Using multiple basses live?

[perfektspace6]

Having both basses plugged into the A/B box didn't really save any time, but it did add to the potential tangle of cables on stage. Having only one cord for either bass makes more sense to me. Less chance of a cable getting stepped on, or tangled up in the singer's feet and pulling the bass out of the stand.

The real key is being able to swap basses fast. I use the same strap no matter which bass I'm playing, and the basses all have the Dunlop Dual-Design strap locks. Have a GOOD stand which for me means the Ultimate stand that suspends the bass by the headstock. Solid, reliable, and gives me lots of options on stage for where to put the two basses. I don't like multi-instrument stands because they're so big that you have limited options for tucking the basses in between amps so they don't get knocked over.

And, I don't alter my amp settings for different basses. My amp's job is to give me what my bass sounds like so I switch from the P bass to the Lakland fretted 4-94 to the fretless 4-94 and expect the amp to give me what THAT particular bass sounds like.

jte

This is the correct answer. A/B boxes are fine but completely unnecessary.

 

[Coelho]

Yeah, who cares if you switch from a very quiet bass to an active monster with 3 times th e output?

 

[Deleted member 5551]

I use an ABY box. I think mine is a Morley...I don't remember though. It works great for doubling or when I'm playing fretted & fretless. I was proud of myself when I could do a switch from bass guitar to double bass in under 30 seconds.

 

[BluesWalker]

I used to own that Radial BassBone. It was too much of a hassle to setup, too many cables to worry about etc. When I am ready to switch basses, I just turn on the tuner, disconnect the cable, plug in the new bass and turn off the tuner. Ready to go in under 30 sec.

 

[kissmybASS01]

Kinda hard to tell by the pic, but this is basically my dual bass rig. I plug both into an A/B switch box, output to my POD XT Live, and then to either a Radial DI or the direct out on the back of my head. (My pedals are on the left side of my ERGO stand)

A few more connections, but I try to keep it neat and tidy....well sort of. I keep my amp set flat, and use preset patches and the volume on my POD to balance.

 

[JTE]

Yeah, who cares if you switch from a very quiet bass to an active monster with 3 times th e output?

In my experience that's a very rare situation. NONE of the active basses I've used over the last 30 years has had nomianl output levels noticably in excess of the passive basses I've used at the same time. The passive ones with which I've had personal experience on stage include three Fender Precisions (stock, DiMarzio, and Duncan pickups), a California Precision (P/J stock PUPs), a Geddy Lee, a Fender Precision Special (a/k/a "The Boner Bass" with Lace Sensors), a G&L L-1000 (that was the hottest output of any bass I've ever played), a Peavey Palladium (the Jeff Berlin model), tw0 Hammer Cruise Basses (stock Duncan Vintage Jazz PUPs), and a fretless Jazz Bass Special (stock, Duncan 1/4 pounders, and Lace Sensors).

Actives include two pre EB StingRays, three Laklands with Barts, a Guild Pilot with EMG PUPS feeding the passive V/V/T, and a Guild Pilot Pro with the EMG PUPS feeding a Mighty Mite active pre, a very early G&L L-2000e, and the fretless Jazz Bass Special with Duncan's Steve Baily pre-amp.

John

 

[VroomVroom]

Very interesting thread. My setup is pretty simple. As someone who is afraid of just about anything in the signal chain that isn't "bass" or "amp," I make use of the 'mute' button and do the swap. (I run the tuner into the dedicated jack on my amp, or simply direct into the bass before the set starts on the rare occasions I'm using someone else's gear.)

Unless I'm EQ'ing for the room, my amp is pretty much always set flat. As John has mentioned, I'm most happy when the amp is merely "pronouncing" the sound of my instruments. I will occasionally make adjustments to the gain to compensate for differences in instrument output, but even that is fairly rare. A few times now I have leveraged the separate channels of my Epi amp. The goal there has been to accentuate/distinguish between my Rob Allen (upright vibe) and other (i.e. Sadowsky, MTD) basses. Even then, this only happens when I need to switch instruments during a set. Ideally the set list will allow me to swap basses during breaks, which just makes things easier for everyone. Most of my gigs have very short - if any - transitions from one tune to the next, so even if I do have two instruments on a gig, I'll end up chasing tonal variations with my right hand position.

 

[Bassman_1980]

Boss Line Selector LS-2:

with this device you can use a maximum of 3 basses

the bass with the highest output should be connected
on the LS-2 as the main bass

the remaining 2 can be connected to inputs A & B,
which both have a level control

 

[addylewis]

I've done it...with 2 different bands on the same bill, but a mid-set change? nah, unless there was a problem