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Fender Squier P Bass for Metal?

#61
Tonally I think a P could work, depending on where the guitars' frequency range is focused. A lot of newer metal has the guitar occupying a mid-low range, but there is some newer post black metal stuff where the guitars are in a more traditional midrange space.

Another thing to consider with a P-type instrument is the neck. I love the sound of a P, but the traditional P neck is definitely not what I'd describe as fast. For traditional heavy metal, thrash and even some black metal the nut width shouldnt get in your way, but for more techy death metal a faster neck goes a long way.
 
#62
DwaynieAD said:
I'm officially questioning whether you've ever actually heard pantera
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I have. I'll admit I made that statement late at night after listening with what I'm pretty sure are pretty crappy speakers, but I still don't like Pantera sonically. The guitar tone is...sterile.

I will admit the bass is much better through headphones.
 
#64
Fenwick said:
Tonally I think a P could work, depending on where the guitars' frequency range is focused. A lot of newer metal has the guitar occupying a mid-low range, but there is some newer post black metal stuff where the guitars are in a more traditional midrange space.
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This is the core of the problem, modern guitar amps are voiced to be really punchy in the low mids and (!) bass, meaning you need a bass guitar that either has higher or lower voicing than a P bass, since P is the loudest in that 100-200 range where guitars punch through, making it the poorest choice in that context. This means you either need to voice bass through sub frequencies or through some higher lower mids, at around 400hz or so, which is where a pickup in 70s jazz bridge pickup position has plenty of output, making it a great choice to cut through.

Herrick said:
Mastodon: another band I've heard a lot about but haven't actually heard anything. Album recommendations please! :cool:
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I am mostly a fan of Crack The Skye, not really a huge fan of their older stuff. But this makes some Mastodon fans want to stone me, for some reason. Check out Crack The Skye, it's got some really nice moments though some songs drag on for too long.
 
#66
DwaynieAD said:
I'm officially questioning whether you've ever actually heard pantera
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Really? I am only a casual Pantera listener (Only really listened to Cowboys From Hell and Vulgar Display of Power), but on both of those albums, I hear a lot of guitar, a lot of (really thin sounding IMHO) drums, a lot of Phil's voice, and not a lot of bass. The live tracks from the reissue of Cowboys has audible bass though.
 
#67
Herrick said:
Mastodon: another band I've heard a lot about but haven't actually heard anything. Album recommendations please! :cool:
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All of them, honestly. Here's a breakdown:

Remission: Very heavy, thrashy sludge metal. Lots of harsh vocals. Insane drumming. Not for everyone.

Leviathan: Similar to Remission, but more melodic and focussed. Concept album.

Blood Mountain: Sort of similar to Leviathan, but expanding their progressive development with some "quirks" in the songs. Concept album.

Crack the Skye: Straight up progressive sludge. Surprising prevalence of clean vocals, much more melodic than previous albums. My personal favourite. Concept album.

The Hunter: more straightforward than Crack the Skye, but clean vocals still prevail. Pretty good.
 

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