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Metal basses?

#21
good point, metal spans a good deal of style these days. Classic metal is different from current metal is different from death metal (etc).

I had a similar dilemma a few months back. I was able to land a really nice Spector Rex-5. Haven't seen anyone mention that one in this thread. Amazing bass and picked it up used for <$450 shipped with case. The Rex is definitely metal (rex brown anyone?) and allows you to move into different styles.
 
#23
bassphreak said:
good point, metal spans a good deal of style these days. Classic metal is different from current metal is different from death metal (etc).

I had a similar dilemma a few months back. I was able to land a really nice Spector Rex-5. Haven't seen anyone mention that one in this thread. Amazing bass and picked it up used for <$450 shipped with case. The Rex is definitely metal (rex brown anyone?) and allows you to move into different styles.
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YES!!! That is one great bass, I played the black quilted maple one a few months back. Very very good bang for the buck, although if you play sitting down more than standing up, I wouldn't bother getting it.
 
#25
The bass for the Lacuna Coil album "Karmacode" (e.g. Our Truth) is how I would like my metal tone, it sits well in the mix and has presence. It may not suit classic metal I am not sure, but its good :p . The bass player uses a custom Ibanez Prestige SR-3005 5-string bass with EMG-40P5 pickups, not sure HOW custom though.
 
#27
ROON said:
Hey Carnival! Haven't seen you around here in a while. :)
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Hey man, yeah thats true.. been AWOL from the bass for a bit.
But now I have picked it up again and I am back to square 1 and on TalkBass :p

In terms of metal basses, how about getting a P and upgrading the pickups and bridge? If your budget is $600USD then that should be enough. Then it should be pretty versatile and you could probably use it for a lot of styles. Not sure what Laklands go for though, I am used to Aussie pricing :p
 
#28
Saw Geezer on the Heaven & Hell tour when it rolled thru here (San Antonio) just a couple of months ago, and he's playing a Lakland 4-94. He's a Lakland Artist. I read an interview he did, and he says he doesn't play 5 strings because he hasn't exhausted all of the possible note combinations on a 4 string yet! Simple & yet profound. I've gravitated toward 5's because I find them more challenging after 35 years of playing bass. Of course, I'm only interested in metal & hard rock, so I am rather limited, by choice, in what I do. Nothing else does it for me. I'm 53 and I'm always the oldest guy at the concerts I go to. When I met the guys from Disturbed on the "10,000 Fists" tour, I told David & John (who's from here) that I had to be their oldest fan and they said that they had fans older than me. Then David asked me how old I was and I told him and he said, "Yeah, maybe you're right!" We all laughed. So, when I talk about the best metal bass in my opinion, I'm usually talking from a more traditional metal sense, rather than thrash or some of the other sub-genre of metal. Priest, Zep, Sabbath, Disturbed, Motorhead, etc. I just can't get into the bands where it sounds like the singer has the microphone about 8 inches down his throat. Of course, after 35 years, I can't hear the bass in most thrash/speed metal bands anymore. I just think these Laklands are astounding basses and the 55-01 is really reasonably priced. The controls are very responsive. I loved my '94 Thunderbird when I owned it and it was an extremely fast playing bass w/a great metal sound, but it was considerably more than $500-$600! A lot of metal bassists have played T-birds over the years.
 
#29
i dunno about you guys but i think a jazz suits metal a lot better then a pbass

i would say a spector or a jazz...someone mentioned that squier in this thread...i played that a couple weeks ago and loved it even though its a squier. plays very nice and does have a nice sound.

but for metal i would say something along the lines of a spector. and grab a pick you should be set
 
#31
pmoran said:
Saw Geezer on the Heaven & Hell tour when it rolled thru here (San Antonio) just a couple of months ago, and he's playing a Lakland 4-94. He's a Lakland Artist.
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Right, but he wasnt playing Laklands OR Ampeg on any of the following:

Black Sabbath (Debut)
Master of Reality
Paranoid

If you listen to Mob Rules or Dehumanizer he has a MUCH different and more modern tone. I read an interview somewhere that said his tone sounded like that cause he had a blown speaker or was missing one or something. Not to mention Sabbath in general has a much different sound all in all on the 3 Dio albums.

I recall that he played 4x12 cabinets, tube heads and either a P or a jazz. I'm sure he was using flats.

Again tracks with this signiture tone in question are:
After Forever on master of Reality
War Pigs off paranoid
NIB- Black Sabbath


That's the tone I'm referring to. I'm sure laklands are amazing basses. I've never played one. In all reality, just about any good bass with a good set of pick-ups will do metal.

It all boils down to personal preference for tone and the style you are playing. Again, amp settings and cabinet preference will come into play. Neck size and weight could be a choice too.


And you are right, most thrash/speed metal bassists get hidden in the mix. Most of the above mentioned in that list arent thrash bands. Hellacopters arent really even metal-more like MC5 or The Stooges or Roky Erikkson or something. Then again, I'm not sure Id really lump Disturbed into any metal category either. Aren't they the guys that covered Genesis??

One notable bassist, when speaking of Speed/hardcore or Thrash is Land Phil from Municipal waste. He has crazy tone! He plays a stingray through an Orange AD200 and an old Ampeg.

Link Removed

The guy from Job for a Cowboy and the bassist from Unearth both play Warwicks.

I hear Guitar Center has some good deals on Rock Basses right now. ;)

But the best suggestion would be to just go around town and PLAY every bass imaginable in your price range. Dont discount any bass. Just play it, see how it feels, how it sounds. And dont forget to try to talk them down. ;)

Is the neck right? Is it too heavy? Does it feel "cheap" in your hands?

So so far we have:

Used Lakland 55-01
Used G&L SB-2
New G&L SB-2 Tribute
Squier Deluxe Jazz 5
ESP LTD series
Older Charvel 3B
Fender Frank Bello
Fender Aerodyne

You might also hunt for a used Gibson Victory Standard. You might find one in that range.
 
#33
In the same vein as the Schecters and ESP's you can also look for the Ibanez BTB series. So typically more growling tones, suitable for more recent kinds of metal.

Also, don't underestimate the impact on your sound of the amp you use. That may give you much more of a "metal" sound (however you interpret that) that changing your bass.
 
#35
Well, I feel that any bass can fit the role, it's more of a question of what kind of sound you're looking for. I've played a ton of different basses from the ESP LTD F255, Schecter's stilletto custom 5, BC Rich Virgin, BC Rich Mockingbird, Halo GVK 5, etc...all the way through to low end basses like my Carlo Robelli 6 string and my fretless SX Jazz V. It all depends on what I think the song needs. I do have a steady sound that I use for most songs, but as I'm working on building more of a soundscape, I use different basses when writing just to see what I could come up with, using different effects and EQ's.

So, my suggestion to you is to find a bass that you think would be cool, and try it out. The more basses you try under controlled conditions, the more you get to find out which one sounds like what you want. Remember to either bring your practice amp or to find the same exact amp in the store and play through that at your normal settings...at least that way you'll have an idea of what that particular bass would sound like coming out of your amp.
 
#38
I play in a metal band occasionally (Link Removed. The recordings on the site were made with a Pedulla Thunderbass (older model) but I always preferred the G&L Tribute 2500. It has super low end and a very punchy tone. It overdrives great due to the massive output. It also looks downright evil, and is sturdy enough for me to crowd surf while playing, have the neck hit the stage monitors, and still stay in tune.

This is a modern metal sound. I will recommend against a P-bass of any sort, as in a modern metal situation they are muddy and generic sounding especially with flatwounds. I've tried it and I know from experience that if you want to get lost in the mix the P-basses are great. The metal of 30 years ago sounds a lot different then the metal of today, and Steve Harris' tone does not cut it like it used to (IMO of course). Jazz basses with Fatbeams or hi-fi strings work a lot better if you HAVE to use a Fender. If you're playing lighter metal (QoTSA for example) then a P-bass would be a good choice. If it's super heavy articulate metal then it will be lacking. You really need a bridge pickup to get the grit of metal. That said, P/J basses sound great for almost all styles of music including metal. Try an Aerodyne P/J, they are very nice.

The SR505 actually has a very nice B-string and is a great choice for metal given the midrange response. You'll cut through very well. I used my SR506 for a while with Dohm and it was very good.

Also, Warwicks are really good for metal as well.
 
#39
Peavey's David Ellefson sig model (Zodiac DE Scorpio) might be a good choice. It seems to marry classic with modern metal in look and construction well. Haven't played one though, but there are some YouTube clips out there of Junior thrashing around on his.
 

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