Totally Earth-esque. Very nice! Did you take the photo?
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Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out
- Thread starter Korladis
- Start date
Totally Earth-esque. Very nice! Did you take the photo?
Thanks!
Yes, in the Summer last year while hiking the Tatra Mountains.
Someone needs to film the low budget space western this is the soundtrack to.
... I for sure see a swollen pickle
I'm really enjoying the new Snail album. Some excellent bass fuzz tones throughout!
Hi Everybody,
I figured this was the best place to ask this question...
I’m currently not in a band, but after another few months of practice (or possibly years at the rate I’m progressing), I think I would like to start a Doom or Stoner Metal band...
At this point in my life-I’m probably too old to play Thrash Metal and the more Doom I listen to the more I’m on board with the overall sound, speed, and pretty much the whole vibe of it...
While I definitely need more practice-I’m also kicking around what kind of equipment I want if I decide this is the route I want to take...
Which do you prefer for this type of music (and why)-A Jazz or a Pbass?
More specifically I’m looking for the rationale-It seems like you can play using either bc I would think the genre is like anything else-Theoretically any bass will do if it’s EQed correctly...
Once you start running your signal thru fuzz pedals however what (if any) are the advantages of using a Jazz vs a P???...
I’ve read that jazzes are more mid heavy and supposedly cut thru the mix better, but wondering how adding in a fuzz pedal (or several) impacts this-Does it even “matter” if you have a lot of pedals in your signal chain???-From playing a few times in the store the jazz seems more comfortable for my left hand, however I’m well aware I can swap out the neck and put a jazz neck on a pbass...
Also-(along these lines)-Currently I’m playing an ESP/LTD AP-4 which is a PJ with a jazz neck, but it has active EMGs...
How much does having a passive bass factor into a heavily distorted low end sound???
I have done a few searches and it seems like some actives work fine with a pedal and others mess with the tone which is one of the reasons I’m looking at a passive bass (aside from the excuse that I kinda wanna buy a Fender I mean)...
Specific to this genre-Which one do you prefer and why???
I’ve seen a few threads in the general forum of people comparing the J and the P (and aware there are PJs out there bc I’m playing an active PJ rt now), but curious to know what other people here prefer (and why)...
A Rick (which seems like the other most common bass in this genre) is a little more than I’d like to spend especially since I still need an amp and a cab (currently I have a combo practice amp, but aware I’m gonna need something stronger at some point if I follow thru)...
Just kinda curious what your preferred axe is for this genre (and why)...
No wrong answers here-Just want some opinions on what you think sounds good and what has worked/come in handy for you personally...
Thanks! \m/
I figured this was the best place to ask this question...
I’m currently not in a band, but after another few months of practice (or possibly years at the rate I’m progressing), I think I would like to start a Doom or Stoner Metal band...
At this point in my life-I’m probably too old to play Thrash Metal and the more Doom I listen to the more I’m on board with the overall sound, speed, and pretty much the whole vibe of it...
While I definitely need more practice-I’m also kicking around what kind of equipment I want if I decide this is the route I want to take...
Which do you prefer for this type of music (and why)-A Jazz or a Pbass?
More specifically I’m looking for the rationale-It seems like you can play using either bc I would think the genre is like anything else-Theoretically any bass will do if it’s EQed correctly...
Once you start running your signal thru fuzz pedals however what (if any) are the advantages of using a Jazz vs a P???...
I’ve read that jazzes are more mid heavy and supposedly cut thru the mix better, but wondering how adding in a fuzz pedal (or several) impacts this-Does it even “matter” if you have a lot of pedals in your signal chain???-From playing a few times in the store the jazz seems more comfortable for my left hand, however I’m well aware I can swap out the neck and put a jazz neck on a pbass...
Also-(along these lines)-Currently I’m playing an ESP/LTD AP-4 which is a PJ with a jazz neck, but it has active EMGs...
How much does having a passive bass factor into a heavily distorted low end sound???
I have done a few searches and it seems like some actives work fine with a pedal and others mess with the tone which is one of the reasons I’m looking at a passive bass (aside from the excuse that I kinda wanna buy a Fender I mean)...
Specific to this genre-Which one do you prefer and why???
I’ve seen a few threads in the general forum of people comparing the J and the P (and aware there are PJs out there bc I’m playing an active PJ rt now), but curious to know what other people here prefer (and why)...
A Rick (which seems like the other most common bass in this genre) is a little more than I’d like to spend especially since I still need an amp and a cab (currently I have a combo practice amp, but aware I’m gonna need something stronger at some point if I follow thru)...
Just kinda curious what your preferred axe is for this genre (and why)...
No wrong answers here-Just want some opinions on what you think sounds good and what has worked/come in handy for you personally...
Thanks! \m/
If you like your ESP it will work perfectly fine. I think any bass can work. Though I would recommend a 34" scale or longer if you are downtuning. There's no right or wrong tone for doom. The more you listen to doom, the more different bass tones you'll hear, from clean, slightly dirty, to wall to wall fuzzy glitchness.
My advice is to spend your budget on amp/cab/pedals. Honestly, any amp head will work. Aesthically, old amps are 'doom' but play anything you like that will be loud enough. Classic amps like SVTs of course work fine. You'll find us here use everything from darkglasses, old peaveys, quilter, matamp, SVTs, etc etc.
For fuzz/dirt, check out the main 'flavors' [big muff, rat, hm-2, superfuzz, etc] and see which you like. I rrcommend the Behold the Riff youtube channel. The guy does great bass lessons on doom tunes, but is always really detailed in his gear used, so if you dig his tone, you can zero in on the gear. His amp is a darkglass, iirc, and he mainly uses a pbass.
All of this advice is spot-on. I'd just say that I feel like I've mostly seen the Beholden to the Riff guy using a PRS Kestrel (a J style bass) but I also don't keep up with every video.
Not that I have any doom credentials but I play Dingwall and Ibanez multiscale basses, which is about as non-doom as you can get. The Dingwall in particular feels pretty close to perfect for me, so I don't see myself moving away from that anytime soon regardless of the genre I'm playing.
Gibson SG-style basses seem to be fairly common in the genre, which if nothing else shows there's way more to it than just P and J basses.
My first reaction, probably, would be to play whatever YOU like. And bonus points for using equipment that does not 'fit' the expectations. I for one don't buy into 'it ain't "stoner" if it's not (half) broken'. And I doubt whether your audience pays attention.
Jazz/Precision? Active/passive? Vintage Korean/mint 1st world produce? As long as it's played with passion, and probably a bit of a laid back attitude, it works. Plus... your 'doom/stoner metal' mileage may vary: to me, those words vaguely tie a huge diversity of music together in a 'genre'.
That being said, I must admit my inner nerd enjoys it when players/bands use gear-with-a-history, or with-a-twist. And it is inspiring to see what good musicians can produce on 'sub-par' instruments, just because they like 'em, or don't obsess enough, or don't have the means for something else.
Is that the one with the 'reverse' headstock? Either way, seems like a totally cool bass to me. 'Legit'!
(What I have noticed, if I do allow myself a little nitpicking, is that the phrase 'takes pedals well' applies more to the passive (or played in passive mode) basses in my stable, which very well might not be a representative sample, of course. It's mostly in the 'fuzz' and 'distortion' area where my (!) ears find pedals coupled with active basses a bit 'harsh'. My (solid state) amp being dialled in rather clean, by the way, and not producing f*ckloads of wattage.)
Yeah man, honestly you could use any bass really. I've even seen a dude using a 50's style P bass with the old single coil PUP(think it was the dude from Doublehorse?). Anyhow, I think one of the coolest things about doom is that there's a variety of tones that are good with it. So IMO just get whatever you think is coolest/best for you.
If I were to suggest anything I'd say figure out what the player with your favorite doom tone is using and maybe try to start by achieving that tone. Eventually, you'll find your own sweet spot and you'll have your own sound.
For me, my dream doom ax would be a Ric, but I know that's not the same for others. Right now I have a P that's tuned to E-standard, which does play some doomy stuff sometimes because Sabbath, and a J that's tuned to C-standard which I modified with a Mudbucker pup for the neck J pup. I like both of their tones but the J would definitely be my go-to.
Oh yeah, I do agree on this though. I used to have my P wired actively and I had a similar experience with my Fuzz pedals but it was worse with my wah. That thing would literally start screaming at me sometimes when my P-bass was active. Now it's passive and that problem has ceased.
Is it one of the black ones? Those are sexy beasts! You can always add a passive switch and you'd have the best of both worlds. My suggestion would be keep the bass, get the best/biggest amp/cab that you can, and as br1qbat said, start playing around with the more common fuzz pedals or boutique builders' versions of the classics. I've had a lot of luck with Fuzzrocious and Darkglass pedals.
One other consideration, what are a few of the bands who's sounds you dig? While it isn't always that simple, what gear are the bassists in those bands using? Start with imitation and advance to innovation.
Know that all of this will likely evolve for you over time.
I've started keeping a Spotify playlist solely for bass tones I like, so that I can hopefully identify a pattern in what sounds good to my ears and then figure out how to get there. Just an idea.
Does It Doom is another great stoner/doom tone channel. He mostly plays guitar, but his explanations and comparisons of different amps and pedals are really good.
Doom - use what you like, as long as it's LOUD!
In my Stoner band I play a single coil P.
P* vs. J is like the age-old question though. I tend to think about it like this:
The P pickup sounds thicker, the J pickups sound thinner. Playing with a pick sounds thinner, playing with your fingers sounds thicker. Combine these attributes as necessary, and as you see fit.
*I’m talking about the split P here. Don’t have much experience with the single coil P
The P pickup sounds thicker, the J pickups sound thinner. Playing with a pick sounds thinner, playing with your fingers sounds thicker. Combine these attributes as necessary, and as you see fit.
*I’m talking about the split P here. Don’t have much experience with the single coil P
I'm generally firmly in the "play whatever you want" crowd, but I do agree that active basses don't sound great to me through fuzz/distortion. It works, but I'd prefer that active preamp was not on.
But as has already been mentioned, you can usually rig the active bass to be a decent passive bass with a flick of a switch. So, then you can give the people what they want when they want and they wants it all the time.
