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Which basses for worship music?

#41
heymelbs said:
+1 on this one. If your playing Tomlin, Redman, Baloche, etc. then a 5er isn't necessary. A 5er will work but not necessary.
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Yeah, at the church I volunteered at, I got a lot of this, and used my Moses Jazz and ATK tons. We sounded great, the PA was killer, the in-ears assured me I'd hear everything....then I got offered a paying gig at a church I filled in at, and I had to take it. It is a more challenging gig, which is enjoyable, but the acoustics of the building and poor PA make me wish I didn't have to play there. They do Tomlin, but prefer more complicated stuff like Ron Kenoly (and boy do they love songs with key changes!), and when I'm learning the tunes I can hear they were played on a 5. I don't have a 5, so I do the best I can with my EMG loaded Soundgear 800. My amp, an Ampeg Portabass 250 with the 2-10 cab, works beautifully in both churches.
 
#42
A good 5er is a good 5er. Versatility is king for me, so I play Lakland 55 series basses. With that pickup configuration, coil switching, active/passive and clean, usable eq combined with amazing feel and attractive looks makes these so hard to beat I just won't play anything else anymore. I play pro gigs all week and at church Wed. and Sun. and can honestly say the things I need for the pro gigs are the same things I need for Praise and Worship.
 
#45
hentor said:
Okay, no disrespect taken at all here. However you missed one of the primary aspects in my initial question: I am starting the music program from nothing. I have been asked to be the MD/leader and work from what I can get from the growing congregation.

What I have found is that most modern worship music I have seen utilizes extended range instruments and I, being somewhat of a traditionalist (trained on Double Bass Viol, Simandl method et. al.) have found most 5-string and above basses to be overly cramped and active pickups to add too much noise for my liking. However that does not go away from the fact that much of the small amount of music I have seen often uses low D's low C's and sometimes, gasp, even a B.

I was merely asking for opinions regarding if a 5, 6, etc.-string bass is necessary and if so, what would folks recommend me to start looking at given my tastes in instrumentation.
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I definitely recommend a 5 string for covering the contemporary christian stuff.

There are some great passive 5 strings out there at reasonable prices. Take a look at the offerings from Lakland. The new Fender Jazz V is also intriguing. Either of those with a good direct box and you are good to go.
 
#46
I've played a 4 string in worship for some time now, but I've just recently acquired a G&L L2500. That may do the trick for you if you're a fender fan (as I am). It's got a totally passive option in which the bass and treble controls still function well, and the neck spacing is comfortable.

It's not a boutique, but it's versatile.
 
#47
fourstringbliss said:
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.
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Five yes. P no. American P5 Deluxe maybe. Something with PJ pickups might be good.
 
#48
I love the sound of p basses. But last week after rehearsal with my p bass, the worship band's two keyboard players came over to me and ask to me use my 'other' more defined basses.

I Just did the actual worship with my alembic 6 and everyone is happy...my suggestion is to keep an open mind and ask for feedback from the band. Sometimes the audience/listener of your sound is naive but more sensitive than you!

Another suggestion is to use a two pick up bass, that would be helpful, at least you have an option to sweep between two sounds as you work through the songs.
 
#50
I'm not sure if I broke a cardinal bass guitar rule today, but one of the songs in church today needed a more driving rhythm so I used a pick (on a jazz bass). Actually it really made a difference in our muddy sounding sanctuary to drive that 1/8 note rhythm.
 
#51
heymelbs said:
I'm not sure if I broke a cardinal bass guitar rule today, but one of the songs in church today needed a more driving rhythm so I used a pick (on a jazz bass). Actually it really made a difference in our muddy sounding sanctuary to drive that 1/8 note rhythm.
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There's no rules broken. That's a great idea. I used to use one excluively until I finally broke down and learned to play with my fingers.
 
#52
i use a five string fender american jazz deluxe v and it does the job pretty good, i admit the b string is a little floppy but if i pluck it lightly it is fine, i used to use a four string washburn bass, it had a modern sound
it was good, but once i started using the five string jazz, i was converted to a five string forever, it is just so nice to have the b string on some of the slower songs when a low d needs to be, well, low, for me it gives so much more character to the low end, and the fender can get kind of close to a modern sound when i put dr low riders steel strings on it, and put the pick up selector switch in the middle position and add some more mid end to the eq, but still i am looking for more growl, so i bought a G&L L2500, now i am waiting for it to get here, they said it will take 2 to 4 months, i hope this gives me the growl i am looking for and i hope it works good in a church setting, reading the specs on it it seems like it is one of the most versatile basses out there, i sure hope so, well anyway i think a fiver is the way to go, i never cared for a fiver or wanted one, but when i borrowed a friends bass and got used to the five, it ruined me on the 4 strings for good.
 
#53
capnsandwich said:
There's no rules broken. That's a great idea. I used to use one excluively until I finally broke down and learned to play with my fingers.
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OH NO! A backslider!


Just kidding! Either way, you ARE using your fingers aren't you?

Great answers here on this thread everyone! I would like to add that a 5'er IME does extend the possibilities to playing in church. Not that a de-tuned 4 banger wouldn't do.

When I started playing at the L.A. Dream Center (years ago) my MD saw my P-bass and said,"Ah...we'll have to get you a 5 string bass so you get down even lower". They were kind enough to go out and get me a 5 string bass guitar. I'm really glad they did, because I learned how to play a 5 string, enhanced my skills, and I practiced even more.

Personally, I suggest a 5 string J-Bass of any kind to get your creative juices flowing.

Good luck in your endeavors! Hope you are continuously blessed!
 
#54
There's no reason why you couldn't use a four string for modern worship music or traditional for that matter and it would work fine. I used to use my MIA Precision a lot (it's the only bass that the sound guys would ask me to turn down because of its woody midrange bark that seemed to project so well) and I still use my MIA Jazz Deluxe from time to time. That being said, I do prefer to bring my Lakland Skyline 55-01 or Ibanez BTB 1305 for the extended range B-string. There's something about being able to do a big C or D double stop or an E triple stop to finish up a song or to add big dynamics during a change-up.

Both the Lakland and the BTB have 19mm (.75in) Fender-type bridge spacing. That's the one thing I have now made standard with all my basses. The Lakland will do a decent impersonation of a P-bass.

I had my new BTB-1305 at church this morning and had a great time of worship.
 
#55
lovenotfear said:
i use a five string fender american jazz deluxe v and it does the job pretty good, i admit the b string is a little floppy but if i pluck it lightly it is fine, ...
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So why don't you just put on a stiffer string? Your B-string is no floppier than that of any other 34-inch scale bass using the same strings. It's the string, not the bass.
 
#57
lovenotfear said:
ya that 's why i put on the dr low riders, but it still is floppy, is there a string stiffer than that?
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Try a .130 or .135 instead of a .125. That should help tremendously. I use a .125 on my 34" scale and it sounds awesome. On my previous bass I had to use a .135 for the B to sound right. After that it was awesome...

To answer the original poster, I find that a 5 does help in my case and that happens to be a Yamaha with Jazz pickups for me. However I keep my Precision and my SRX500 close by as I still like playing a four for some songs. It really is personal preference but a 5 does help when you play against two keyboard players.
 
#58
I recommend a Skyline Lakland 55-02. A 5'er is a must for worship I think (better range for your fretting handing, lots of songs played in Eb, Bb, D, C). The Skyline will get you a variety of sounds. It's low B is very authoritative through a serious set of subs.
 
#60
lovenotfear said:
ya that 's why i put on the dr low riders, but it still is floppy, is there a string stiffer than that?
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I think the DR Low Riders you're using are round core strings. I would suggest a good hex core string like Sadowsky stainless steels. I had the same problem with an older Tobias Toby Pro. I tried everything to get the B string tighter. Then I switched to Sadowsky and BOOM, my B string was much more playable. I also raised my saddle under the B a little bit but not enough to change any intonation.
 

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