Pearl Jam Tribute band?

[Marley's Ghost]

So I've been invited to join a Pearl Jam Tribute. I've never played a Pearl Jam song live before. Any suggestions on FX etc?

 

[Mo'Phat]

Chorus, overdrive, fuzz. Something to emulate a fretless and 12-string.

But I have seen other PJ tribs where the bassist had fretted, fretless, and 12-string to get the accurate tones.

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[FretLassie]

As a PJ fan and still a beginner, I am starting to play fretless and love it.... but it's both fun and a lot of work to master this.

I won't buy a 12-string for sure. A fretted 4-string and a fretless 4-string are enough.

Mastering the sound is another thing. Is there an affordable multi-effect gadget that you can recommend to achieve the right sound(s)?

 

[Michedelic]

As a PJ fan and still a beginner, I am starting to play fretless and love it.... but it's both fun and a lot of work to master this.

I won't buy a 12-string for sure. A fretted 4-string and a fretless 4-string are enough.

Mastering the sound is another thing. Is there an affordable multi-effect gadget that you can recommend to achieve the right sound(s)?

You should look into octave pedals, with the capability to go up, at least. It’s an entire rabbit hole to go down, then you may want to factor in a compressor. I won’t suggest any, there’s too many great candidates, however, I found the Fishman Fission to be greatly dissapointing.

 

[BAG]

You'll want a 12 String if you can get one, but an 8 string will do it well enough. An octave pedal might do the trick for songs like Jeremy, but an 8 or 12 will do it so much better.
And a fretless will most likely be needed too.

 

[richntiff]

PJ tributes are required by federal law to play Jeremy, so yes, you'll need to 12 string bass or some reasonable workaround. Fretless is on Once, and Black, and I'm sure some others - so yes, you'll want the fretless as well.

Can you tell I didn't listen to PJ after the first album?

 

[SoCal80s]

A chorus and an octave pedal will simulate the 12-string well enough.

 

[friskinator]

As long as the front man nails the Eddie vibe, the audience won't care which bass you're playing.

 

[Lobster11]

I think it depends on what kind of "tribute band" you want to be. At one end of the spectrum are tribute bands that are essentially cover bands that only cover songs by one artist, in which case you could use pretty much any bass and other gear that gets a close-enough sound. At the other end are tribute bands that try to reproduce every little detail and nuance of the original band, down to the particular instruments, amps, pedals, etc. (and even physical appearance), in which case it would be essential to have the "right" gear. I'd suggest talking to the rest of the band to find out where on this spectrum they're aiming for so you can decide accordingly.

 

[51PRI]

PJ tributes are required by federal law to play Jeremy, so yes, you'll need to 12 string bass or some reasonable workaround. Fretless is on Once, and Black, and I'm sure some others - so yes, you'll want the fretless as well.

Can you tell I didn't listen to PJ after the first album?

The first Pearl Jam record was great. If what I read is true, the members of Pearl Jam had recorded all of the music for the first album before they even hired Eddie Vedder. He took the finished tracks and put words and melody to the music. If I had been a member of Pearl Jam I would have suggested that we do the same thing for the next album, too, although they did do okay writing together. But I would argue that no subsequent Pearl Jam album had the impact that the first one did.

 

[Gluvhand]

PJ tributes are required by federal law to play Jeremy, so yes, you'll need to 12 string bass or some reasonable workaround. Fretless is on Once, and Black, and I'm sure some others - so yes, you'll want the fretless as well.

Can you tell I didn't listen to PJ after the first album?

I stopped after the debut and only listen to Once these days.

 

[richntiff]

I stopped after the debut and only listen to Once these days.

same. Ten is an iconic album from that era - but I couldn't get into anything they did after that. I have a ton of respect for them though in terms of how they pointed their career moving forward. Still touring and releasing new music and a huge, dedicated, loyal fan base.

 

[tshapiro]

IMO bass loses a lot of detail in the live mush. For Pearl Jam, and any other songs with modulation live, I find the good ol’ MXR 90 (I like the form factor of the MXR 95) does an amazing job of cutting through. I also find the classic Darkglass BK3 or other variant also cuts live. Boss OC-5 or Digitech Drop make great octave options as well.

For what it’s worth, Alive by PearlJam has been one of my handful of reference sounds for more than 20 years.

 

[ewarren88]

I think it depends on what kind of "tribute band" you want to be. At one end of the spectrum are tribute bands that are essentially cover bands that only cover songs by one artist, in which case you could use pretty much any bass and other gear that gets a close-enough sound. At the other end are tribute bands that try to reproduce every little detail and nuance of the original band, down to the particular instruments, amps, pedals, etc. (and even physical appearance), in which case it would be essential to have the "right" gear. I'd suggest talking to the rest of the band to find out where on this spectrum they're aiming for so you can decide accordingly.

And the extreme end of this spectrum would require electric upright, right?

 

[Heiwa]

As long as the front man nails the Eddie vibe, the audience won't care which bass you're playing.

The truth right here. A good singer is everything a PJ tribute needs, no 12 or 16 string bass

 

[5StringBlues]

Good diction not required.