Good Stoner Doom\Drone Bassist Equipment

[Psych0naut]

Hi, I've been playing about six months now, and am at the point where I need to upgrade my amp/get a pedal. Currently I have a small Crescent amp w/barely any power and a Schecter Stilleto Extreme-4. Budget wise, I'd like to keep it all under $400.
Would amps would you recommend to get this sound?
What pedals do you use for this sound?

 

[jking138]

It's been a while and no replies so I'll throw my thoughts your way.
Amp wise look for a second hand Ampeg head, one of the PF series or even Hartke, more important would be a good cab. a 4x10 or 15's.
For a start a fuzz would get you 90% there, something dirty but retains lowend well, maybe with a blend.
There is the Stoner/Doom bassists thread, check that out for plenty more info.

 

[Supercollide]

I'll bite too.
I'd worry less about getting a good stoner doom amp and more about getting a good amp.
Any good bassist will be able to get a decent sound for their style from just about any standard amp.

So what's more important to you I guess your budget will guide most.
First up, head & cabs or a combo, how will you be transporting it?
Combo's are great for portability but Head & Cabs are great. If you want a thick low end sound then larger speakers in the cab(s) would help but saying that ampeg's 8x10 cab has awesome low end.
Personally I'd recommend going for a Head & smaller cab (2 or 4, 10" or 12"speakers) now and looking at adding a larger cab (maybe 2x15")later.
How loud do you want it, I'm guessing loud. if your guitarists are rocking 100W amps then I'd recommend an amp over 200W.

Go visit a music store or website and see what fits those criteria within your budget, try them out if you can or look for youtube reviews. Don't forget 2nd hand, your money will go further.

As regards a pedal you'll likely want a fuzz pedal.
However a graphic EQ pedal will help you tweak any amps sounds.
My personal recommendation would be to get a cheap decent multiFX Bass pedal with a tuner, Fuzz (graphic eq if possible but that's unlikely or cheap) and with a DI out. That will cover so many eventualities when you start out and you can then look at replacing it with better versions of the specific fx you actually use.

 

[Hoss Groovealot]

The Stoner and Doom bassist thread isn't really about Stoner and Doom bass playing. At least not any of the pages I clicked on.

 

[willbassyeah]

you can ask for some of the gear that the doom club uses, from my experience they are quite helpful guys.. one of the few places in talkbass that i still enjoy

some amp that i can recommend,

Sunn
Verellen meatsmoke
Bassman T300
Aguilar DB751
Peavey Tube head
Mesa Prodigy

Bass
Fender P (Duh!)
Rick 4001
any weird japanese bass

Pedals
Bluebeard Fuzz
Fuzzrocious pedals
smallsound bigsound
dwarfcraft pedals
(basically all the builders that are promoted at ilovefuzz.com

 

[jollygiantchris]

With a $400 budget it limits you substantially but it's not un-doable. First you should try to decide whether you like 15"s or 10"s go to GC and try some cabs out see what feels like you. Otherwise for cab's I'd recommend used for 15s the Peavey 215D or old Kustom Tuck N Roll 2x15 or 3x15 which can be had cheap used sometimes. (Under no circumstances get the old Kustom Tuck N Roll heads they are terribly underpowered but their ported cabs are great) Or you could try to get an old 70s Acoustic Control corp cab but those have been going up in price in recent years.

For 4x10s I like the Hartke for cheap or try to pickup those nice Fender Rumble 4x10s that are super cheap. If you can find them sometimes the Tech 21 4x10s go pretty cheap and they are fantastic. Sometimes you can get cheap avatar cabs used as well. I would honestly spend more on the speaker then the amp it almost makes more of a difference.

Ampwise I'd go old Peavey like a mark IV or firebass. If you can somehow find one an old Acoustic Control 360 or maybe even a 220 would work. Any old Sunn Beta/Coliseum/Concert would work as well but those are getting more expensive. You could also probably get the amp I've been using a Yorkville XS400H for cheap used it sounds surprisingly good once you crank the tube pre.

Pedals-wise all you need Fuzz or a very heavy distortion. Some good ones in your price range Tech 21 Red Ripper or Bass XXL, Boss HM-2, Black Arts Toneworks Pharoah, Way Huge Swollen Pickle, EHX Bass Big Muff. If you wanted to spend more money you could go nuts and get that Dwarfcraft Fuzz or like a ZVex Wooly Mammoth. You'll be fine with any of the above. You don't really need any modulation/reverb/delay but personally I do like throwing some Phaser or flange on occasionally in which case I'd recommend the Boss PH-3 or Boss BF-3. I also use a ZVex Sonar sometimes for colour and it sounds amazing on bass as well.

Good luck!

 

[jollygiantchris]

I thought I'd also add if you need a ton of volume to be heard you could always get a Tech 21 Leeds or Orange or VT Bass as a pre and run into one of the Behringer power amps into something like a Carvin LS2153 which is currently on sale for $329. This plus a fuzz pedal would sound very good and be extremely loud which is something the genre requires.

 

[Bassic Playing]

The Stoner and Doom bassist thread isn't really about Stoner and Doom bass playing. At least not any of the pages I clicked on.

We tend to wander a lot, but if any Doom related questions are asked the guys are very helpful and quick to respond .

As for the OP, do check out the Stoner/Doom thread, but I think a lot, if not most stuff can work in a doom context. A lot of us use big old peaveys, and a wide variety of basses. I'd say one of the most important things is a good Muff, like the Civil War or Stomp Under Foot (or supercollider, or hoof, or russian muff, etc etc).

What bands' sound were you trying to emulate?

EDIT: Saw your budget. I think your bass is fine, I would keep that, get an old peavey combo for cheap, and maybe a good overdrive and fuzz (look in the classifieds). That would be a great start, and you can decide what else you need from there.

 

[Tractorr]

Keep the bass for now it is fine.

Buy an old solid state Peavey or GK. I know you probably want a tube amp but you are better off buying that down the road when you have more to spend. Getting a decent tube amp for 400 is an incredibly rare feat.

Be on the lookout for a good deal on a cab. I know that doom/stoner guys want a big wall of cabs but one of the best doom/stoner tones I have ever heard was a guy playing a 2x10 and a 1x15 (the horror mixing speaker sizes!). Keep an eye out for some cheap 1x15 cabs. I have seen all kinds of 1x15s for around 100. If you got two of the same kind it will probably get the job done.

Find a good used overdrive and/or fuzz. A word of warning don't waste your money on a Bass Big Muff. It might work in other band settings but it will definitely get lost in this type of band.

 

[GhoulBassist]

Orange

Orange seems to work for Wata's guitar drones, at least. ;o

 

[mpdd]

here's what i use:
L2000 or LB100
dark driving/rat tail/druid fuzz
mesa d180
2 orange obc115s

the pedals could get you pretty far if you can find an old peavey, acoustic, or gk that is loud used

 

[jollygiantchris]

Orange seems to work for Wata's guitar drones, at least. ;o

Sure does. But OP was asking for tips on a $400 budget. GL getting anything orange for bass for $400.

 

[AdamR]

Think dirty old tube amps and dirty old 2X15 cabs. Doom/stoner is about volume and dirty tones. Oh and weed.

 

[MatronMother]

Craigslist I got a 2x15 traynor cab for $150 Canadian and find a Earth Sound Research Super Bass B-1000 for $300. $450 (canadian) for an amazing head and amp. My suggestion is to scour craigslist until you find a deal for something awesome. They come up a lot. Once you have the head and cab everything else will fall into place.

 

[MatronMother]

Man I wish I was in Philadelphia! Kustom head and 2x15 cab. $250! Leaves $150 for a good overdrive pedal.
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Acoustic 320 head and 406 cab $500
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Peavey Century Bass Amp $150!!!!
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Hartke Bass Amp and 4x10 cab $300
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THIS IS SPECIAL! Traynor Custom Special YBA-3. Amazing overdrive...amazing head. $600
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All of these I now want. Man I wish I lived in Philly.

 

[eyeballkid]

The Stoner and Doom bassist thread isn't really about Stoner and Doom bass playing. At least not any of the pages I clicked on.

We diverge all over the place as we've been going for years, but anytime bass stuff gets asked or pops up we all have something to add...then we talk about kava, beer, girls, bands, our bad luck and make each other laugh.

 

[evilbird]

for drone doom i use homebuilt fuzz with ebs valve drive and zoom ms70-cdr. i get very fat sound