ive been playing in a metal band for about a month now its not a genre i listen to much and i definitely haven;t played the style of bass before

when playing standard tuning i use mainly double thumb ,index, middle. the problem is that i can't get any of the notes on the C string to sound properly also i dont have a clue on how to write metal basslines everything ive worte so far the band has complained that its been to choppy, to repetitive, to soft etc.

any help would be appreciated cheers

C String....?

sorry should have mentioned taht the bass is tuned CGCF

its not a genre i listen to much

i dont have a clue on how to write metal basslines

Well, I would try to listen to lots of metal, particularly stuff like the stuff your band is doing.

I can only assume he means he's in CGCF. Playing metal isn't very complicated. As GaryM said, listen to a bit of it (Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, Sabbath are very good places to start) and you should get a feel for it. If you want to be able to just play it, yo ucould always just mimic what the guitarist is doing (pump the roots like your life depends on it)

Do you know what gauge of string you're using on the bass dropped CGCF? What amp do you use, does it handle those low frequencies well? What bass/mid settings are your guitarists using, are they crowding the bass space?? In my (limited) experience, these factors contribute to how well the bass cuts through a "metal mix" as well as your playing style and note selection.

As well as the bands previously mentioned by other posters, check out some System of a Down, Mudvayne, Slipknot or any metal band where a 5 string is being played - These are good places to start getting ideas on building "low note" bass lines.

Good luck and more metal to ya!

the equipment im using is: peavey databass 450 amp, spector with EMGSSD active pickups the strings are pretty light probably 40/45's

ill have a look at he guitarists setting tonight cheers

Light strings detuned = FLOPPY!

metal is a pretty wide genre, any bands to compare your band's sound to?

If the tuning is C, I suppose that the genre is towards brutal death or something (Cannibal Corpse, Nile, etc)...

ask the band who thier influences are then learn those lines. also, as stated above, you can't go wrong by following the guitars, you'll just get bored with it after awhile, but it does work with metal.

If the tuning is C, I suppose that the genre is towards brutal death or something (Cannibal Corpse, Nile, etc)...


did u know that system of a down and queens of the stone age play in C also?

:p

Do you know what gauge of string you're using on the bass dropped CGCF? What amp do you use, does it handle those low frequencies well? What bass/mid settings are your guitarists using, are they crowding the bass space?? In my (limited) experience, these factors contribute to how well the bass cuts through a "metal mix" as well as your playing style and note selection.

As well as the bands previously mentioned by other posters, check out some System of a Down, Mudvayne, Slipknot or any metal band where a 5 string is being played - These are good places to start getting ideas on building "low note" bass lines.

Good luck and more metal to ya!

Paul (Slipknot) plays a 4 string tuned to A.

I can only assume he means he's in CGCF. Playing metal isn't very complicated. As GaryM said, listen to a bit of it (Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, Sabbath are very good places to start) and you should get a feel for it. If you want to be able to just play it, yo ucould always just mimic what the guitarist is doing (pump the roots like your life depends on it)

Playing metal isn't complicated?

Ever heard of Anesthesia (pulling teeth)? Ever heard the bass solo at the beginning of the original N.I.B.?

To say that metal bass is easy is to crowd all metal in the same genre, when it is not. There are a lot more complicated lines than just following root notes. Jason Newsted did better than that and he was the redheaded stepchild of Metallica. Any doofus can pick up a bass and follow the root notes of the song, but if you actually listen to some of the more talented bassists, then you will understand that good metal isn't always just the bassist holding down his frequency range.

Playing metal isn't complicated?

Ever heard of Anesthesia (pulling teeth)? Ever heard the bass solo at the beginning of the original N.I.B.?

To say that metal bass is easy is to crowd all metal in the same genre, when it is not. There are a lot more complicated lines than just following root notes. Jason Newsted did better than that and he was the redheaded stepchild of Metallica. Any doofus can pick up a bass and follow the root notes of the song, but if you actually listen to some of the more talented bassists, then you will understand that good metal isn't always just the bassist holding down his frequency range.



i dont think anesthesia is a good example... the reason i saw this is because its a solo.

i do think.. like ALL genre of music.. the music can be as complicated as you want it to be.. and i think saying metal isnt complicated means a person was only exposed to a small portion of metal..

I Agree with what everyone else has said, however to get a good understanding of metal bass being done well, give these CD's a listen

Iron Maiden- Iron Maiden, or Killers
Metallica- Kill em all
Megadeth- Peace sells... but who's buyin
Death- Individual Thought Patterns (absolute must)

Why do other metal guys always recommend the worst stuff for other metal players to listen too..... DO NOT listen to JUST old metal, those bands were the influence of todays bands, you need to use todays bands as an influence so you can make tomorrows metal.

Old School guys to listen too....

Rex Brown of Pantera......

Anyone whe ever played bass for Ozzy....


Todays Good Bass Players in metal play in bands like....

The Human Abstract
Mudvayne
I Am Legend
Lamb of God
Thirty Six Crazy Fists
any band that Steve Digoergio was playing in


if your guitarist play lot of harmony's in minor thirds listen to bass lines from bands like

In Flames
Soilwork

For guys in heavy genres who are truly great at providing chord structure to noodling guitarist listen to

Saosin

If your band is a Metalcore or Hardcore Band (have lots of sour note or breakdown materarial) band, listen to....

Killswitch Engage
Unearth
Underoath

The lower you tune, larger gauge strings help, my strings are actually medium lights, and I am in drop c#.

preivate message me if you have any other questions.

You gotta ask your band what metal subgenre they play, and then i can help you with soe recomendations.

Dustinavak, most of those bands are metalcore/nu-metal-ish, so unless thats what hes playing i wouldnt recomend them, because its not the same type of music.

I listed 13+ bands from screamo to death metal.... figured that would cover the schibang......


I would also recomend listening to Coheed and Cambria, great bass player in heaviesh music....

sorry just though he should listen to bands that actually put out good music that will last instead of whats just gonna be around for a year or two (excluding Lamb of God, Pantera, and Unearth). \m/

Oh and for God's sake do not listen to Coheed and Cambria if your gonna play metal, there is enough queer emo trying to influence good metal as it is.

Oh and for God's sake do not listen to Coheed and Cambria if your gonna play metal, there is enough queer emo trying to influence good metal as it is.



+340958340957305

Listen to Decapitated, Martin the bass player has a pritty radical right hand approach to their very mechanical groove sound. Maybe a 35' bass? I used to play with heavy strings in the exact same tuning your in, but went back down to regular gauge to get that grindy tone I couldnt get when the string was too tense.
I believe now more then ever that the bass player role in whatever metal band is gonna determine how heavy your sound is, The most br00tal bands out there have the bass right in your face mix-wise.
Cheers, Hope you suss out your sound!
Rayle XOX

listen to "death"

the band, not the genre, they arent death metal thoug, they are trash,

get the album "symbolic" awesome bass in there, two tracks to check out are "crystal mountain" and "without judgment"


dont look up any live videos or youtube or anything, the live versions of them arent too great.

Oh and for God's sake do not listen to Coheed and Cambria if your gonna play metal, there is enough queer emo trying to influence good metal as it is.

Coheed isn't metal but it sure as hell isn't "queer emo".

granted I was exagerating a bit but you get the point. Absolutley agree that a good metal bassist is the determing factor for whether a metal band is brutal and makes great lasting music, or is just another so so band.

granted I was exagerating a bit but you get the point. Absolutley agree that a good metal bassist is the determing factor for whether a metal band is brutal and makes great lasting music, or is just another so so band.

erm thats not true. around 90% of the metal bassists just double the rhythm guitar.

there's not much creavity you can show in such a straight forward genre

ciff burton did a bass solo, and had one or 2 songs liek for whom the bell tolls which has a memorable bassline and hes regarding one of the best metal players.... steve harris gallop is pretty straightforward too

Oh and for God's sake do not listen to Coheed and Cambria if your gonna play metal, there is enough queer emo trying to influence good metal as it is.

What is it these days with bashing the whole "emo" scene. I'm not a big fan of genres. If the music is good, it's ok by me, never mind which genre it's in. Coheed and Cambria make great songs and have a great bassplayer.

just my two cents

Limiting yourself to what other bassists have done is limiting yourself IMHO. I think it's good that you have no clue how to construct a metal bassline. I would try it first mess around with it. If you're doing bad with it then I'd start looking at what others have done before you. You never know a new perspective can give a band a whole special flavor. I'm sure you've heard metal before. When you hear what's needed add it. You may decide to start with just roots and improvise from there. You may do something totally different. I think you should always try to figure stuff like this out on your own before looking for help.

What is it these days with bashing the whole "emo" scene. I'm not a big fan of genres. If the music is good, it's ok by me, never mind which genre it's in. Coheed and Cambria make great songs and have a great bassplayer.

just my two cents

i would bash "emo" because i personally cant stand the genre.. i do think if the music is good then no matter what the genre.. its still good music.. i couldnt get into anything ive heard from the genre let alone stand the crowds that they bring..

also coheed HAD a bass player.. he left..

i currently dont do much bashing... as i am dating a girl that loves the music...:ninja: so i got over "hating" it and just let it go as i would any other subject that i dont care for and say its not my cup or tea.. did i sell out? no... its called compromise..

erm thats not true. around 90% of the metal bassists just double the rhythm guitar.

there's not much creavity you can show in such a straight forward genre
Exactly and that 10% who don't, make their band 10x better, good for you, just keep thinking in side that little box of your's you'll go far

What is it these days with bashing the whole "emo" scene. I'm not a big fan of genres. If the music is good, it's ok by me, never mind which genre it's in. Coheed and Cambria make great songs and have a great bassplayer.

just my two cents

well because efeminent males make me sick in general, now don't get me wrong I'm not bashing them on their objective musical talent, how ever subjectivley I hate them and their music, oh and I love genre's, it's just how our brains work (e.g. prototyping)


[QUOTE=SMASH;3716672]Or maybe you're just in the wrong band?
QUOTE]

best advice yet, do what you think is a good metal bassline and if they don't like it tell them to f*ck off, nothing more metal than that! \m/

best advice yet, do what you think is a good metal bassline and if they don't like it tell them to **** off, nothing more metal than that! \m/
That might be "metal", but in an original band where you're not the songwriter it's also a good way to be shown the door, possibly in an equally "metal" manner. :D

I think the best advice is to ask those who don't like what you're playing to describe what it is they do like. If you don't or can't give them that then the reality is you are wasting their time, and in a lot of respects your own time too, and you may end up with a reputation for being stubborn about sharing creativity and end up with that reputation preceeding you or even cutting you out of future auditions. . .

Hello.

Our band tunes to C. We sound nothing like any of the bands listed, except say the earlier thrash bands (like Megadeth, early metallica, etc.). We have been told we sound like High On Fire vs Slayer. Our common influences our people like The Sword, High On Fire, Black Sabbath, The Hellacopters, Mastodon, Deathbreath, Venom, Pentagram...we kinda fall somewhere in there. Kinda of a 'stoner metal meets early thrash' type feel.

I always play with a pick. Depending on the style of metal, most bass lines in the harder stuff just follow the guitar line. Metal bassist normally dont stand out too much, unless your like Les Claypool or Cliff Burton.

Most Sabbath stuff was tuned to C#. The Sword tunes to C.

I play medium gauge Fender strings. 7150ML's I also play SIT strings.

I've noticed you have to have a bit of a lighter touch when plucking the strings.

You might check your amp settings and EQ. The strings are cycling lower to create those lower frequencies.

The problem I seem to have is the last 5 fret's on the E (C) string just dont come out of my amp right.

I've narrowed it down to a freq. response issue in which I am researching 18's and 15's at the moment.

I've narrowed it down to a freq. response issue in which I am researching 18's and 15's at the moment.

? What are you using now?

Sunn 1200s and an Ampeg BSE410HLF. Playing a G&L SB-2.