"What is the best bass for [INSERT GENRE]?" is such a common question on Talkbass that it's become a joke.
Music festivals of specific genres provide a general representation of trends within those genres. One trend that can be observed is what type(s) of basses are being used within the genre. These observations can be used to identify the most common and therefore "best bass" for that genre
One-hundred nineteen (119) artists performed at the 2015 Firefly Music Festival, which primarily features "rock" bands and was held at the Dover International Speedway in Delaware over Father's Day weekend. AXS TV televised portions of the event showing twenty-five (25) bands over three (3) days. The makes and models of basses used by these bands were identified along with additional information including body color, pickguard color, fingerboard wood where applicable, and amplifiers to aid in determining the best bass for rock.
Twenty-five (25) bands/artists were shown as part of AXS TV's coverage. Four (4) of those bands/artists (Sylvan Esso, Kygo, Empire of the Sun, and Snooop Dog) included no bass players, leaving twenty-one (21) bass players. The bass player for Foster the People used two basses for a total of twenty-two (22) bases. Data for these basses are shown below.
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Sunburst Precision with a rosewood fretboard and tortoise pickguard!
You unoriginal bunch of bastards!
Music festivals of specific genres provide a general representation of trends within those genres. One trend that can be observed is what type(s) of basses are being used within the genre. These observations can be used to identify the most common and therefore "best bass" for that genre
One-hundred nineteen (119) artists performed at the 2015 Firefly Music Festival, which primarily features "rock" bands and was held at the Dover International Speedway in Delaware over Father's Day weekend. AXS TV televised portions of the event showing twenty-five (25) bands over three (3) days. The makes and models of basses used by these bands were identified along with additional information including body color, pickguard color, fingerboard wood where applicable, and amplifiers to aid in determining the best bass for rock.
Twenty-five (25) bands/artists were shown as part of AXS TV's coverage. Four (4) of those bands/artists (Sylvan Esso, Kygo, Empire of the Sun, and Snooop Dog) included no bass players, leaving twenty-one (21) bass players. The bass player for Foster the People used two basses for a total of twenty-two (22) bases. Data for these basses are shown below.
- There were a total of eleven (11) Precision basses, making them the most common and accounting for half of all bases. Ten (10) were Fender and one (1) was Celinder.
- There were four (4) Fender Jazz basses, the same number of hollowbody basses.
- There were also four (4) hollowbody bases (what appeared to be two (2) Epiphone Rivolis, one (1) Fender Starcaster, and one (1) Guild), the same number of Jazz basses.
- The remaining basses included one (1) Gibson Thunderbird, one (1) Music Man Stingray, and one (1) Skjold custom.
- The most common colors were sunbursts (6) and whites (5). Other colors included reds (4), natural (3), greens (2), and black (2).
- On the "Fender" basses, pickguard colors were as follows: tortoise (5), white (4), black (3), anodized (2), and pearloid (1).
- On the "Fender" basses, there were nine (9) rosewood fretboards and six (6) maple. Four of the maple necks were blocked.
- It was not possible to identify all amplifiers but the majority were Ampegs, Fenders, and Ashdowns.
...Sunburst Precision with a rosewood fretboard and tortoise pickguard!
You unoriginal bunch of bastards!
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