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Sit down before you read this...

I'm kind of leaned back.

This is just a "what's the best bass for metal" thread.

There is no good instrument for metal.

Just play rock and roll. If you want it to be HARD rock and roll, then play it HARD. The word "metal" has lost all meaning.

Black Sabbath is metal.

That crap where the singer just shouts into an effect laden mic that makes him sound like a berserk cookie monster is metal.

And so is everything in between.

I used to have a seventies "greatest hits" album called "Heavy Metal" that had Yes, Zeppelin, Golden Earring, and even the GRATEFUL DEAD on it!

It was SO not "metal" in today's sense, or maybe even in the sense it was used back then.

Metal schmetal.

Get the bass, mess around with it, and then PLAY SOME MUSIC on it.
 
So ... what were the metal guys in the 70's using then? Pickups from the future?

I'm not a metal player, but isn't most of that all about gain? 40db of gain can be had for $30 bucks (ART tube mic pre - $30 at Musicians Friend AND free shipping for orders over $25). After you gain-up ~them non-metal 70's pickups~ then you can treat the rest of your signal the way you would if it was a "bass that's good for metal" (whatever THAT means).

Isn't there a sticky about how you're supposed to just look at what your metal heros used and go with that?

EDIT: Yuh, I finded it! And I think this little video sums it up ...



Next question.
 
Have we been duped by yet another 16 year old that is more worried about LOOKING metal than playing it again? That metal shop at the mall sells some cool armbands.

Make sure the singer does cookie monster vocals or it isn't real.

I have to agree with what someone else said already - metal is nothing more than a musical fashion statement any more. It used to mean something. It's become the same joke that Disco has. It's quaint and all that, but not taken as seriously as it once was. Now it's more about a "look" than actually coming up with anything new and exciting.

Just my worthless opinion - more stink added to this fart in the elevator that's headed down.
 
I have to put in my two cents here with the " metal is nothing more than a musical fashion statement any more. It used to mean something. It's become the same joke that Disco has. It's quaint and all that, but not taken as seriously as it once was. Now it's more about a "look" than actually coming up with anything new and exciting." statement.

I honestly cannot see how this is true. Maybe with bands like Slipknot and Disturbed, and their fans, but metal now, especially in the underground scene, is still just as lively as it was in the 70's and up, as well as innovative. Take bands like Baroness or Witchcraft for example.
 
Martin Mendez

I was about to say the same plus Jason Newsted. Jazz basses kick ass for metal. I am an avid fan of maple fingerboards and I honestly believe they work great for metal. I have a parts jazz that can be pretty brutal in a metal setting. Actually even though I mostly play rock with my current band, my tone is pretty aggressive, but since we have two loud guitar players it works fine. Moreover, I don't know why, but I really like drop tunings on Jazz necks(by the way my band tunes half a step down and we also do some drop D, actually drop Db, stuff).
 
Play whatever bass you are comfortable with, and looks do matter. Many people here won't play any bass that they consider ugly - myself included. Buy a bass YOU LIKE - it doesn't matter what other people think, and as for "Metal" ... the bass itself is irrelevant.