Thicker! Heavier! Lower!

[xikbastard]

how do u guys deal with guitards constantly dropping tunes, and changing to ever thicker gauge, now both monkeys are at 13-62, its really messing up with my lowend and its all muddy.

they are obsessed with getting heavy and heavy and heavy.

what u do? Quit?

[Seb Peters]

My guitarist uses something-60, but it mostly depends on what your setup is. What bass? What amp? Effects? A little more info would help.

[Demon_Hunter]

just have them all get baritone guitars or 6 string basses and have everyone in the band play bass.....they might as well since they want to sound like a bass anyways

[dedpool1052]

they tune lower and take over the bass frequencies, you go higher and take over the guitar frequencies.

go piccolo!

[DeadGoonz]

I suggest adding distortion to your sound and simply drown the guitars out. I am sure that will be a catalyst to open dialog and a resolution to people stepping on each others toes, so to speak.

[Demon_Hunter]

Seems like it's going to get to a point where the guitars tune down so far that they make the bass player tune down....soon enough you'll just have floppy strings flapping in the wind with no tonal definition.

[dedpool1052]

Originally Posted by Demon_Hunter

...soon enough you'll just have floppy strings flapping in the wind with no tonal definition.

and that's when the Quake bass comes into the picture.
Knuckle Guitar Works - extraordinary instruments for extraordinary players

[Demon_Hunter]

Originally Posted by dedpool1052

and that's when the Quake bass comes into the picture.
Knuckle Guitar Works - extraordinary instruments for extraordinary players

Holy Crap...my arm ripped itself out of the socket just looking at that picture.

[cdaniel]

Originally Posted by Demon_Hunter

Seems like it's going to get to a point where the guitars tune down so far that they make the bass player tune down....soon enough you'll just have floppy strings flapping in the wind with no tonal definition.

Presenting:...........Korn!!!!

[bass_walloper]

I wouldn't worry about it. They'll have you so quiet in the mix when you record that much of that muddiness will be gone.

Seriously though, my most recent experience with this situation was when we were playing a song in drop C and one of the guitar players complained that it didn't sound tight with the bass playing this really fast low riff along with the guitars and suggested that I not match the guitars note-for-note. I told him that of course it didn't sound tight, it's not going to with everything tuned so low (IMO), which he did really have a response to.

I left that band on amicable terms due to touring commitment issues, but it did solve the problem, so yeah, maybe quit?

I should also mention that I'm a guitar player as well and I never like to play anything lower than drop D, and usually E standard will do nicely.

[xikbastard]

going to get me some 175 stings and tune it to G# and just murder them with total mud

1 x guitar on a blackstar and 1x guitar on a bugera + orange (bi-amping)

[Duckwater]

In that situation I dial in my approximation of a 70s Prog bass tone

[Seb Peters]

Dude, if you're using distortion in this situation, stop now. There's only a set amount of audial space that can be occupied. If you fill it, no-one will be able to pick you out of the mix.

[lunarpollen]

There's nothing you can do except either convince them to stop EQing their amps so bass-heavy, or quit. There's nothing wrong with them using heavier strings and tuning lower as long as they EQ themselves like standard guitarists in a mix.

[xikbastard]

all i hear in the studio is basically mud right now.

[lowfreq33]

That crap is why I quit playing in heavy bands. If it doesn't sound heavy in drop D then it's not heavy. Tuning down to drop G isn't going to make it a better song.

[rschaeff]

Same problem back in tha day with heavy left handed fender rhodes keyboard players using amps w/ 2 15" speaks. ?? Who is playin bass in this band?

[buzzbass]

SVT/Schroeder/Crown Macrotech 2400. I just pound them into submission.

[NWB]

It sounds like they want to take over the bass department.

Obviously, they don't really care a whit about the bass guitar in the band and should do without one.

[Basshappi]

Originally Posted by dedpool1052

they tune lower and take over the bass frequencies, you go higher and take over the guitar frequencies.

go piccolo!

This.