Another "Best Metal Bass" & Gear Thread: DOOM/DRONE

[Legattabass]

Hey, look; everyone ELSE is making a "best bass for metal I didn't read the stickies" thread. I want to be a cool kid too.

No, seriously though. My requirements are atypical. I'm not looking for a high speed thrash machine, or a high-gain pinch-harmonic beast (sorry razorback). I don't mind fretboard radius, decent string spacing, or passive pickups. It does not have to be spiky, black or thematic. I am not a fan of Gene Simmons.

I'm looking for advice on the best bass for, specifically, doom and drone metal. Everything between Electric Wizard and Omega Massif. MASSIVE low end that isn't formless and muddy. As little nasal, trebly tone as possible. Slapping not anticipated, picks and fingers expected.

And this is a hypothetical thread, I don't care about price. Just think deeply on the titanic, terrible rumbling of "Funeralopolis" or the instrumental "I, the, Witchfinder" and "Unter Null." Make suggestions based on that, what you've owned, played in shops, or seen at shows.

Note: I use a MIM P Bass. I've put in SD 1/4 lbs. I have threaded neck inserts and a GOTOH 201 bridge. I use 55-110 strings, and I replaced the neck with a mighty mite J neck. I've just traded in my Boss ODB and guitar muff pedals for Eelectro Harmonix Big Bass Muff pedal, and for kicks I ordered "The Mole." I'm poor, so I run it all through a Hartke 3500 head and a Fender Bassman 4x10 cab.

 

[chokeslam512]

The P will be fine, what you need is MOAR speakers.

 

[JoshuaTSP]

Same with the "what's best for metal".....pretty much any bass will work.

Just need to discover what you prefer.....
nut width
string spacing
4,5, or 6 string
weight
pickups
pickup placement
scale length
etc....


35" scale helps.....especially if you're tuning to B or lower.
Reduce the floppiness of that low string.

Having a bridge humbucker keeps things nice and tight.

A lot of Doom or drone tone comes from the amps and pedals.....IMO.

Get big amp and a lot of speakers......that's a good start....a couple good fuzz or dirt pedals. More amp power will help maintain a tighter low end too.
150w or less tube amps break up in a nice way, but get really loose in the low end at gig volumes.
Clean blending your pedals or having a dirt amp and a clean amp rig can help clarity too.

Using compression can help with the sustained element of drone.

I'm playing in a stoner type band called Romero....
I use a Peavey Foundation 5.....cheap but by far my favorite. It works for me.
for an amp I use an 800RB into a 2x15 with Emi Kappalites. Louder than I've ever needed to be.
For pedals I tend to swap and change often....but my mainstay dirt is a Keeley RAT in the loop of my Boss Line Selector (clean blending).

Not your typical stoner doom rig....but I really like it. I've tried other gear, but always come back to this basic set up.

I've gone through higher dollar stuff.....Mesa M2000, SUNN 2000S, Orange OR120, Stingray 5, Warwick Corvette $$ 5, etc.....still.....always come back to the Peavey, and 800RB. go figure.

So in closing......experiment. Find what works best for you.
You don't have to follow the trends of popular bands to sound a certain way.

You don't have to have all vintage SUNN gear, modern emperor cabs, electric amps, and all that to sound good.

 

[matt descending]

You need more strings. Definitely at least a 5er, I say 6. That low b (or lower) is where the doom comes from! Should be solid color, dark preferably.

 

[Legattabass]

Same with the "what's best for metal".....pretty much any bass will work.

Just need to discover what you prefer.....
nut width
string spacing
4,5, or 6 string
weight
pickups
pickup placement
scale length

Thank you for your long answer. In the order you asked:
J or P nut width is acceptable
J or P string spacing, also acceptable
4 preferred, 5 if need be.
Weight does not matter (yet, lol)
pickups: no preference
placement: no preference
scale length: no preference, 34 is fine if it can handle downtuning.

You need more strings. Definitely at least a 5er, I say 6. That low b (or lower) is where the doom comes from! Should be solid color, dark preferably.

I seem to remember Kyuss, E. Wizard, Omega Massif, Earth, Weedeater and Bongzilla using 4 strings :O all downtuned?

 

[BioDriver]

...there's bass in drone?

 

[Legattabass]

...there's bass in drone?

Don't let Sun O))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
)))))))))))))))))))
)))))
fool you. There is bass in drone. In fact, sometimes there are guitars pretending to be bass, in drone.

It's all very unnatural. Nature rebels.

 

[matt descending]

The thing with 4 strings is they usually have a shorter scale. It often makes for floppy string sound when downtuned. This can be over come though. IMO you get a better tone with a longer string but so many do it both ways.

 

[BioDriver]

It's all very unnatural. Nature rebels.

 

[Madwatch]

How about Spector

 

[Legattabass]

How about Spector

How about Spector? I don't know much about them, except that they look similar to warwicks, and I've seen them both cheap and expensive on store walls.

 

[Legattabass]

Highly unnatural. Good catch; it's hard finding pictures of Matt Pike in his natural form.

 

[Buckeyeman93]

All you need is an Ibanez SRX. The pickups on those have MASSIVE low end!

 

[s4001]

Knuckle. Nuthin' lower out there.

 

[BioDriver]

Highly unnatural. Good catch; it's hard finding pictures of Matt Pike in his natural form.

Well played, sir. Well played.

 

[WalterVega]

In one word: Thunderbird

 

[WalterVega]

And I'm also into Electric Wizard and all stoner/drone/doom stuff. Here's how I get a MASSIVE sound for playing,say, Funeralopolis: Tune down a half-step [Eb-Ab - Db - Gb], drop the E-string and the D-string --> C# - Ab - B - Gb, volume all the way/tone cut-off, play open-fifth on the higher strings (12th fret on the D and G string=first chord of Funeralopolis), strum simultaneously the 2 strings with your index/middle finger [[kinda "brushing"] in a medium position (between the 2 pups) or with a solid pick [minimum 1.14mm, ideally a 2.0mm] near the neck. With the huge low end of ceramic passive humbuckers, you just GET 'the sound'. I can even 'get the sound' with a 50W loudpseaker of my +20-years-old Sanyo Hi-Fi System, and 'deader than dead' strings : D

 

[RNV]

If you are doing DOOM and down tuning ................. actually, no matter what you are tuned to. BE CAREFUL WITH THAT MOLE!!!!!!!!!! That thing can go from "cool" to "OMG my F'ing speakers are going to explode" all in about a slight nudge on the one lonely knob.

 

[Korladis]

Your P-bass should work just fine. Throw on the bottom four strings from a 5 string set.

Doom/drone is more about amps and cabs really.

A single 4x10 isn't going to get it. Find a used 8x10 or 2x15 cheap on craigslist (condition shouldn't matter... it's drone/doom... so as long as it works, the rattier, the better, IMO). Now find a loud tube head. Mesa D-180, 400, 400+, Ampeg SVT or if you can find one, a V9, Traynor YBA-200, Peavey VB-2, should all work.

If you really feel you absolutely must get a different bass (no idea why you would, a P should work splendidly in drone/doom), Rickenbackers seem to be pretty popular among the doom crowd. One of the gnarliest live bass tones I heard in doom was on a Guild B401. Fender Jazz basses would work well, too.

 

[Legattabass]

Well played, sir. Well played.

*highfive*

All you need is an Ibanez SRX. The pickups on those have MASSIVE low end!

I've been GASsing over the SRX470. It sounded pretty superb in the shop. I was worried though, that it'd be hard to get rid of the jazzy, nasal tone it can also create. Does that make sense?

In one word: Thunderbird

Epi or Gib? I like their chunky, narrow necks, but I find that the gibsons sound like muddy pianos.

And I'm also into Electric Wizard and all stoner/drone/doom stuff. Here's how I get a MASSIVE sound for playing,say, Funeralopolis: Tune down a half-step [Eb-Ab - Db - Gb], drop the E-string and the D-string --> C# - Ab - B - Gb, volume all the way/tone cut-off, play open-fifth on the higher strings (12th fret on the D and G string=first chord of Funeralopolis), strum simultaneously the 2 strings with your index/middle finger [[kinda "brushing"] in a medium position (between the 2 pups) or with a solid pick [minimum 1.14mm, ideally a 2.0mm] near the neck. With the huge low end of ceramic passive humbuckers, you just GET 'the sound'. I can even 'get the sound' with a 50W loudpseaker of my +20-years-old Sanyo Hi-Fi System, and 'deader than dead' strings : D

Huh. I'll try this. Thanks for the tip.

If you are doing DOOM and down tuning ................. actually, no matter what you are tuned to. BE CAREFUL WITH THAT MOLE!!!!!!!!!! That thing can go from "cool" to "OMG my F'ing speakers are going to explode" all in about a slight nudge on the one lonely knob.

Noted. Similar issues were had with a Boss octaver pedal. Will be careful.

Your P-bass should work just fine. Throw on the bottom four strings from a 5 string set.

Doom/drone is more about amps and cabs really.

A single 4x10 isn't going to get it. Find a used 8x10 or 2x15 cheap on craigslist (condition shouldn't matter... it's drone/doom... so as long as it works, the rattier, the better, IMO). Now find a loud tube head. Mesa D-180, 400, 400+, Ampeg SVT or if you can find one, a V9, Traynor YBA-200, Peavey VB-2, should all work.

Thanks for the amp tips; it's an area I have relatively little information about. The Hartke 3500 and 4x10 were a right place, right time, right price purchase. Is tube a requisite?