We are bassists and you can't live without us!!

Sold my 5 string 6 months after purchasing it. I came out of my daze, and have been confused ever sense on why I bought it. I've never heard a 5 string sound good thru a P.A., or on an album. Also I don't take the "lead" bass player or show off approach and just focus on being the backbone of the band with the drummer so that could be another reason why I don't use a 5 string.

parchy wrote:

Half of the jams I'm involved in I make use of the low B string, so it's not really fair to say that unless you're a Victor Wooten kind of performer you don't have use of the 5th string... it's really amazing all of the things I've been able to do with it that I didn't think I would... I still have my 4 string but I just don't use it as much as I used to

Wooten doesn't play 5-strings... he gets it done with 4...

*snicker*

All Those Yesterdays wrote:

Sold my 5 string 6 months after purchasing it. I came out of my daze, and have been confused ever sense on why I bought it. I've never heard a 5 string sound good thru a P.A., or on an album. Also I don't take the "lead" bass player or show off approach and just focus on being the backbone of the band with the drummer so that could be another reason why I don't use a 5 string.

Glad you finally saw the light, buddy...

you could have a band with no bassist.
you could have a band with no guitars.
you could have a band with no drummer.
you could have a band with no singer.

^Missing one of these is really lame though.

nailz100 wrote:

I'd have to say that there are advantages to both the 4 string and the 5 string. I think alot of it comes down to personal preference.

Parchy knows that I'm just a four-string purist, and I talk a lot of shit, but it's all in good fun.

mccreadyisgod wrote:

Yeah...

But what happens when your bass player insists a 5-wheeled car is better than a 4-wheeled car?

Besides... I've known a lot of bass players who were flat, too. I'm not sure there are any bass players who know what a tuner is.

My last argument: The Black Keys, The White Stripes, Sleater-Kinney. The defense rests.

Good to have you back, buddy...

*Cough*The Doors*cough*

I love the White Stripes and the Doors. They are both great without a bass player. I play guitar in a band and I have a marshall half stack combo and our drummer is pretty loud. However our bass player only has a small 25 watt crate. I hate playing without being able to hear the bass. Soon he is going to get a crate half stack with a 220 watt head and a 412 cab. Kind of a step up. Any bass players think that might be too loud of a head? Please respond.

the crate he is getting is a bass amp. I was just wondering if 220 watts would be too loud. I mean my Marshall half stack is 50 watts (guitar amp) and it is really loud. Someone told me that bass amps need a little extra wattage to put out the deep low end. But do you think he will be able to turn it up past 3 or 4 without blowing us away?

rage333 wrote:

the crate he is getting is a bass amp. I was just wondering if 220 watts would be too loud. I mean my Marshall half stack is 50 watts (guitar amp) and it is really loud. Someone told me that bass amps need a little extra wattage to put out the deep low end. But do you think he will be able to turn it up past 3 or 4 without blowing us away?

Well, just make sure he doesn't turn past 3 or 4. Just because the power is there, doesn't mean you gotta use it. That person was right... you do need more power for low-end in a bass.

Is your Marshall a tube amp or a solid-state amp?

I think a 200-watt bass amp would match nicely to a 50-watt tube guitar amp. Just about the right size.

my amp is a marshall Avt with valvestate technology. I read that it is half tube half valve. I have only turned it up to about half way and it is way loud. Thanks for all your helpfull knowledge mccready. now I can sleep at night.