Why no P-bass in gospel?!?

[Pilgrim]

You don't let the gee-tar player tell you which bass is right.

Don't let the parishoners tell you, either.

 

[mongo2]

Actually ther is a "P" in Gospel, it's right there between the "S" and the "E"

 

[Supertanker]

Even then, Andrew Gouche said in his interviews he still detunes his basses 1/2 step, and has played like that for decades.

It's a whole step down.

Instead of BEADGC it's ADGCFBb...

 

[Lizooki]

HMMMMMM . I play a Hamer p-bass copy with flatwounds in church. Of course it's southern-ish gospel, almost blue-grass gospel. The p-bass with flatwounds works well ... even thought when we do anything outdoors, and when i occasionally rotate basses, I play a washburn B-10 ( 1980s boat anchor).

Matt

but the truth is .... a local shop has a Conklin GT5 I want real bad.

 

[metron]

Is it heretical to play P-basses or what? It can't be about tone. What is the deal?

It's the tone. Wrong sound for most Gospel. An active 5 or 6 is WAY more common.

Might as well consult the ubiquitous best bass for metal threads then choose anything but that.

Seriously though I would have never thought gospel bands had such stringent tonal requirements for the bass player. Sure there are a handful of mainstream guys using modern sounding active 5 or 6 but why do they need to be copied? Play thee p bass!

You guys are lucky to even be accepted playing electric bass at all. Back in the 90s I did some church gigs and just having an electric bass was enough to elicit a ton of weird glances.

 

[Gomeztool]

I used to have a Classic Vibe and used it many times in church. My role is in the band is a mix of pocket and second guitar depending on the song. I must admit that the classic P bass with flats simply sounded out of place for my lead bass parts. If the list is heavy on wankery then I bring something else.

 

[acebase62]

I played a PJ for at a inner city church in St. Louis for years. We did some contemporary urban gospel as well as some material from a few years back.

If it sounds good, play it.

 

[ezstep]

Quit worryin' 'bout what other people play. Just go play.






My new bass (when it gets here) will be a passive, 5-string P/J. And, it will see plenty of church service as well as community orchestra play.

 

[over_the_moon]

You can't touch your P in church. You'll go blind!

 

[barebones]

You can't touch your P in church. You'll go blind!

Just choked on my martini. Thanks!

 

[PJRL]

I think it's time to brake new ground and let the P-Bass lead the way !

They are such a classic sound.

 

[tnickk]

I've taken my P-bass to church, and the times when I get to play it, the director loves it. Sadly, much of the material requires a 5 string. I don't see 5 string precisions very often, but I'm sure it would work just fine. An earlier post was correct. I do see a lot of Ken smith. Used to be Tobias.

 

[itwasagift]

Here is a clip of a Pro Gospel Bass player using a P bass and it sounds good!



But I still wouldn't use it to play in most church's because of the organ and the limited control of the sound levels in most churches

 

[can_v]

Seriously though I would have never thought gospel bands had such stringent tonal requirements for the bass player. Sure there are a handful of mainstream guys using modern sounding active 5 or 6 but why do they need to be copied? Play thee p bass!

True.

I don't think God would mind if you praise him with a P. Otherwise, why would he inspire Leo to create it in the first place?

 

[mtshark]

I'm such rebel, at church I play a P through a Bass Big Muff.

Then again, I do play in the youth worship band, and we do generally play pop-punk...

 

[Martin89]

^I think I've seen more P basses then anything else in the pop-punk youth worship band scene.

 

[DWBass]

Here is a clip of a Pro Gospel Bass player using a P bass and it sounds good!

Well, this oughta put all the rumours to rest!

 

[IotaNet]

Gospel is a lot of different things to a lot of different people but when I am asking about whether a P-Bass will work, I want to know if it can work in THIS idiom:



This is not my choir but this is very indicative of what we play and how we play it.

This is a pretty dense sonic mix and the bass player is definitely playing a Jazz (They show a shot of him in the second video.)

I believe that the real question being asked when this comes up is "Can a (passive) P cut through this dense of a sonic mix in a LIVE setting?" You can do anything in the studio -- but what about in a big church sanctuary filled with hundreds of people behind a 50-100+ voice choir?

Will the bass be clearly articulated or will it turn to thump-mud-thump-mud? (And forget about talking to the sound man about properly eq-ing the bass -- in a church, he'll have his own ideas and he really doesn't want to hear yours.)

 

[zenman]

I think that maybe you just forgot to take that Megadeth sticker off your bass before church!

Seriously though, I doubt that anyone, except maybe another bassplayer, has any idea what bass you are playing.

 

[DWBass]

Gospel is a lot of different things to a lot of different people but when I am asking about whether a P-Bass will work, I want to know if it can work in THIS idiom:



This is not my choir but this is very indicative of what we play and how we play it.

This is a pretty dense sonic mix and the bass player is definitely playing a Jazz (They show a shot of him in the second video.)

I believe that the real question being asked when this comes up is "Can a (passive) P cut through this dense of a sonic mix in a LIVE setting?" You can do anything in the studio -- but what about in a big church sanctuary filled with hundreds of people behind a 50-100+ voice choir?

Will the bass be clearly articulated or will it turn to thump-mud-thump-mud? (And forget about talking to the sound man about properly eq-ing the bass -- in a church, he'll have his own ideas and he really doesn't want to hear yours.)

Well, a P-Bass is not all 'thump & mud'. It does have a tone knob and can give a pretty clear sound as well. You also have eq at your amp. Dial in what sounds best. You can also put try different pickups (while still keeping the bass passive).