it's an unfortunate truth that most metal bass players seem to be quite outspoken as far as their instrument goes, so i was wondering what everybody's opinion was on which make offers the best basses for playing metal?
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best make of basses for metal??
- Thread starter fell
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musicman's are pretty solid in metal, stingray or sterling fours i see used alot. iron maiden had a fender precision, alot of modern metal bassists use stuff like bc rich (the higher range stuff) and ibanez, like the sr400, sr500 etc
Fong249 said:
+1
Those are some good suggestions, and I also tend to see quite a few ESP's lurking around, and the higher-end ones are quality stuff, so you can't go wrong there.
I dont know why as soon as someone metions metal people feel the need to recomend a pointy bass. I eat breath and sleep metal and I play a Dingwall. What is important to me in looking for a bass is clarity because when your playing fast you dont want to get lost in the mud.
The guy from lamb of god loves his Peavey Millenium... Peavey sounds like a good metal bass then, since they do rock 
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Anything with proper EQing should do it. I did it for years with an Ibanez Soundgear before switching to Ernie Ball Stingrays. Nowadays, I don't do metal often, but my Marcus Miller Jazz does it fine.
Keep in mind that Jason Newsted did it with a Sadowsky, Spectors, recorded with Alembics and Fenders, etc.
Keep in mind that Jason Newsted did it with a Sadowsky, Spectors, recorded with Alembics and Fenders, etc.
metalstorm said:
Well, I own that bass and it sounds really great with metal, and alot of other styles. Dingwalls looks kind of pointy to me.
Btw, Lamb of God-bassist also uses the Vampyre occasionally.
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I voted "other", because I've seen those brands, as well as Zons, Sadowskys, Modulus, and others used in metal successfully.
Dustinvavak said:
Damn right. I just picked up a used Rebop, and it fits a metal situation better than any other bass I've owned.
does anyone know what model of bass jon vesano(i think it's him) is using in the 'execration text' nile video?
I voted Warwick mainly out of pure bias. I have a '97 Corvette Standard active and it sounds amazing in any musical context from Disney to Death Metal. I also like Warwicks because especially with the older ones, even the low B sounds tight and focused at a 34" scale. The guy I bought the bass from used to drop-tune it to BEAD and he said it sounded fantastic. Warwicks hold their tune really well.
But most any bass with hot pickups can sound great in metal contexts. You see all kinds. Fender/Fender style, non-Fender style, everything. Steve DiGiorgio and Shawn Malone even use fretless in metal and make it work. Colin Marston of Behold the Arctopus uses a Warr touch instrument.
Still, though a bassist may play X, Y, or Z bass onstage, there's a good chance a Fender P was used on at least part of the recording, regardless of genre.
I think stainless steel strings are better for metal than nickels, because they add that extra bite and clarity needed to cut through the mix of distorted guitars.
The main thing is having a really good amp. Something big, loud, powerful, and obnoxious. I like the sound of Mesa/Boogie, Ampeg, and Ashdown for metal but some prefer cleaner sounds like SWR.
But most any bass with hot pickups can sound great in metal contexts. You see all kinds. Fender/Fender style, non-Fender style, everything. Steve DiGiorgio and Shawn Malone even use fretless in metal and make it work. Colin Marston of Behold the Arctopus uses a Warr touch instrument.
Still, though a bassist may play X, Y, or Z bass onstage, there's a good chance a Fender P was used on at least part of the recording, regardless of genre.
I think stainless steel strings are better for metal than nickels, because they add that extra bite and clarity needed to cut through the mix of distorted guitars.
The main thing is having a really good amp. Something big, loud, powerful, and obnoxious. I like the sound of Mesa/Boogie, Ampeg, and Ashdown for metal but some prefer cleaner sounds like SWR.
Modulus Quantum!!
i've got one. and it's absolutely PERFECT! i play death metal.
Alex Webster from Cannibal Corpse. he plays Modulus and Spector.
i've got one. and it's absolutely PERFECT! i play death metal.
Alex Webster from Cannibal Corpse. he plays Modulus and Spector.
as long as your bass is capable of reasonable tones and you are a good player with a quality amp, it should be fine.
Get a Sadowsky
Get a Sadowsky
To be honest....it really depends on what kind of metal you are playing. Metal has so many different sub-genres nowadays its ridiculous. You could be playing anything from Iron maiden to Opeth and from Acid Bath to Lord Belial to Weakling. It all depends on the sound.
I love how a bass can be denoted for a genre of music...
When playing metal, I would think you'd want a bass that can hit notes "crisply" so that you're not getting lost in the mud. You'd probably want a smaller neck, since you're doing a fair amount of moving if you're playing anything other than roots, and moving up and down the neck.
But to play along, when I think metal- I think EMG. If a bass has EMG's, it's going to be good for metal (imo). They sound good on a peice of plywood (i bet anyway, they made my squire sound great). Other than that, warwick, peavey and ibanez seem to be popular. I'd just find a bass you were comfortable with, able to play with, and you like the sound from. For example, alot of guys realllly dig the Geddy Lee's necks (me included), so this takes care of the feel part. And when it comes to jazz basses, theres about 1000 different PUP and String arrangements you can have, and eventually you can find that "metal" sound. Whether its with EMG's, or Nordstrand.
When playing metal, I would think you'd want a bass that can hit notes "crisply" so that you're not getting lost in the mud. You'd probably want a smaller neck, since you're doing a fair amount of moving if you're playing anything other than roots, and moving up and down the neck.
But to play along, when I think metal- I think EMG. If a bass has EMG's, it's going to be good for metal (imo). They sound good on a peice of plywood (i bet anyway, they made my squire sound great). Other than that, warwick, peavey and ibanez seem to be popular. I'd just find a bass you were comfortable with, able to play with, and you like the sound from. For example, alot of guys realllly dig the Geddy Lee's necks (me included), so this takes care of the feel part. And when it comes to jazz basses, theres about 1000 different PUP and String arrangements you can have, and eventually you can find that "metal" sound. Whether its with EMG's, or Nordstrand.
What type of metal?? Two of my basses stand out to me as being metal basses... my Traben (Shock horror, everyone thinks it sucks etc etc heard it all before) is probably the best 80's bass I've ever played in the price range - even strung B-E-A-D with the cheapest nickel strings I could find, when played through my Hartke with my Sansamp, and as much mids boosted as I can get my hands on, it still sounds powerful enough to knock your teeth out, and the highs are all musical... Perfect!
Yet my Warwick is more the other side of metal - Not bright and in your face, like Mr. Ellefson's bass tone is (Megadeth), but much warmer and rounder... Brilliant for playing fingerstyle. It has lots of low mids to it (bubinga bodied Corvette) so when played in time with the bass drum it really does vibrate your chest! Check out "Mercy, Severity" by Mudvayne, and that just about sums up the metal tone I get from this bass.
I voted Warwick, because the band I'm in is just that sort of band. Both basses cut through live, but in different ways. The Warwick is less in your face, but has more substance to it - the notes are definitely down in the low end, nice and smooth, but still gut pummeling. The Traben is very in your face - bright, twangy, and you can hear every little fill note for note perfectly on it.
Yet my Warwick is more the other side of metal - Not bright and in your face, like Mr. Ellefson's bass tone is (Megadeth), but much warmer and rounder... Brilliant for playing fingerstyle. It has lots of low mids to it (bubinga bodied Corvette) so when played in time with the bass drum it really does vibrate your chest! Check out "Mercy, Severity" by Mudvayne, and that just about sums up the metal tone I get from this bass.
I voted Warwick, because the band I'm in is just that sort of band. Both basses cut through live, but in different ways. The Warwick is less in your face, but has more substance to it - the notes are definitely down in the low end, nice and smooth, but still gut pummeling. The Traben is very in your face - bright, twangy, and you can hear every little fill note for note perfectly on it.
