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you use the same bass for all the songs?

#41
G&L ASAT, does everything.
Great for recording, versatile on stage, good and heavy as a defensive weapon and built like a tank.

Can't stand bands that bugger about on stage changing instruments unecessarily, then tuning.. Bah just play the frickin song!
 
#42
Just the one. Usually I never need a change in tone so drastic that either pickup blend and/or playing technique couldn't cover.

Edit -> As above, your audience usually can't hear the difference anyway and watching guys changing instruments and incessant micro-tuning don't make for good entertainment.
 
#44
I bring two Jazz basses to most gig, one fretted, one fretless. I play everything except two or three songs on the fretted. The fretless is there for those few songs and as a backup in case something goes wrong with the fretted bass. I'm working on my fretless skills though, I would like to use it more.

Some gigs I may try other basses, sometimes I play my electric upright (would like to use that more too) but it's really my fretted jazz bass that gets played most of the time.
 
#45
Even tough I play punk rock, some songs just need more metallic sounding, and some more casual. Thats why when my shows will start Im gonna bring with me at least two basses, and maybe one backup bass.

I cant imagine playing everything with one bass. This is just impossible to me. Even if its a Peavey with loads of settings, every bass is unique. Other way we would all rock Pbasses

Btw I remember my show back in 2010 january, during charity concerts session. Absolutely no backup gear, and I was rockin thru my 15 watt Ashdown ... What is even more silly - this amp rescued many bands that played later !
 
#48
For Rock stuff I use my Jag and/or BEAD FenderBird but keep a P w/rounds in a case for backup. For the vintage stuff it's the P w/flats. For church I'll bring one of the above plus my fretless with the Tapes for slow or melodic stuff. I really would like to add an Epi JC for vintage stuff down the road.
 
#49
I usually use my Attitude LTD for an entire gig, but bring a backup just in case.

I prefer to keep my bass tone more or less consistent throughout a gig as it helps with the mix and make's us sound like ourselves rather than replicating other band's tones (besides, it's not as if the drums change, so changing bass tones drastically will alter the mix). I also make use of the dual outputs from the attitude, so getting the same tone from the backup is difficult (but I plan to have my backup modded soon to get it closer).

However. I have recently acquired an old Attitude Standard as my new backup bass. Although I plan to mod it by upgrading the pickups and adding a neck woofer with a separate output, the P/J configuration (which will remain - just better and hotter!) gives some cool tones the LTD doesn't. Suits those 80's rock tunes wonderfully, so I may start using it for a few tunes in a set.
 
#50
Old Fart said:
I like simplicity, and I think of simplicity as a bass value. We bassists are a unique breed, and notice we tend to have things in common. We are more stable than other musicians, overall. We come prepared. We are not as attention-seeking. And we need fewer instruments and fewer bells and whistles. My preference, when it can work, is to play one bass all night long, and plug it directly into an amplifier. I can make tone adjustments between songs, and during songs, to tailor the tone to the song. Particularly if the bass has more than one pickup.

Heck, if you’ve got a killer-sounding fat deep tone, and also (where needed) a killer-sounding cranky/sharp/trebly tone, then those two options are going to get compliments and serve the music. Audiences can’t tell the difference between Sting’s tone and Entwhistle’s tone. But they can recognize a ‘good’ tone when they hear one. Besides…..the variable that makes by far the biggest difference is the fingers. Sounding good is maybe 10% tone. Maybe. At least 90% skill.

I always always always bring a backup axe.
Click to expand...

I agree I have 5 basses and like them all. 3 G&L a Squire P and Michael Kelly Club custom 5. But mostly play my fretted L2500 with full coil tapping. For rehearsals I cary the G&L SB1. For gigs it's the 2500 fretted and the 2500 frettless as a backup!
 
#51
Understanding that studio work has nothing to do with this...

If I'm subbing for a major band and a very big gig, I bring 6 basses. Overkill yes, but I'm backing up 2 to 3 rigs that will be used with the band with whom I regularly stand in. For those gigs I bring:

1. Lightwave Hybrid 4
2. Alembic Mark King 5
3. Alembic II 4
4. Fender USA URGE II
5. Fender USA J 5 Fretless (converted)
6. Prestige Wylde 4

For small gigs like club gigs, etc., I bring:

1. Lightwave hybrid 4
2. Prestige Wylde 4
3. Prestige Wylde 5

It's funny, but I think of myself as a 5 string player mainly, but I seem to bring more 4 strings than anything. That's probably because my 5'ers are either super high end or low end to the point I'm not sure I want to be seen gigging with them.
 
#52
Too much work changing basses! Plus, think about all the things that can go wrong in a bar. Plus. Now id have to keep TWO instruments in tune. Now a drunk can have 100% chance to spill beer on or knock over one of my basses.
I had a stage tech for about 10 shows. He couldnt be taught to tune them. If the holy goof ever happens and i end up in a touring situation with a tech i would then feel comfortable with my fretless 5 for tunes that might benefit from that bass.
Until then, the backup bass stays safe in the car.
 
#55
For me it all depends on what I'm doing. Live, I typically use 1 bass with a second as a backup. Sometimes I'll switch basses for a set, but hardly ever during a set unless there's a problem. My main basses are Spectors, and I have no problem dialing in different tones live, so that's what I use most of the time. I may use something else if I'm feeling it or if I'm asked, but if I do I'll probably use it the whole night. In the past if there were reasons to switch basses we worked it out so there was no dead space. It also helped to have a tech handing a tuned bass off to you.

When I record, I will use whatever the song may call for, but again my Spectors get the most time.
 
#56
been playing the same fretless jazz bass since 1976. bought, built and sold a few others, in particular, an amazing pbass for the studio. funny enough, the pbass never saw the studio. i just couldn't put down the jazz bass. i don't gig anymore, but that old jazz bass will be with me til i'm gone
 
#57
when I think back to what I used to do - I'd wear my japanese ibanez musician fretless (main bass in this example) and throw my alembic OVER TOP of it on a second strap when I needed a fretted thing going on, or throw my LES PAUL over top to scream out a solo in this particular band. This, while touring canada. Somewhere in a rock video is evidence of this I think LoL.

What a strange life. Now, in my 40s, I lose the feeling in my legs after standing still for 5 minutes without even holding any instruments.

Fortunately it's all about moving around on stage anyhow :-D

But you won't catch me with an Alembic any more due to the weight factor that I never noticed in my 20s, and it's pretty unlikely I'll wear two strapped on instruments simultaneously if I ever tour again.
 
#58
I use a P/J5 w/flats for most stuff, and a 5 string Jazz w/nickels for the more aggressive stuff. Neither is really a back-up to the other. They are both first choice and I switch them as the song requires. I have them both strapped up and wired to an A/B (or A/B/C) switch, so the change takes seconds.

When I have to play songs that I hate or are stupid, slow vocalist-wankfests, I usually bust out the fretless, just to keep it interesting for me.

If I could, I'd take all 4 basses everywhere.
 

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