Technical Metal Practice Tips?
 

I currently play bass in a very technical and progressive metal band and I've recently been encountering some problems. I have difficulty "keeping up" with my fingers and will not be caught dead using a pick (no offence pick players, I just don't like the feel/sound). Does anyone with experience in this genre have any advice for developing fast 3 finger chops crossing multiple strings? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Be concious of how hard you're playing. Only a light touch is necessary, even for an agressive sound, plucking hard will tire you out and slow you down. For 3/4 finger styles there's a bunch of different options, and everyone seems to have their own aproach.

If you're going to go at it fingerstyle, be aware of the time commitment for not only developing, but also sustaining the technique. After 4 years of University, I have lost most of my tech. metal chops (yet still improved as a musician). Just something to consider. :)

I'm not alone! :D

I can't offer any advice though. Just to keep practicing. At slow tempos, then speeding them up. Implementing your ring finger where applicable.

+1 to light touch. easy in a practice environment, yet at a show I die. One song in and I'm feeling the burn from a heavy hand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3tTp7tgAbI

Watch, learn, and practice.

+1 on this video this one I found when I first started learning 3 finger technique and it was quite helpful

Metronome, start slow, increase.

I think you'll find 2 finger technique is easier across strings, but to each his own.

Diminished, whole tone, and other such scales are great. Focus on playing consistently and with a fairly light touch. I find that somewhere between a rest and free stroke is great. A light touch like a free stroke but come to rest on the next string.

Also, try doing permutations of scales. 5 1 2 3 7 4 6 8 instead of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8. That sort of thing

For crossing strings I will still use 2 fingers, but I'm sure there is a way to do it with 3 or 4 fingers.

Also their is a lot of different kind of technical metal that may or may not help to keep up... I mean using sweep, slap, or a fretless ... or even not always following the guitar may help a lot !!!

Finger style
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GY-Qo4F7B8

A lot of pyrotechnics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQtkhWow6G4

Fretless
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrwWBFp91U0