What makes a metal or a jazz bass?

[dra6n]

I looked around and couldnt find quite the answer I was looking for.

So how can I look at/play a bass and know if its better suited for heavier playing like metal etc, or if its more of a jazz, punk, blues whatever bass with a lighter feel?

I have an Epiphone Thunderbird IV and it sounds very solid not sure what 'kind' of bass it is.. It sounds good both jazz style and metal.. though its not as good for slap IMHO...

[cnltb]

Originally Posted by dra6n

I looked around and couldnt find quite the answer I was looking for.

So how can I look at/play a bass and know if its better suited for heavier playing like metal etc, or if its more of a jazz, punk, blues whatever bass with a lighter feel?

I have an Epiphone Thunderbird IV and it sounds very solid not sure what 'kind' of bass it is.. It sounds good both jazz style and metal.. though its not as good for slap IMHO...

What makes a metal or a jazz bass?

The Player.

That's it me thinks.

[stylonpilson]

Originally Posted by dra6n

It sounds good both jazz style and metal.

There's your answer.

S.P.

[dra6n]

so in theory.. you could use something like a flea bass and play korn songs or metallica etc?

so there isnt much of a difference in a jazz or metal bass then?

[DeathFromBelow]

Originally Posted by dra6n

so in theory.. you could use something like a flea bass and play korn songs or metallica etc?

so there isnt much of a difference in a jazz or metal bass then?

A bass is a bass is a bass.Make sense?

[Plays_For_Dog]

Originally Posted by cnltb

What makes a metal or a jazz bass?

The Player.

That's it me thinks.

+1

The "tone" you're after is more of the issue then the style of music you're playing.

Also, the action of the bass would be important. For metal, you want a fast action bass. But that would have a lot to do with how it's set up rather then the actual bass itself. Sure, some basses are designed to be more responsive then others, but any bass can be played in any style. It's the skills in the fingers my friend.

[dra6n]

if thats true then what makes any bass better than another? just the hardware/feel?

[Plays_For_Dog]

Originally Posted by dra6n

if thats true then what makes any bass better than another? just the hardware/feel?

Yeap. Craftsmanship. Quality of the materials it's made with (wood, hardware, pups) When you hold the right bass in your hands, you'll know it's the right one for you. It may not be the most expensive one in the store either. Play as many basses as you can get your hands on. Compare them. What do you like and what feels right in your hands. Try to play them as clean as possible on a quality amp. Music stores have a way of plugging you into their cheapest floor model amp. Ask to try the bass out on a nicer amp. If they give you grief, they don't want your business and should go someplace else. It's your investment and you want to be completely satisfied with it once you get home and a year later.

[dra6n]

sweet! I now want to go find a reeeeaallly old bass and restore it with new hardware etc..

[Plays_For_Dog]

Originally Posted by dra6n

sweet! I now want to go find a reeeeaallly old bass and restore it with new hardware etc..

Rock on Brotha! Do it! Metal is a style of music, not a style of appearance. (some will disagree, but how do the kiddo's know what you look like when their jamming out on their Ipod?) IMO, image isn't important. Tone, skill and personal satisfaction are. I play a natural finish bass. I've been in hardcore bands, punk bands, jam bands and even a little bit of C-jazz. I love all music and want to play it. So for me, it was important to buy a bass that fit in my hands well and that I loved to play. I've had the same bass for over 10 years now and still love it.



See, it doesn't look "metal" but I've melted my fair share of faces with it. Trick is, a good fuzz and fast fingers

[dra6n]

I wasnt concerned with the 'metal look' but more or less if you could pick up a bass, and say to yourself "this is a jazz bass, and doesnt have what it takes to play metal" due to the hardware on it.

[Righteous Thunderer]

Originally Posted by Plays_For_Dog

Yeap. Craftsmanship. Quality of the materials it's made with (wood, hardware, pups) When you hold the right bass in your hands, you'll know it's the right one for you. It may not be the most expensive one in the store either. Play as many basses as you can get your hands on. Compare them. What do you like and what feels right in your hands. Try to play them as clean as possible on a quality amp. Music stores have a way of plugging you into their cheapest floor model amp. Ask to try the bass out on a nicer amp. If they give you grief, they don't want your business and should go someplace else. It's your investment and you want to be completely satisfied with it once you get home and a year later.

This is seriously the best bit of advice one can recieve regarding the purchase of any instrument, definite +1!

I started playing on Ibanez basses as well as Schecters, and eventually purchased a bunch of different brands and models including Fender, Warwick, Peavey, and Lakland. You know, I've sold most of my Warwick's, sold the Lakland, and primarily play on my Schecter Elite 4 nowadays. It's all in how *you* feel about the bass and how the bass sounds in *your* rig.

[Plays_For_Dog]

Originally Posted by dra6n

I wasnt concerned with the 'metal look' but more or less if you could pick up a bass, and say to yourself "this is a jazz bass, and doesnt have what it takes to play metal" due to the hardware on it.

Right on dude. Yeah, if you get a bass that fits well, you can always tweak the pups and preamp later. There is a wealth of knowledge on TB about that kind or stuff. Plus, I find most TBer's are more then happy to share their knowledge and experience about it.

[Edward G.]

Focus on playing, not brands. If you can play, nearly any playable bass will do.

What's playable? Whatever stays in tune and doesn't wrench up your hands.

[IngerAlb]

I've played death metal with a Fender jazz and blues with an Ibanez So yeah, it's all down to the player and the rig settings. if you experiment enough, you can get a good tone for any music genre.

There are some basses that are considered more suited for a certain type of music because of their looks and some do have a voice that's naturally matched for certain genres, but with a bit of tweaking you can make any bass work for your style


One more thing: what you see on stage may be very different from what's going on behind the curtain A lot of ppl play live on certain brands (look, endorsement deals, etc), but they record with something totally different It's all down to getting the best tool for the job So the best way to spot the best choice for yourself is to try as many basses as possible, narrow down your favourite features and look for a bass that fits your preferences. Then experiment with it and discover how to make it work for whatever type of music you're into It will work - as long as you keep in mind the bass is but one component of your tone: you also need to find an amp and a cabinet to complement your bass

[etechstan]

Originally Posted by dra6n

So how can I look at/play a bass and know if its better suited for heavier playing like metal etc, or if its more of a jazz, punk, blues whatever bass with a lighter feel?

Play what you think feels right. We really need to think of a way to stop this madness.

[Christov]

As others have mentioned play as many basses as you can!! Before long you can almost 'look' at a bass, see the pickup configuration, and 'know' what it will sound like before you even plug it in!! One thing I have not heard anyone mention is pickup placement. The closer the pickup is to the end of the fingerboard, generally the more bass and less treble the bass will have. The opposite is generally true where you will get a brighter tone with the pickups closer to the bridge. Active electronics will give you more 'edge' as well. In most cases you can find a good tone with almost any bass. Basses with the pickup right flush up against the fingerboard are generally not used for slap style playing because it is difficult to 'pop' your strings when you can't get your fingers under the string because the pickup is in the way. Good luck!!

[chokeslam512]

The pickup configuration makes it a Jazz bass. The music it is immersed in makes it a metal/alt/funk/___core bass.

[Ian Perge]

Originally Posted by dra6n

so in theory.. you could use something like a flea bass and play korn songs or metallica etc?

so there isnt much of a difference in a jazz or metal bass then?

Just like a Toaster can be used to toast both Bread and English Muffins!!!

Just about all of the responses have been +1s - there are extremely few basses that *can't* be used for a specific genre of music, mainly due to construction and its impact on the tone of the bass. For example, you're unlikely (but never say never... I'm sure some band somewhere is "breaking the rules" and proving me wrong) to find a \m/etal band using an Acoustic Bass Guitar or semi-hollow bass, and even the latter was used by Simon Gallup of The Cure around the period of their heavier musical output, and Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane was one of the innovators of using distortion on Bass Guitar and his Signature Bass is a semi-hollowbody.

...so as it's likely to be said before, it's far more the player and far less the gear. And a good deal of the time a bass that's *specifically* made for a style of music will fail at it - if you think of a big, "heavy" (in weight) bass as the best for heavy music, they can be often be so dense and fundamental-heavy that players can likely find themselves stuck down in the frequencies of the drums and "chug-chug" palm-muted downtuned distorted guitars. When playing metal (back in the day, my originally was mainly a Heavy Rock & Metal band) I found it best to focus on my midrange frequencies, which gave me the most "cut" and ability to be heard in the mix with two guitarists and a Double Kick-playing drummer. This led me to Jazz Basses and others equipped with Single Coil pickups... they may not have as "big" a tone as other basses and pickup setups, but had a focused sound that made its way through mixes. Think "Laser" as opposed to "Flashlight": they're both light, but it all depends on how tightly focused they are.

[punkrocko]

If the neck runs East-West, it's metal. If it goes North-South......Jazz.