Yeah i play in more of a post-metal zludge band than a doom or stoner band. The threads full of missfits that dont fit in with regular TB so well. We like big amps and big volume and heavy equipment. More like a bizzaro version of TB.
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Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out
- Thread starter Korladis
- Start date
apparently we've transitioned back into post punk, people said we were putting off a heavy joy division vibe at saturday's show
I keep telling these fine people I'm more of a drone bassist than doom bassist, but I just can't seem to get them to kick me out yet.
@Sartori You really know how to rile 'em up over in regular TB. I'm also sig quoting your last post because.
Meanwhile, in the bass world....
Straight outta Belarus, this Com Bloc special showed up. I needed an interesting body to install an EGC neck from a run they're making and took a chance on this, it was cheap and I thought it was gonna be janky enough to carve up. Goddang thing is nice, built pretty well and sounds pretty good too....so much that I'd rather keep it as is. Now I gotta figure out what I can put that EGC neck on that doesn't negate the coolness/sound of the neck itself. 1st world probs.
That's actually an 80's Czechoslovakian Jolana Jantar bass. Back in the day they were pretty highly regarded for being generally of a way better quality that your run of the mill Soviet Bloc instruments.
Just got a G&L sb2 tribby thru GC online delivered yesterday. Under 400$ brand spanking new. Holy hell, this thing is aggressive and just booms. Gonna give the T40 a run for its money.
Just wanted to quote this because it's such a great description.
Thank you
Maybe for it to have been 100% grammatically fluent as well, I should have formulated it like this:
"However I sure do like playing and creating slow heavy music in the darker end of the spectra"
But yeah, pretty much what this type of music is, right?
By the way some of you might like some of the stuff I make with my drone/ambient/noise solo project in my own name, Jacob Læby, linked to in my signature, which for most parts fits this description as well.
I got a question for all you guys\gals:
I little while ago I did a poll on TB asking if people preferred 5 string basses or a 4 string basses tuned BEAD. The overwhelming number of TB players said they preferred 5s. Now, I know we wizard rock\metal players are a separate breed, and I find it very rare to see Doom\stoner\sludge\etc players using 5 stringers despite lots of low tuning.
Re-slotting a nut for bigger strings, throwing away the unused strings, adjusting the neck, etc are a big pain in the backside. So why do bassists in these genres play down tuned 4s so much more often?
I little while ago I did a poll on TB asking if people preferred 5 string basses or a 4 string basses tuned BEAD. The overwhelming number of TB players said they preferred 5s. Now, I know we wizard rock\metal players are a separate breed, and I find it very rare to see Doom\stoner\sludge\etc players using 5 stringers despite lots of low tuning.
Re-slotting a nut for bigger strings, throwing away the unused strings, adjusting the neck, etc are a big pain in the backside. So why do bassists in these genres play down tuned 4s so much more often?
A friend of mine said "try to find a five strings Ric bass... that's it. Buy a four and go BEAD"
Because I already owned a 4 and couldn't justify another piece of equipment I didn't really need.
Also, no one makes a P/P 5'er...
Also, also, new Dimarzio Model P set should be in today. Now I just need to buy a second set when I have money. The downfalls of a P/P.
Im a real oddity cus i play a 5 string tuned to drop B. Lets me get away with more chording and guitar powe chords.
I think @Ti-Ron and @gfen hit it in different ways: the best sounding basses are 4s. If any other bass, 4 or 5, sounds like my 70s Guild, I'd love to know about it, but I sure haven't found it. Plus making more out of less is in the DNA of doom.
a 4 tuned down sounds different to me than a 5 string. I'm willing to bet a lot of the down tuned sounds/tones that have been on our favorite recordings were also recorded using standard gauge strings, maybe 110 max. Part of the tone is the floppier strings. they just add a different flavour, especially when pushing some tubes.
Well...that's a bit of an overstatement. "Best" is, of course, relative. My personal preference for lower tunings is a 35" scale, which is unfortunately rare in a 4 string config, and impossible to find on retro styled instruments.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but if this was 100% accurate players in this genre wouldn't spend thousands on vintage amps, or boutique stuff like Emperor, Verellen, Hovercraft, vintage Muff clones, vintage guitars\basses, etc. They also wouldn't have two or three stacks of amps. More with less would be a half stack for guitarists, and a single 115 for bass players. Jussayin.
Well before the doom thing became trendy prices were not as high as they are now on vintage gear and the original bands used vintage gear because it was cheaper and not trendy in the early 90s. There's definitely a lot of emphasis put on gear though, more so than other metal genres i think and most of it is just an image thing more than a sound thing. Doom bands pretend they are above the cockwaving of metal but it's just another form of cockwaving. I personally have fun trying new stuff whether vintage or not. I'm a gear head more than a musician I think but if I had to I could easily get by with a "lesser" rig.
What I've noticed is that some pickups seem to "like" lower tunings more than others. I've had some 4 string basses just refuse to deal with the lower freqs when taken down past D. I've also noticed that sometimes the articulation can go south really quick after D on a 4.
You play a little quicker than some drone or doom bands, and still managed a fair amount of articulation. What is you tuning, string, action arrangement?
