• 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.

What set up do you use in the bands you play?

A

Alejandro Q

Jun 16, 2017
24
16
#1
I'm curious about this topic. Maybe we all can get new ideas from this. Preferably say the genre the group is. I'll start:

In my spanish rock cover band, which is a genre I hardly recommend you NOT listen to, I play a very straightforward setup. A MIM fender P straight to a rumble 500. I play flats with a pick. The sound I get doesn't really matter too much, I mostly play eighteenth notes very fast. Pretty boring, but is by far the one that pays best.

In my Reggie band I play a custom made jazz bass from the great, great MARUSZCZYK shop. Flats and a mute, groove for days. Same amp, no effects. One of the best bands I've been in, great musicians and I enjoy a lot the gigs, even if I dislike the genre quite a bit.

In my funk band I play a Sandberg California, not sure the exact model. This one in particular has a great pickup combination: P+HH. Amazing sound with nickel wounds and a markbass head and cab. I use a envelope filter and a B:assmaster fuzz here for the solos and wow. Best tome that has come from me ever.

I also play in a jam band that plays very ocasionally, both jazz and blues. For the blues I dig my Rick 4003s with the ampeg portaflex, which I can use here for the relatively moderate volumen. For jazz I would play the upright, but is just a pain to carry, so fretless squier jazz bass is usually my choice here, digging that Jaco look.

Anyway, what are you using?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rock Salad, Bobro, Pbassmanca and 4 others
#2
I play in a 3 pc group, guitar/bass/cajon and all 3 of us sing. The lead singer is, by his own definition, a "recovering barbershop member" so he is very helpful with harmonies. Love this setup, so easy to sing without screaming over a drummer but still have a beat. But I digress....

My main bass for this group is an Epiphone Rumblekat semi hollow, Shure wireless that runs through a stomp box tuner and into my Rumble 500. No effects.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bobro and 10cc
#3
I've been playing in a bluegrass/Americana/fusion band for a while now and the current setup is Fender or Warmoth Jazz, either fretted or fretless. Korg tuner to Diamond BCP to BBDI to the board. No drums, keys or 'lectric geetars so stage volume is never an issue. Life is good.
B.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bobro
#5
I'm only playing jazz gigs these days, on a Thompson upright through a realist pickup and fdeck's preamp straight into my Carvin MB10. Once in a while, I'll play my Carvin Icon 4-string fretless instead / too.
 
#6
The bands I play in are Classic Rock , Southern Rock and Country. Been using the same P Bass and SVT rig for years now. Lately my back has asked me to use the PF 500 head and since it can cause me great grief if I don't listen to it I have obliged. Almost none of the gigs we play have any amount of stairs so my back hasn't complained about the 8 10 with handles and wheels. Good thing too.....I hate arguing with my back.;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: P. Aaron, Bobro and 10cc
#7
Top-40 rock/dance cover band. I have several flavors of Warwick Fortress basses, but my go-to is a 5-string Masterman. I also rotate in a SBMM Sub and a Tobias Toby fretless on occasion. All go through a Mesa D800 and Subway 115 cab. I've begun incorporating effects to add more character to the songs, still finding my way with pedals.
 
#8
Alejandro Q said:
I'm curious about this topic. Maybe we all can get new ideas from this. Preferably say the genre the group is. I'll start:

In my spanish rock cover band, which is a genre I hardly recommend you NOT listen to, I play a very straightforward setup. A MIM fender P straight to a rumble 500. I play flats with a pick. The sound I get doesn't really matter too much, I mostly play eighteenth notes very fast. Pretty boring, but is by far the one that pays best.

In my Reggie band I play a custom made jazz bass from the great, great MARUSZCZYK shop. Flats and a mute, groove for days. Same amp, no effects. One of the best bands I've been in, great musicians and I enjoy a lot the gigs, even if I dislike the genre quite a bit.

In my funk band I play a Sandberg California, not sure the exact model. This one in particular has a great pickup combination: P+HH. Amazing sound with nickel wounds and a markbass head and cab. I use a envelope filter and a B:assmaster fuzz here for the solos and wow. Best tome that has come from me ever.

I also play in a jam band that plays very ocasionally, both jazz and blues. For the blues I dig my Rick 4003s with the ampeg portaflex, which I can use here for the relatively moderate volumen. For jazz I would play the upright, but is just a pain to carry, so fretless squier jazz bass is usually my choice here, digging that Jaco look.

Anyway, what are you using?
Click to expand...
A G&L L-2000 through a GK MB210-II for literally everything. I don't own any other gear. The set-up sees most use in jazz, but my bass is a bloodhound for a good session. Whatever is needed of me, I can get done with this pairing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 10cc
#11
At one time or another, I've played just about every popular dance music style there is. Even so, I remain at heart a dumbass rock'n'roll bass player. If I had my druthers, I'd use my Birdsong cBass (sounds like a Precision, except it weighs 7 lbs.) for everything. But I'll bring out a Fender Jazz when necessary. I have a Genz-Benz streamliner that I use with various speaker combinations.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mexicanyella and patzilla83
#12
Prior indie rock bands- SB2 into EBS T90 and 410. Nice and gritty, blended well with guitars
Current Americana/Indie band- Jack Casady into Peavey VB2 and 1 or 2 15s. big fat sound, sits well below the twangy/atmospheric stuff my guitars do now.
Prior cover bands- Usually preferred my MIJ Jazz and either a LM2 or Fender 800 Pro (beast of an amp) into a 410 of some sort.
 
#15
Classic rock. I'm playing my Maruszczyk Jake with P/MM config and flats. Typically let the PA carry the room, so simply bass into compressor and Sansamp VT bass DI. Stage is covered by my Genz Benz Countour 115 with or w/o a 210 extension.

Church P&W band is just my Mustang with flats direct to the PA with a small SWR combo for stage monitor.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bobro
#16
Country cover band I retired from recently - Fender Starcaster, no pedals, direct into a SansAmp RBI, IEM monitoring.

Rock originals band (sporadic) - Fender MIJ P/J into pedal board incl a Bass Soul Food for grit, into Ampeg PF500/PF 115 cab.

Alt.country band - I play pedal steel and acoustic guitar so quite a different setup!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bobro and Helix
#17
Lots of eighteenth notes? Never come across an eighteenth note before.

Use my Mesa Subway rig for any and all genres of music. Same for any of my basses. For me, the key is having very versatile gear to accommodate any and all types of music without having to swap gear.

Have used my Pedulla fretless for metal, classic rock, modern country, contemporary worship, reggae, ambient, dance, funk, and flamenco styles of music. The same can be said for my Ibanez ATK, as well as my P Bass. The Fodera hasn't seen any gigs yet but got some stuff coming up in September so REALLY looking forward to stretching it's legs.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tekhedd, alesreaper9 and SLO Surfer
#18
Good post, I like this topic as I think all of us who are in multiple bands think about this quite often.

- Indie Rock/Pop Band: Jazz Bass through my main, large pedalboard (Dicosimo 360 Preamp on all the time) with some effects for transitions/quiet parts/in-between song fun. I use a LabSeries L2 through my Sears 2x12x15 cabinet for seriously loud clean tones (this band doesn't utilize much distortion).

- Post Punk Band: Rickenbacker 4003W through a smaller pedal board (BuiltByRyan OD, Sansamp VTBass, Kilobyte Delay, Mantic Vitriol). I go for a LabSeries L11 in this band, using the 2nd channel for some extra grit and character, and feed that through an unnamed 2x10.

- Motown / Funk band: 70's Drifter Jazz Bass through the 360 Preamp pedal and direct into the L2 + 2x10. I have this old set of Sadowski Blue Roundwounds that are super dead and muted sounding - its a PERFECT motown tone.
 
#19
i play the same instrument and i use the same rig for everything i'm currently playing: PJ fretless into a 300w head into a 2-10 neo cab. i almost always wear black unless the gig is outside during the day. :)

OP: you have a wide repertoire --- glad you're handling each of them with a thoughtful setup! good luck! :thumbsup:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Element Zero
#20
Bass > amp

depending on the venue I use either;
an MB200 with 2x10 cab, or
an Ampeg V4b with 2x12 cab or
Ampeg VT7pro with 4x10 cab.

P or J, whichever needs the love

Update: Got the word over the last weekend that our main soloist (fiddle) is retiring from gigging due to hearing loss issues. So it's looking like we'll be trimming the band down to a duo or trio at best. I'm wondering if it's about time
to let the big rigs go and just hang on to the small set up.

How do you TBers usually handle the sale of larger cabs? Local only or ship at buyers expense?
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: BluesOnBass

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back