Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Best Bass for HEAVY METAL?
- Thread starter AcousticBass
- Start date
I have found a Hondo P bass is the best bass for metal. I also have found a five string fretless jazz to be the best bass for metal. I find things, sometimes.
Technical death metal isn't new, and is mostly just a descriptor. Because metal is the probably the most diverse musical style around, people need to find ways to explain it. Pop is pop, country is country, rap is rap, etc. Metal can really mean just about anything, so we tend to classify it so people can understand what the variation is.
Saying there are too many genres of metal is like saying their are too many types of beer, or too many types of whiskey. No such thing.
Last edited:
There are officially too many genres of genre.
Hey did you see the trillion and one comments about the Warwick Corvette ? There must be a fan club around here somewhere. I play a Squier Classic Vibe Precision Bass, took out the pickup's and put a set of quarter pounders in, and through a 200 watt amp my bass sound great, couldn't ask for anything better that this baby can't do. I think finding the sound that you want has everything to do with it so do a lot of experimenting with pedals and create your own sound.
For tapping, you need to ask yourself how many frets you want. Personally, I would want 24.
You also need to ask the basic guitar question: humbucker or single coil? or combination thereof? When it comes to distortion, I tend to prefer the single coil bite. When I ran a Gibson SG (guitar) with tube distortion, I had to run the treble very boosted and was always fighting to get the edge and bite back into the tone.
I think for working-band metal bass, the Ibanez SR series is hard to beat. You can get a soapbar single coil in the P-bass position, which will sound a LOT like a P-bass, but with single coil edge. Perhaps like the original single coil P. Then of course the bridge pickup for more high's and bark.
Ibanez SR504. Single coils, active electronics, 24 frets, can be had for $300.
Ugh....how old is this thread?
You never know. Maybe the OP is still looking for a bass
This is a pretty old thread lol... BUT
Warwick Corvette or Thumb, ESP LTDs, or Ibanez SRs. All of em have the versatility and aggressiveness you'd want for metal. Although, as some have already said, there's no wrong choice.
For metal, I'd think amp/cabs/effects would be more pressing than the instrument, itself. Just because of the amount and levels of distortion necessary, and the need to cut through everything else going on.
Hopefully, the OP already found what works by now.
Warwick Corvette or Thumb, ESP LTDs, or Ibanez SRs. All of em have the versatility and aggressiveness you'd want for metal. Although, as some have already said, there's no wrong choice.
For metal, I'd think amp/cabs/effects would be more pressing than the instrument, itself. Just because of the amount and levels of distortion necessary, and the need to cut through everything else going on.
Hopefully, the OP already found what works by now.
Here's what you do: Get yourself a Precision Bass and put some Quarter Pounders in that sucker and some EB Flatwound and play it through a bass Muff and a Peavey. That should be metal enough for anybody.
