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Which basses for worship music?

H

hentor

Jan 2, 2008
210
7
Toronto, Canada
www.myspace.com
#1
Hi there,

I'm a long time bassist who plays jazz, fusion, rock and country music who has been asked by a friend who was recently ordained as a Presbyterian Minister to assist in starting a music program at his church.

Now keeping in mind that I am a luddite and have had extremely bad experiences with basses that have active electronics and multi strings, I have come to realize that the increased range required for much modern worship music calls for a bass with more than four strings. Again, my ideal bass is a Fender Precision (I grew up playing one and love the tone and feel of the neck). I prefer the wider spacing of the strings at the bridge and enough wood in the neck to support my fretting hand.

Can I make do with a five string bass to play modern worship music (again I'm a luddite) and would a Fender Precision Five be an adequate instrument to use. Keep in mind that while I like my basses simple, I have a decent enough rack where I biamp my bass and have a good studio parametric eq to assist in tonal sculpting...

Opinions and ideas for required.
 
#3
I use a couple 4 strings at church, and have a Birdsong Corto on the way that will be the top of the batting order. BUT: There are times when I wish I had a 5er, mostly at church, because of the keys so much church music is written in... If you already have a 5er, you are golden. Go fer it.
 
#5
I have a 5-string Fender American Deluxe Precision that I don't really like to use for church gigs. I *much* prefer my MTDs - they just have that solid, piano-like low-end that really fills the place. A Modulus would be killer, too (I used to own a Q5 - I miss it!). The P is good for cutting through a mix but doesn't have the power of a modern-tone bass. One of my MTDs is a 5-string and the other is a 6-string. Sometimes I bring my 5-string P as a backup, but it just doesn't sound right in that context.

IME, you definitely need a low B string. You can probably get away with a 4 tuned BEAD, but with CCW, a low B is necessary (mostly for that low C and low D, really).

P.S. Luddite = a member of a group of early 19th century English workmen engaged in attempting to prevent the use of laborsaving machinery by destroying it?...
 
#7
hentor said:
Hi there,

I'm a long time bassist who plays jazz, fusion, rock and country music who has been asked by a friend who was recently ordained as a Presbyterian Minister to assist in starting a music program at his church.

Now keeping in mind that I am a luddite and have had extremely bad experiences with basses that have active electronics and multi strings, I have come to realize that the increased range required for much modern worship music calls for a bass with more than four strings. Again, my ideal bass is a Fender Precision (I grew up playing one and love the tone and feel of the neck). I prefer the wider spacing of the strings at the bridge and enough wood in the neck to support my fretting hand.

Can I make do with a five string bass to play modern worship music (again I'm a luddite) and would a Fender Precision Five be an adequate instrument to use. Keep in mind that while I like my basses simple, I have a decent enough rack where I biamp my bass and have a good studio parametric eq to assist in tonal sculpting...

Opinions and ideas for required.
Click to expand...

You need something that will rattle walls and cut through for melodic 12-16 fret melodic things..... IMHO 5 String that cuts... PM if you're interested in a custom 5 string w/maple body Bartolini 3 band preamp and EMG-J pups, original HSC.... this has done the job for my congregation and FOH sound man has been pleased (3000 seats) worship hall.... Imagine if a J Bass & a MM Stingray had an offspring! That's what works for Worshipping Him!
 
#11
You can play the newer worship songs without a low "B" but some of this things would have to be transposed up an octave and would not sound the same. That being said, our MoM prefers me to stick to the same range as on the recordings, so I have to have a 5'er. I have a pretty wide range of basses and all of them do the job, so you don't need a "gospel approved" MTD or Ken Smith... for the songs.

IMHO, the biggest bangs for the buck are the Lakland Skyline series and the new American P-5's, YMMV!

Dan K.
 
#12
i find playing worship music today fits into set sonic range tuned to your particular
congregation. that said, i find a 4 string tuned DGCF allows you to get down and
play more in the sweet part of the neck. sightreading can be very rough, but after that
first go-round you get it.
 
#13
hentor said:
Hi there,

I'm a long time bassist who plays jazz, fusion, rock and country music who has been asked by a friend who was recently ordained as a Presbyterian Minister to assist in starting a music program at his church.

Now keeping in mind that I am a luddite and have had extremely bad experiences with basses that have active electronics and multi strings, I have come to realize that the increased range required for much modern worship music calls for a bass with more than four strings. Again, my ideal bass is a Fender Precision (I grew up playing one and love the tone and feel of the neck). I prefer the wider spacing of the strings at the bridge and enough wood in the neck to support my fretting hand.

Can I make do with a five string bass to play modern worship music (again I'm a luddite) and would a Fender Precision Five be an adequate instrument to use. Keep in mind that while I like my basses simple, I have a decent enough rack where I biamp my bass and have a good studio parametric eq to assist in tonal sculpting...

Opinions and ideas for required.
Click to expand...
A Fender Precision Five should be just fine. The only Fender Precision Five I've seen has an active preamp in it, but that doesn't mean you have to use it! I play at my church and use a Peavey Millennium Plus 5. The preamp is very versatile but I pretty much leave it flat and blend toward the neck pickup.
 
#15
thesteve said:
It's really going to depend on what sound the music program is going for. I use my Fender Jazz V at church but rarely use the low B string. The bulk of contemporary worship music that I've heard is just rehashed pop-rock that could be covered just fine with a 4 string bass.
Click to expand...

That's my experience as well. I have a couple 5's but pretty much use 4's exlusively. It's fine for most contemporary worship music - in fact, all of it we play. I miss low D a little bit but not enough to put up with the wide necks. Unless you've got a REALLY tuned in congregation, it would be very surprising if anyone is likely to care that you play a couple notes up an octive from how it might have been recorded. Admittedly, your music director may have some passion about it...
 
#18
DougD said:
55-02 :)
Click to expand...

I think all of the choices are quite good, especially the SR5, but the 55-02 is a really great bass. As everyone knows, it has the exact same electronics as the 55-94, but it is much, much less expensive. I use a 55-02, and it is super versatile. It can sound vintage and passive, and it can get a really aggressive active snarl. I don't think it is an accident that gospel heavy hitters like Maurice Fitzgerald and Dale Black have used them.
 
#19
I would say a nice DJ5, JO5, or 55-02 (all Laklands) would be great choices!

the 55-02 is active...the other two are passive......you can find some great Lakie deals in the TB for sale thread and (IMHO) the Lakies are an (overall) better buy then Fenders (BTW - I am NOT trying to start a Fender v. Lakland argument here....this is JUST my opinion)

I really think you need the B string for both modern and traditional church music since many of the modern songs are in "flat" keys etc....also - if you want to emulate an organ for some of the tradtional songs, you will need to "go low"...

Just have fun, remember WHY you are playing and for Who, and all will be great!!!

Peace:

Doug
 
#20
My all-around worship bass was a lucky find...mahogany body, active 5-er with a fast neck. It goes organ-pipe deep (I goose the onboard bass tone to get under the music) with nice top end detail for intros and fills. Until a Lakland 55-02 comes my way I love this bass. It was a $225 lucky bet on ebay...be patient and the Lord will provide.

For some driving rock-pop tunes I use either a P-bass with rounds or a Dark-Star P-bass with half-rounds.

The second church where I play uses grand piano and gospel-trained voices. There I use the versatile 5-er or my Pedulla Buzz, depending on how I want to blend with the vocals that week.
 

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