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Which Bass guitar would you record with
- Thread starter PleyswethSqwerl
- Start date
What kind of music is it? Metal? Folk? Polka? Sea shanties?
I had an early Steinberger L2 (serial# 202) that was simply a wonderful bass. I played in blues bands with it and, though it looked totally space-age, it had a wonderful warm sound for blues and roots music in general. However, I was never able to get used to it with no body to rest my forearm on and the two-octave neck put the "G" position farther out than was comfortable for me to play so I eventually turned it over.
Smooth_bass88
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- Oct 31, 2006
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the one with the freshest roundwound strings, or the one with old dead flatwounds
Jazz Bass:
I have a 5 string EMG equipped -- after converting it to 18v -- seems like a workhorse - Levelled frets just made this bass to playable
Passive Fretless with Lollars
Aldo - I have a couple fat J Nordy's - technically soapbars basses (fretless and Fretted)
I have a 5 string EMG equipped -- after converting it to 18v -- seems like a workhorse - Levelled frets just made this bass to playable
Passive Fretless with Lollars
Aldo - I have a couple fat J Nordy's - technically soapbars basses (fretless and Fretted)
Depends on the music. Either a P or a J which should cover about 80% of most music........IMHO.
(I think strings (rounds or flats) might be a more critical factor than actual bass.)
(I think strings (rounds or flats) might be a more critical factor than actual bass.)
I always bring at least 2 basses to every session, but I would probably go for the P-bass, just because I know what it can do and use a preamp & compressor to sculpt a sound if needed.
There was a studio several years ago near me that had a heavily used P-bass hanging on the wall in the control room, I dunno what year, and engineer said most people don't want to use it because they have their own gear. I asked if I could change the strings, and he said sure, didn't care in the slightest. I put on some Blue Steels, wiped it down a little and that was it. Wend direct into an Avalon, and that was the sound. Didn't need any tweaking at all. this was a mostly rock record, but did have a couple of funky songs on there, and that thing did magic, all I did was twiddle my fingers. My bass never left the case.
There was a studio several years ago near me that had a heavily used P-bass hanging on the wall in the control room, I dunno what year, and engineer said most people don't want to use it because they have their own gear. I asked if I could change the strings, and he said sure, didn't care in the slightest. I put on some Blue Steels, wiped it down a little and that was it. Wend direct into an Avalon, and that was the sound. Didn't need any tweaking at all. this was a mostly rock record, but did have a couple of funky songs on there, and that thing did magic, all I did was twiddle my fingers. My bass never left the case.
I have got very good results with an all original '68 7ender Telecaster Bass.With a pick and DR High beams. As we know it is a reissue of a '51-'53 Precision Bass.
What genre, how big an ensemble, what sort of instrumentation and arrangement, and what role does bass play in it?
Not enough info.
What kind of music? What other instrumentation? What kind of mix? How do the other instruments sound? Etc.
What kind of music? What other instrumentation? What kind of mix? How do the other instruments sound? Etc.
My Lakland 44-02 because of it’s versatility. I have a J bass and a Ray. I’d still go with my Lakland.
is there a compelling reason why you could only use one bass?
if not, i'd always decide on a song-by-song basis. beside the P/jazz/stingray/ric/PJ options, there's the question of 4, 5 or more strings, fretted or fretless, solid body or hollow or semi hollow and more, and each might have something different to bring to a song.
The purpose of this post was merely to see what bass if you could only choose one would be your go to in a studio. I wholly understand that there is a plethora of bases. However, this is just a general question of which one would you choose? If you could only pick one of those I know it’s kind of a shot in the dark question but it’s a mere gauge to see what people go to would be.
Choose one from your list, or one of our own? I don't understand the question.
If it's from your list, I'd go with the Stingray. Fits the type of music I play the most, and I like them generally.
option No. 6 cites
some other brand or miscellaneous bass){emphasis added} Thus leaving you the option to chose one that’s not on the list or one of your own personal favorites.
For me, there is no one answer: it has always depended on what the client and/or producer wants. Im not going to use a P-Bass if the client says. "Smooth jazz, like 80s David Sanborn" or "I want a bass sound like Promises Promises by Naked Eyes". When I get hired to do sessions, I bring a bunch of basses (3-5) with different pickups in different positions. It helps to have information before I go to determine how to narrow it down and what type of strings to use
As always, don't show up to a session with only one bass, unless it's already been discussed. That said, if you had to, and you wanted to make sure your one bass was gonna work sonically on pretty much anything thrown at you, then make it a P. That's simply the lay of the land out there, like it or not. To get even more specific, I'd make it a P with broken-in rounds(because you can still get retro thumpy with a foam mute, palm mute, tone rolled-off, but also grind and clank away if needed). Best bet of course is to show up with a P w flats and a P with rounds. Then bring something else totally different as a 3rd option.
