer will be fired or at the least the bassist will not give their best performance. That would be like demanding a guitarist put away their Ibanez guitar with a thin neck and playing a Les Paul with a thick neck.
But these and other myths seem to perpetuate.
 
#18
Should mention that starting in the 1970's to 1980's the term "Fender Bass" was replaced with "Electric bass"
That was mainly because they often wanted other electric bass sounds. They specifically wanted a Rickenbacker or other bass sound. Or did not care as much for the bass (which was true in the 1960's) as the person playing. That's really what made Carol Kaye popular and in demand. Not the bass she used but her playing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: corinpills
#19
WebJunk said:
But these and other myths seem to perpetuate.
Click to expand...

Except for those of us that have experienced it first hand. I'm not saying that all engineers may strongly suggest or demand a Precision for the same reasons, but it is something that does happen.

In this day and age, I suspect it has more to do with lazy engineers that don't want to spend much time on bass, and just want to use their standard presets that they have dialed in for a studio's house bass... which, odds are, is a Precision.

That's my take at least.
 
  • Like
Reactions: The Owl, LBS-bass and gsandorx

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back