Right bass for the band?

[Vinnie Boombatz]

Flea uses flats?

Juan Alderete

 

[Duder]

Juan Alderete

Flea has also recorded and played with them. I didn't know Juan was their full-time guy. Super talented.

 

[Vinnie Boombatz]

Flea has also recorded and played with them. I didn't know Juan was their full-time guy. Super talented.

And Juan Alderete plays a lot of fretless with The Mars Volta.

 

[DavC]

the last thing the comes to mind when i hear ' metal ' ... is Flats or Fretless ...

just because it's not the ' norm ' doesn't make it right or wrong .. !

maybe try a middle of the road string , ... kinda inbetween flats/rounds ... my choice ' GHS Pressurewounds ' ... as in = Roller wound under more pressure . ( not the ground down half round cheese grater crap )

that might give a wider variety of tonal opts .. ?

or build something cool / cheap ... i have a dark loaded Pbass body listed that was pretty cool when i had a fretless neck on it ... ( there's a couple cheap fretless necks listed also )

For Sale - $LOWER$ loaded/modded Matt Freeman blk deglossed body

 

[AshInAmsterdam]

My current project has similar influences, also grunge, stoner and so on. I use a Fender P with Rotosound flats. Sounds wonderful.

Don't get hung up on right bass for the band. Play the bass you love with the strings you love and make it your own.

 

[HolmeBass]

Let me say right off the bat that I agree fundamentally that if you are personally happy with how your current bass and strings sound then that's that, no need to change.

If you want to explore the possibility that a different sound might work better, that is an admirable thing to do.

I'd start the cheap route and try some different strings on your short scale, although you did mention finding ones that fit right is nontrivial.

I think in a "conventional wisdom" sense that a 34 or 35 inch scale length active bass (4 or 5 string as you prefer) with TI Jazz Flats would be a flexible, muscular tone perfect for that kind of music. But that's just CW, which can be completely wrong given other variables like your playing style, EQ, amp, and cabinet selection.

 

[FilTurd]

The first reply on this thread is excellent. I tried too copy the post but it took all my qoutes and posted them from the past.

 

[lokikallas]

I hear Pantera, and flats and fretless do not come to mind. Rounds, and wide open tone controls should do just fine.

 

[J_Bass]

I play some RATM as well and would not imagine playing "Bombtrack" with Flats. The Bass though is fine IMHO.

He actually used flats, if I recall correctly. The problem on figuring out his tone is that he uses 2 svt, one clean and one dirty, I think. And a certain amount of compression is always on.

To add to the problem, not only he works on his own amps, but he rewind the pups himself and even makes some of the pedals. The Bass or the strings doesn't get you there.

 

[SteveC]

Play what you want. The quest for the perfect toe for this band or that song is endless and not that important in the long run. I'll get roasted for this I'm sure - especially given my past - but if I knew then what I know now, I would have just kept the first bass that "did it all" for me before I found the internet and all that comes with it. I'd still have a great bass that I liked and a lot more money and probably a lot better technique and skill as I wouldn't have been swapping basses all the time.

People play rock with flats and jazz with rounds. Short scale, long scale, 4 string, 10 string. Find a bass that you love to play and play it. Try different strings maybe, or an effect, but just play. "Your" sound will fit in to an amazing amount of genres.

I used a Geddy Lee jazz with rounds to record a jazz standards cd with a singer. Sinatra stuff. It sounds fantastic, actually. I rolled off the volumes and tone, played with the right feel, and everyone was happy.

Iron maiden is a P bass with flats. No lack of highs or clank or anything else rocking there.

It's easy to get caught up in all the things, I was, maybe still am a bit, but I'm trying to be happy with what I have, try to make the best use of it, find all the tones, add some effects and try to just play more.

 

[Gyver]

Flats never seemed to hold back Steve Harris or Cliff Williams in heavy-sounding bands, I'd say give it a try with your current setup and see how it goes!

 

[grinx]

and then what?

Shoes?
Clothes?
Hair?
Girlfriend?

when do you stop changing to meet expectations you have set for yourself to fit in with this band?

Rock that pink n teal pawnshop special and never look back

 

[Mechanical]

This is true. However......



This is not true. Part of the problem with many (especially local) bands is that they do not realize they are in the ENTERTAINMENT business. Entertainment DOES include some things that just "fit" the act. Dressing like David Bowie and playing Skynard would be ridiculous. It wouldn't fit and it would be nothing short of awkward for the audience.

You are not just playing for yourself or with yourself. You are playing for OTHERS. Consider what works for THEM when you make music. IF you don't, playing with yourself is about as far as you'll get.

If you don't make an AUDIENCE "happy" or make an AUDIENCE "like the sound", what's the point?

Your view seems one-dimensional and self centered.

I do fill-in gigs all the time. I bring the bass(es), bring the rig and wear the clothes that FIT the band. I don't wear my favorite most comfy shoes and flannel PJ pants, play my absolute favorite bass (unless it fits), or bring the rig I like the sound of the most. I bring the attitude, clothes and the gear that fits the band.....so that the AUDIENCE gets the best experience from my work. They, even more than the other band members, are my primary concern.

So much this.

Don't show up to a country gig with a BC Rich Warlock and dressed like Rob Halford. Don't do a metal gig with a pink sparkly bass dressed like Pee Wee Herman. I mean, you can do anything you'd like, but that doesn't mean it's good.

Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put a tomato in a fruit salad.

 

[two fingers]

Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put a tomato in a fruit salad.

OK, where did you get this? Cuz I'm about to steal it....

 

[J_Bass]

OK, where did you get this? Cuz I'm about to steal it....

We use this in my country too, but if I translate it literally it would be knowledge and not intelligence. The rest is the same.

 

[TheIndieKid]

I wouldn't start now and try and incorporate it into a new band. Get one and become proficient on it before you bring it on stage.

That's very true. One I was thinking had lines so it was easier to play.

The secret with Tim Commerford's sound is not the bass, it's the pedals and amps.

He has used Fender Jazz, Lakland and MusicMan. He used flats in RATM.

Did he? Always thought it was EB 50-110 Nickel rounds. Gotta be on the first album with Take the Power Back and all that.

If the LaBella's aren't cutting it for you, try Fender 9050 Flats or EBMM Slinky Cobalt Flats. Deep tones with a bit of zing to help cut through.

I like my LaBella's but I'm not sure how the sound fits, because I've seen a lot of people on here say that it's better to have rounds in a band context where there's heavy guitars, because the top end can be pokey.

Flea uses flats?

On Staudium Arcadium

He actually used flats, if I recall correctly. The problem on figuring out his tone is that he uses 2 svt, one clean and one dirty, I think. And a certain amount of compression is always on.

To add to the problem, not only he works on his own amps, but he rewind the pups himself and even makes some of the pedals. The Bass or the strings doesn't get you there.

His signal chain is something we will never find out. Only approximate.

So much this.

Don't show up to a country gig with a BC Rich Warlock and dressed like Rob Halford. Don't do a metal gig with a pink sparkly bass dressed like Pee Wee Herman. I mean, you can do anything you'd like, but that doesn't mean it's good.

Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put a tomato in a fruit salad.

Now that...that is a brilliant quote...

 

[Grumpynuts]

In my limited experience a lot of guys will mid scoop and then complain they are not cutting through, classic bedroom sound syndrome.

I mid boost as a default with my tapewounds, and I cut though just fine. Sure, it sounds... odd when I am in my bedroom studio, but playing in a band, it sounds good and cuts though just fine.

 

[Volunteerk9]

I don't really have much to add - I just wanted to be part of the first TB thread where people are talking someone out of buying a new bass. On a personal note, when I think of RATM, Pantera and Audioslave, flats doesn't come onto the thought process. YMMV

 

[Mechanical]

OK, where did you get this? Cuz I'm about to steal it....

I've been on the interwebs since 1995 or so. Somewhere out there...

 

[two fingers]

I've been on the interwebs since 1995 or so. Somewhere out there...

Still string it.