Not Your Usual Metal Bass Post

[Fieldy Snuts]

Having recently gotten out of my usual music preferences a bit (mostly The Cure ), ive recently been invited to play for a Slayer'ish style band , so far we've played stuff in the likings of the song raining blood, having never played anything at that kind of speed and aggressiveness im now hooked , take in mind that im a finger style player, and its been kinda of hard for me to keep up with the guitars playing fast as hell triplets and and tempos, so far ive been finding that using my 5 strings tight string spacing and using the notes from the low B at standard tuning position (at 5th fret on the low B, since we play in standard tuning) and plucking closer to the bridge with a light touch has helped A LOT in keeping up at speed, currently my 3 finger plucking technique is still under construction but im sure it will come of great help once ive mastered it, however the question I would like to ask you my fellow TB'rs is how much would I benefit if at all from setting up my bass with really low action (say 1mm at the 20th fret) for this style of music?, usually at the tempos that im accustomed to, a medium action set up sufficed, but for this new (to me) style of music I get a feeling that really low action would feel a lot better under my hands, so what are your thoughts

[Fieldy Snuts]

Bumpity

[Fieldy Snuts]

Double Bump

[J. Crawford]

A low action bass for metal is a good idea, because the time it takes to press the string down is varied.

Its your username keeping people away..

[Arpeggiator]

i play a lot of metal, low action feels better but you still want good tension unless you like lots of rattle (i personally dont) what your saying is the advice i would give lighten up and play bridge, since action is such a personal thing all i can say is try it and find out,

[Darkstrike]

Low action is good, but at 1mm at the 20th, you'll sound like your namesake, IMO.

Go down little by little, until low enough for you, obviously, I don't know what tone you go for, and how muck clack/buzz you want.

[Fieldy Snuts]

I dont mind buzz, however when its gets to the "choking point" if that makes sense it really nags me, I have discovered that lighter touch gives me a lot more speed and dexterity, which is why my plucking technique is going through a complete overhaul from my old heavy handed technique, thanks for the replies so far (the user name seemed smart [mouthed] at the time)

[J. Crawford]

Originally Posted by Fieldy Snuts

I dont mind buzz, however when its gets to the "choking point" if that makes sense it really nags me, I have discovered that lighter touch gives me a lot more speed and dexterity, which is why my plucking technique is going through a complete overhaul from my old heavy handed technique, thanks for the replies so far (the user name seemed smart [mouthed] at the time)

Fieldy.. tisk, tisk.

[Darkstrike]

Originally Posted by Fieldy Snuts

I dont mind buzz, however when its gets to the "choking point" if that makes sense it really nags me, I have discovered that lighter touch gives me a lot more speed and dexterity, which is why my plucking technique is going through a complete overhaul from my old heavy handed technique, thanks for the replies so far (the user name seemed smart [mouthed] at the time)

A good low action, I'd aim for trying, would be 1.5mm on the G string, tapering to 2mm on the E string, you have a fiver, so on the B, 2mm may still work, if nothing else, it'd be a good place for you to start, should be low, some clack, if you dig, but no choking.

[Fieldy Snuts]

Originally Posted by Darkstrike

Low action is good, but at 1mm at the 20th, you'll sound like your namesake, IMO.

Go down little by little, until low enough for you, obviously, I don't know what tone you go for, and how muck clack/buzz you want.

Right now im set up to about 2 mm at the 20th for every string, when I 'dig in' I get all the fret clack without buzz but when I lighten up my touch there's no fret noise or buzz,how ever my fretting hand is having issues with all the pull offs and hammer ons (on the higher strings D and G), but as I stated im abandoning the heavy handed route in lieu of a really light touch which in my case is becoming really helpful since were playing a lot of Thrash style material, and from what ive been told bassist in these genres usually adhere to the use of a plectrum, which sadly I just can't use

[Darkstrike]

Well, try the 1mm set up then, its easily reversabile if you don't like it.

[Fieldy Snuts]

Originally Posted by Darkstrike

A good low action, I'd aim for trying, would be 1.5mm on the G string, tapering to 2mm on the E string, you have a fiver, so on the B, 2mm may still work, if nothing else, it'd be a good place for you to start, should be low, some clack, if you dig, but no choking.

I will use your suggestion as a starting point, but I just noticed that my neck shifted, there's a lot more relief in there than what I had adjusted to just yesterday, seems I need to tighten up the truss rod just a tad also.

[Darkstrike]

Thats another good question, how do you like your relief?

[xXxXBassistXxXx]

after I learned 3-finger plucking, when I played with two fingers my ring finger followed my middle everwhere. It didn't affect my playing much, but its just what i experienced

to be perfectly honest... and i know a lot of people will hate me for saying this...
just use a pick. you can get a lot of bite that way, and your sound wont be so muddy. I am a guy who can play both, and I don't have to prove how cool I am by using my fingers... so yea. With my band, I use a pick... but i grew up playing finger style. I can tell you right now, your sound will cut, you won't worry about keeping up, and your sound will speak a lot more ontime. Lowering your action might help if you are playing some really technical stuff... but I say medium action, pick.
my 2 cents. feel free to hate me.

[Darkstrike]

Originally Posted by Da Funk Docta

but I say medium action, pick.
my 2 cents. feel free to hate me.

How will that help this problem? He wants lower action to help with hammers too.

Originally Posted by Fieldy Snuts

how ever my fretting hand is having issues with all the pull offs and hammer ons (on the higher strings D and G)

And you see, he already stated he can't, maybe dosen't want to use a pick. I'm not bashing picks either, I use them all the time, but its not the answer the OP wants.

Originally Posted by Fieldy Snuts

adhere to the use of a plectrum, which sadly I just can't use

[richday]

I agree a pick is the way to go in thrash. Im a finger style player and I use a pic for thrash. It sounds more agressive and cuts better.

[Fieldy Snuts]

Originally Posted by Da Funk Docta

to be perfectly honest... and i know a lot of people will hate me for saying this...
just use a pick. you can get a lot of bite that way, and your sound wont be so muddy. I am a guy who can play both, and I don't have to prove how cool I am by using my fingers... so yea. With my band, I use a pick... but i grew up playing finger style. I can tell you right now, your sound will cut, you won't worry about keeping up, and your sound will speak a lot more ontime. Lowering your action might help if you are playing some really technical stuff... but I say medium action, pick.
my 2 cents. feel free to hate me.

I wish I could use a pick, but I really just can't, ive tried it before but its something about the feel of it, I just can't keep it in my hand and play cleanly yet efficiently at speed its probably something im going to have to work on in the future as I do love the tone, but right now im more concerned with my current finger technique.

[Fieldy Snuts]

Originally Posted by Darkstrike

Thats another good question, how do you like your relief?

Usually just the recommended ID cards worth of relief, ive never experimented with a straighter neck, or a more bowed neck, I tend to keep away from neck adjustments as much as possible

[Darkstrike]

A little flatter may help too, though an ID card's worth should be more than flat enough.