giging bass players

[rickwade]

Are there any giging bass players out there that use a tapping instrument on the gig. I have been doing this for a number of years and am interested in hearing some of your experiences. For instance, have you had problems with band members excepting or rejecting you bringing a (new kid on the block) type axe into the gig? Have you brought your tapping axe on the gig only to find out that the great sound that you had at home playing alone suddenly sounds different on the gig? Has anyone had band members request that you "just play the bass" because it sounds better than the bass side of your touchboard?

[Myron Edwards]

I am also a bass-plus-touchstyle player, and I have to say I haven't encountered any of these problems. The instruments I've used (Stick and Megatar) give excellent bass tone even when sharing eq settings with the regular basses (it helps if you have active basses - this means you can set the eq optimum for the tapper and compensate on the bass preamps). The main problem is keeping the levels even when switching instruments (and you don't know if you've got it wrong 'til you start playing...which is sometimes too late).

All the other band members I've played with think its a gas to have such an unusual thing in the band - no-one has ever suggested that the bass sounds better (occasionally I've been forced back onto the bass 'cause I can play it better - but not often).

Cheers
Myron