Question StingRay Tone in contemporary worship

[om07]

Does someone here play in a worship band?
What preamp eq settings do you use?

 

[bvdrummer]

Since no one has replied yet, I will. I don't have a Ray, but I play worship team with a Bongo HH and a Sterling HS. I'm not sure what pickup config you're talking about, but when I'm just using the bridge humbucker on the Sterling, I leave the EQ pretty flat, maybe boost the low end a little (like 5-10%). If I include the neck pickup, then I'll usually set the low flat and boost the mids about 10%. The single coil is kind of bright so sometimes I'll cut the treble by 25-50%. On the Bongo I usually have about 60/40 neck/bridge, and I'll boost both mids, treble flat, and decrease the low by 10% because that bass has so much output.

I'm running direct into a compressor and a SansAmp. And sometimes I'll throw in some overdrive (Darkglass B3K) to thicken it up. To put this in context, we've got a 3500 seat worship center and we do stuff like Hillsong, Phil Wickham, Chris Tomlin, Bethel, etc.

 

[five7]

my sterling 5 H, I use the first pos. near the neck and roll off the highs and add bass. I play with my fingers and try to go for a warm tone. I think my old bongo HH sounded better for worship than my sterling, I used it for years every sunday.

 

[rhythmCity944]

I play regularly in contemporary worship groups with my Stingray 4H. I just DI my bass to the board and let the sound guy do the rest. I run my volume at 50-60% generally set all tone controls to flat; maybe boost the bass a touch. We run a full in ear monitor system at my church; what I hear in my ears is probably not what is being heard through the speakers.

 

[pbaleiras]

Hi mattes..
in my situation, I am main sound technician and one of 2 bass player ...
When I play with my Stingray 5HH leave the EQ flat I select only the configuration of the pickup's (neck; coil 1-4; HH; coil 2-3; bridge), in some situations with full HH rolloff half mids ...

When I am as sound technician Low cut around 50Hz-60Hz .. and turn up a little around 480Hz - 500Hz for the bass cut thru the band ..

In both situations the bass run thru DI only..and we run full in ear monitor system...

 

[syciprider]

I've played 3 and 2 EQ rays in Catholic, funky gospel and contemporary settings.

They work equally well in all those applications. I run more mids if it's a basic three to four piece band with a singer to fill space. When there's a whole vocal choir or a mess of instruments onstage I just cut mids and treb and run more bottom to anchor the whole thing. Just remember it's the message and not the bass.

 

[Daniel Piper]

Yep, played a 'Ray H for years in contemporary worship settings. Sounded great. Have been running a Reflex 5HH since late 2010 - sounds just as good - but with a hair less of that distinctive Ray midrange character. Within worship contexts I definitely EQ my bass for 'anchoring', then change it up maybe just once a service, when the song calls for a little pop 'n' sparkle!

I definitely believe (to a certain extent) in shelving my preconceptions about "my tone" in a worship setting. You cant let anything get in the way of good relationships (personal and musical) in a worship band.

 

[sanderhermans]

Or if it is satan worshipping you are after, you can allways turn all knobs full open!

 

[JayDawg]

I play in a worship band at church and have used every Music Man bass there is except for a Big Al and a Reflex. I mainly use either my Bongo's now or my Stingray. To be honest with you, it really depends on the song that determines what I do with the eq. With my Bongo's, I set the ed flat or at 50% on everything and then make slight adjustments from there. Same with the Stingray.

 

[projectapollo]

I've used a variety of MM basses on worship over the past few years. In the end, I found the Big Al to be the best and most versatile. I especially liked being able to switch to passive when needing to underlay delicate parts. I tried a Stingray 4H for a while but it was too forward for me. The Bongo is great for worship, too. But the switchability of the Big Al is hard to beat.

 

[Samoht]

Stingray 5H here, and I try to dial in Bernard Edwards tone...which seems to work for all styles and songs. I throw a Wampler EGO compressor on for the quiet moments. If I have a tone that I like, I find that I play better and that I can make it fit the song. Fingerstyle allows a huge range of dynamics and tone without touching a knob.

 

[Geri O]

I use an SR5 at my church on a regular basis. Judging by the basses I hear used on contemporary worship music, I didn't think the M. D. would like the tone (they won't tell us what instrument to play, but they will offer an opinion if asked), I hear a lot of Precision-y with a pick bass lines, it seems. However, they love the SR5. I use it with the standard SR5 tone.