Am I the only one?

So… a little backstory. I live in northern Orange County, CA. I’m about 15 minutes away from Disneyland, if that helps you out-of-towners (heh). My brother is a fantastic guitarist, who lives up in northern Hollywood and frequently gigs in far-away places like La Crescenta which is on the other side (I think, I’m not good with that area) of Los Angeles proper. In order to see him gig, it’s like… a 1 1/2 - 2 hour drive. Which makes anything but a Saturday night gig largely out of the picture for me. And most of his gigs are weekday gigs.

ANYWAY!

My GF and I are on vacation this week, we decided to surprise him and his wife (she’s a fantastic vocalist) at their Wednesday night jam. And they were surprised. Anyway, fantastic jam, mostly blues and blues-rock based, with a number of classics and some original songs. And I realized… that’s EXACTLY what I want to do with this hobby. I have no illusions of stardom or even making money; I just want to jam blues and blues-rock with and for other people. With all of the wacky instruments I’ve gotten myself into it’s all I’ve ever wanted. It really cemented my dedication and devotion (once again).

ANYWAY YET AGAIN!

Here’s the crux of this post: I have two main basses now, those being my headless Kiesel Osiris 4 string, and my Carvin B50 five string. They’re both great, play awesome, have no issues, and I’m very happy with both of them. The Osiris is P/J, and has a more, I dunno, aggressive sound and feel to it. The B50 is J/J, has a very classic feel to it, and sounds like a brighter/crisper Jazz.

Since we went to my brother’s jam the other night, I’ve dived into the B50 with gusto, at the expense of the Osiris. My thought here is that if my goal is to jam with and for people in a loosely blues/blues rock setting, wouldn’t it look weird and out of place if I pulled out a headless, crazy modern bass? Shouldn’t I play something with a more classic look and sound to it? Wouldn’t that be more fitting to the intent?

Or am I the only person who worries about stuff like that?

Oh, and apologies for the rambling post, LOL.

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Don’t know if you’re the only one, but if I were wanting to do what you want to do, I wouldn’t worry about it.

The 4-string is lighter to gig with, which is important. If it puts out the sound you need, play it.

Or play the other.

It really doesn’t matter. People in the audience don’t really care which instruments a band plays.

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Nope :grin:

Well, the Carvin has you covered there, right!? So, no problem!

I think this might be more of an issue in some metal genres, but for blues!? As long as you groove the socks off everyone, I can’t imagine people commenting on your axe :wink:

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Just a quick aside: surprisingly, the headless, 4-string Osiris is actually heavier than the 5-string, headed (?) B50. :slight_smile:

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Well then, in the words of the immortal Emily Littela, “Never mind.”

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You’ll be fine. Unless of course, you gig at a diehard blues fan event, I guess you’d cross that bridge when you get there, lol.

Lately, I’ve been using different basses on each gig one kid who play bass asked me where did I go and rent the bass, lol.

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No, no, I definitely appreciate your comments. :smiley:

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“My house.” :smiley:

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Fender is the official blue genres specific instrument, lol.

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I’d say pick the one that feels best in your hand, the one that you can play (somewhat) blind on with songs you know well AND fits in the mix with the rest of the band soundwise.

I learned from attending various concerts that many don’t even have a clue what a bass looks like and if someone does then you know he/she’s either a musician or someone that’s really into music.

See how it goes, you can always get a more “traditional” looking bass later on if you wish (in case you need a reason to buy a new bass, we’re all enablers here after all).

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No worries. I meant feel free to play the bass you think is best.

Just don’t get hung up on stuff that doesn’t matter much.

First order of business: Be able to play well.

Then, find someone to play with.

Then, find gig opportunities.

Choosing which bass to play due to audience expectations is waaaay down the to-do list

George Harrison once (kinda) said,

It doesn’t really matter what chords I play
What words I say or time of day it is
As it’s only a Northern (Orange County) song

It doesn’t really matter what clothes I wear
Or how I fare or if my hair is brown
When it’s only a Northern (Orange County) song

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Robert Fripp doesn’t care about gear. He says give him a guitar to play and he’ll make his sound come out of it.

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:+1:

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Yes, I wouldn’t worry about it. I would bring the bass that does well with the set list and you didn’t mind getting a few dings in. I really think you are trying to justify the next bass purchase…

BTW, saw your Carvin on Reverb and was very pleased to see you disclosed the condition of the neck. You are a good egg @JustTim. Please let me know when you want to go bass shopping. I hear Fender Jazz are great for gigging.

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While it’s universally agreed that it’s the Fiddler not the Fiddle. Playing the right instrument or in most cases an attractive one(to you) will boost the performance.

I tend to add jazzy fills when I play the Ibanez Affirma, and hold the note a tad longer on my TI flats equipped basses. I over sing most songs when I use my $2000 Blue Kiwi versus the Bluebird I previously recorded because I feel like I have 2 extra notes and a reserved third lung. Interesting how things works subconsciously.

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When I play out, I always play my Placebo Custom. It always does what I need. :guitar: :upside_down_face:

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Hell, Yngwie plays a yellow Strat (the typical blues style electric guitar) and he plays some really heavy music. No one gives him a hard time. It works for him. No one will care what you are playing as long as the sound and the groove work. I think musicians are the only ones that get hung up on what an instrument is or what it looks like.

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I’ve seen a huge amount of blues shows. The bass player played a P bass of some flavor, primarily Fender, but not always. On occasion, some guys played a Jazz.

The amazing Will Lee played both on the Letterman Show, during his time with The World’s Most Dangerous Band.

Play what you like. As Al said, it’s the fiddler, not the fiddle.

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Much Ado About Nothing

  • William Shakespeare
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these are the players I see the most with headless and multiscale (fan fret) instruments :joy:

As to @JustTim rock on with your bass on, whichever bass that may be.

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