Calling all worship bass players

samjazz

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When it comes to gear, I follow the old army adage, "it ain't the gun, its the gunner." Having said that, I am not yet a very skilled "gunner." I am working hard to improve though and I do make progress. My gear, in the hands of a skilled player, sounds very good. For live playing in Church, I use a 2012 American Standard P-Bass strung with flats, into a pedal train board with voodoo power having a tuner, volume pedal, compressor, bass wah, bass muff fuzz, bass graphic eq, and sansamp BDDI mounted. From the BDDI, I have a balanced line out to the Front of House (FOH) and another line into a small bass cab monitor on the platform.

I don't often use the wah or the fuzz for Sunday morning services, but sometimes for the youth services! :thumbsup:

Our FOH has a very good bass response, so paired with my gear, the system is capable of a range of sounds from organic, almost upright sounding to modern with a decent attack and punch. If I really need some extra growl for a particular set, I use my backup bass which is a modern player tele-bass having twin humbuckers (one at the neck, one at the bridge) which is strung with D'Addario XL (45-105) round wounds.

We perform a range of songs from worshipful/reverent to praising/rock and I love it all.

I especially love to "rock out" for the Lord, and I don't care if people think I'm some weird old dude, dancin' on the platform. I think of David, dancing for the Lord and not giving a snap what others thought.

Three years ago I would have laughed if someone said that I would be playing an instrument at all, let alone multiple times a week before God and people. But God does work in mysterious ways, amen.
 
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jmcorn

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Fender - Check
Tuner - Check
Ampeg - Check

Ready to play.

(Please ignore my pic with the old Gibson EB0)

That reminds me I need to find another tuner for when we play out or another Zoom B3. I wonder what the Ampeg simulation would sound like going through an Ampeg tube head? Would it be twice as good?
 
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jmcorn

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Haha. Probably so. I do use the Ampeg sim on my Eden rig and it sounds good. I haven't tried it on my Ampeg though.

We practiced This is Amazing Grace by Phil Wickam tonight. I think it turned out good. I wanted to use a pick but the sound wasn't as consistent as i would like so i did it finger style. The drummer and I locked in tight on the verses. That's a fun song.
 
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samjazz

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Yep, I guess I am a Fender guy too since the my two basses are both fenders, an Am. Std. 2012 P and a 201x(11, 12, 13?) Modern Player Tele.

However for amplification I prefer Ampeg all the way! I would love to have an SVT-410 HLF, but I am afraid that this is about me and not the worship since my sound is coming out of the house. I just love the tone that my PF-350 produces through the SVT-410 HLF, really great bass tone (to my ears)! Also, my dream head is a SVT CL 300, but between the cost and the weight, and also that I don't really need it...let's just say I won't be holding my breath before I get one.
 
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jmcorn

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Our church is small so all we have is the small box hanging from the ceiling. So i normally supply all of the bass with my rig and they take me mostly out of the main so it doesn't make it muddy. I do use an Eden setup at church but use the Ampeg stuff when we play out unless it is a small place then i will carry a 212 GB setup. We normally supply the PA so i normally take as big a rig as i need in order to supply all of the bass so i do not have to carry other subs and amps.
 
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thunderbyrd

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hello, if anybody's still around. since i posted before, i've bought a new Am St precision bass. it's the coolest bass i ever played! thump and grind and the exact sound i want. i've also got a 51 reissue strung with flats - it belongs to my son but he lost interest in it.

on Sunday mornings i play through a fender BXR 60. our sanctuary isn't very big, so it's all the amp i need. a big ampeg would be nice, but we don't really need it.

i don't really play my jazz bass much anymore, so i'm putting it up for sale.
 
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samjazz

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hello, if anybody's still around. since i posted before, i've bought a new Am St precision bass. it's the coolest bass i ever played! thump and grind and the exact sound i want. i've also got a 51 reissue strung with flats - it belongs to my son but he lost interest in it.

on Sunday mornings i play through a fender BXR 60. our sanctuary isn't very big, so it's all the amp i need. a big ampeg would be nice, but we don't really need it.

i don't really play my jazz bass much anymore, so i'm putting it up for sale.

Congrats on the Am. Std. precision bass!!!
 
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dfreeland311

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Checking in way late. Was the church drummer for a long time. Really started developing a passion for bass during that time. While I was developing a passion, the old drummer that was *trying* to learn bass realized he didn't have any passion for it whatsoever.

Once I realized that I was going to be doing this full time, I decided to get a good bass.

Six months ago, got a Fender Deluxe Active P-Bass. P and Jazz pickups. Very nice sounding. Only had a dumpy practice amp for home and a direct box at church (large soundsystem at church).

A few weeks ago I decided to have a little fun: Digitech Bass Driver distortion pedal, Big Muff fuzz pedal, Digitech Bass Synth Wah, Dunlop Crybaby, and a Hartke direct box.

Started looking at amp cabs / stacks today. Black friday special. I'm so lost right now though.
 
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jmcorn

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Better late than never. Congrats on the new Fender. I normally play a 5 string Fender Jazz myself. In my search for the perfect sound I have went through many stacks/ amps. I have found several keepers. I now use a Bergantino 212 with a genz benz streamliner 600 when I play out normally for its light weight. When I have to carry my own sound I use a Ampeg SVt-CL or a SVT-II with a Ampeg 810e. For small coffee shop style playing i use a lightweight Traynor 15" 200 watt combo. At church I use a Eden wt800 with a 810 cab.
There are many to choose from but after lots of trial and error this is what I came up with. I do like the old school tube amp tone so this has played a large part in my decisions. I have also bought used equipment over the years. You can find really good used deals on Craigslist or Guitar Center.
 
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dfreeland311

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Well, I now own my first *decent* roadworthy amp. Fender Rumble 200 Head + Hartke 4x10 Cabinet.

Local music store hooked me up too, been going there since I was a kid. Got a good price, got to talk to an actual bassist, not a guitarist who happens to sell *all* amps (looking at you, Guitar Center)
 
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dfreeland311

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My little practice area in the office:
eu4sYeI.jpg
 
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