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Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out
- Thread starter Korladis
- Start date
Thank you to everyone who responded...
From reading responses it seems like I should be good to go on using what I’ve got from an instrument standpoint, but I might (?) benefit from a passive bass depending on the pedals I’m using...If I end up buying another bass I’m probably gonna struggle to decide between a P and J (am currently more tempted by the J bc I have an active P)...
Someone asked what bands I like in terms of sounds I’d like to imitate...
Mentioned above that I really like Type O Negative as that was probably my intro to the genre, but a while back I started listening to Orange Goblin, The Sword, Sleep, and High On Fire...Have been listening to a crazy amount of Windhand lately (love how hypnotic her voice sounds) and (sadly) I was not aware of Saint Vitus...
Musically I like Uncle Acid and Electric Wizard, but less a fan of the vocals on those two bands...
On more of the rock side-I like Monster Magnet, QOTSA, and Alice In Chains is probably my favorite band after Metallica (aware they could be classified as Grunge/Alt Rock, but that heavy down tuned melodic distortion really does it for me)...
What’s been interesting about learning how to play is that most of my recent listening habits came from trying to learn Black Sabbath songs...
Oh sure, I knew their hits before and had listened to Paranoid and their debut a few times since they basically invented Heavy Metal, but something about trying to learn how to play those songs in my basement made me realize how much I like slow and heavy (As much as I love Thrash/Groove and Speed Metal even my favorite Metallica song is Sad But True which is slow and heavy)...
Really like those first three Sabbath Albums-Hard to believe those were all recorded within a few months of each other and released in the span of about a year and a half...Kind of proof that instinct and not overthinking things can produce some really amazing music...
Have started listening to the Doom station on Pandora while I work the last few weeks and while I’m not as knowledgeable on bands/albums as I’d like to be, a bit surprised at just how productive I am at I work when listening to that station...
Anyway, thanks for the suggestions...Really digging this thread...
Thanks! \m/
From reading responses it seems like I should be good to go on using what I’ve got from an instrument standpoint, but I might (?) benefit from a passive bass depending on the pedals I’m using...If I end up buying another bass I’m probably gonna struggle to decide between a P and J (am currently more tempted by the J bc I have an active P)...
Someone asked what bands I like in terms of sounds I’d like to imitate...
Mentioned above that I really like Type O Negative as that was probably my intro to the genre, but a while back I started listening to Orange Goblin, The Sword, Sleep, and High On Fire...Have been listening to a crazy amount of Windhand lately (love how hypnotic her voice sounds) and (sadly) I was not aware of Saint Vitus...
Musically I like Uncle Acid and Electric Wizard, but less a fan of the vocals on those two bands...
On more of the rock side-I like Monster Magnet, QOTSA, and Alice In Chains is probably my favorite band after Metallica (aware they could be classified as Grunge/Alt Rock, but that heavy down tuned melodic distortion really does it for me)...
What’s been interesting about learning how to play is that most of my recent listening habits came from trying to learn Black Sabbath songs...
Oh sure, I knew their hits before and had listened to Paranoid and their debut a few times since they basically invented Heavy Metal, but something about trying to learn how to play those songs in my basement made me realize how much I like slow and heavy (As much as I love Thrash/Groove and Speed Metal even my favorite Metallica song is Sad But True which is slow and heavy)...
Really like those first three Sabbath Albums-Hard to believe those were all recorded within a few months of each other and released in the span of about a year and a half...Kind of proof that instinct and not overthinking things can produce some really amazing music...
Have started listening to the Doom station on Pandora while I work the last few weeks and while I’m not as knowledgeable on bands/albums as I’d like to be, a bit surprised at just how productive I am at I work when listening to that station...
Anyway, thanks for the suggestions...Really digging this thread...
Thanks! \m/
My 2¢. As many have pointed out, active basses can have a role in doom. If you play with a guitar player with a thick, dark tone then a brighter bass can cut through and around that tone and complement it.
As for equipment, a Sunn Beta Bass or Hilbish BetaPreamp/Amp (or it’s pedal version, the Sol Invictus) are great for doom bass. They get very aggressive-sounding without trading low end. This and you can can run the channels parallel. Look into the band Red Fang if you want an idea of how it sounds.
This may be a lot of words that are utterly bereft of meaning. And I fully recognize the irony of posting this on this site, and in this thread.
But I really gotta say S/D is one of the genres where your gear matters the least.
Punk is in the lineage, by way of crust, post-hardcore, and grunge, so you're safe adopting the attitude of "this is cheapest/first/best/worst instrument I could find, so I'm using it." Psych, prog, and 70's hard rock are in the lineage, so you're safe picking up the most out there, vintage, boutique, or retro cool instrument you can find. We're so far past the days where you "had" to use pointy guitars to make metal that you've got people using them ironically in other genres, and post-ironically in heavy genres all over again, so any instrument like that is fit to purpose. It's not a genre that requires the state of art precision that companies targeting the djent market are producing, but such an instrument would also not be out of place, for any of the above already stated reasons.
It almost doesn't matter what you're plugging into it, as long as your amp is shaging exploding. Once you start worshipping that thing you'll start hearing the nuances, and you'll know where to go.
Asking for gear advice for making S/D is a bit like asking for marble advice for making a sculpture. Is it shaging big and heavy? Great, start cutting.
Write the Riff and the rest will follow.
But I really gotta say S/D is one of the genres where your gear matters the least.
Punk is in the lineage, by way of crust, post-hardcore, and grunge, so you're safe adopting the attitude of "this is cheapest/first/best/worst instrument I could find, so I'm using it." Psych, prog, and 70's hard rock are in the lineage, so you're safe picking up the most out there, vintage, boutique, or retro cool instrument you can find. We're so far past the days where you "had" to use pointy guitars to make metal that you've got people using them ironically in other genres, and post-ironically in heavy genres all over again, so any instrument like that is fit to purpose. It's not a genre that requires the state of art precision that companies targeting the djent market are producing, but such an instrument would also not be out of place, for any of the above already stated reasons.
It almost doesn't matter what you're plugging into it, as long as your amp is shaging exploding. Once you start worshipping that thing you'll start hearing the nuances, and you'll know where to go.
Asking for gear advice for making S/D is a bit like asking for marble advice for making a sculpture. Is it shaging big and heavy? Great, start cutting.
Write the Riff and the rest will follow.
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Unpopular opinion:
And yet I find it one of the genres with the most slavish adherence to "genre cliches" when it comes to gear.
For every skinny jeans and handlebar mustaches band of dudes playing Rickenbackers in LA, I bet there’s 15 bands of dudes with beer guts and mountain man beards playing headless Steinbergers and Chinese made BC Riches
Oh and 3 bands of chicks with guitars so covered over with gnarly rotten stickers that you can’t even tell what the brand is.
——————
LMAO-So...I’ve come to the right place...(Am definitely the later in that description since the first group sound like a bunch of craft beer drinking hipster who only eat avocado toast ;-) ...
Before I offend anyone-If you like craft beer and only eat avocado toast, that’s totally fine Man (You Do You),but that’s one particular demographic I’ve never understood...
These bands with chicks with guitars covered in rotten stickers that you speak of...lol-Got any recommendations for bands that fit that description???
That is quite the colorful description just btw...
Thanks! \m/
I like craft because I like supporting my local businesses! To each their own though
——————
Just wanted to say thanks for this...(Also I totally followed your logic/thought process here)...
I will try to keep this in mind especially once I venture into amp and cab shopping bc I can already tell that’s going to be the next thing I over-analyze...
I really like Mesa from what I’ve seen and heard, but Orange amps have that vintage/retro type vibe that really appeals to me...
To your other point-I think the idea that you don’t need state of the art equipment or insane amount of precision are part of the appeal for me (for some reason I feel like the chances of actually getting in a S/D band are much higher than if I try to play another genre (plus I’ve gotta be honest-At this point in my life I’d probably get along better with other people in that style of band anyway...
My job (the thing that funds all these fun toys) requires me to be extremely precise, so I’m more interested in something that sounds good and feels good when playing than trying to be insanely accurate bc the idea is to have fun...
I also like the idea of blasting wave of distortion that’s so loud and broken sounding that it could peel the paint off of the walls...
Thanks! \m/
The single coil P definitely belongs to the P basses. There's strong mids that curiously aren't so noticeable when on your own, but that really work in the band.
And the lows, well, I'd like to call them infinite. To my ears every note has kind of a "The Lowest Sound Ever" flavour, making me feel like I'll never need anything lower than a regular E string. (It occurs to me that this is making the most of whatever amps & speakers the fifties had to offer.) An analogy a Dutch friend made: in the band it transforms into a thick comfy carpet that lays itself under everything.
I do downtune to D Standard with the guitars, for ease of fingering.
All this with the cheapest single coil P I could find: a Harley Benton PB-50. 119 Euro to my doorstep.
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The Mars Volta | Clouds Hill US
Individual Mars Volta records on sale now. I dropped some dollas this morn. sorrynotsorry
Individual Mars Volta records on sale now. I dropped some dollas this morn. sorrynotsorry
Anybody have experience with Yamaha cabs? I'm about to drop my stimmy/tax returns on some upgrades.
Not bass cab, but I have a 15" PA monitor and it's fantastically built and loud/punchy as hell.
that's good to hear! I figured the quality is good because Yamaha is Yamaha, but the sound is what I'm mainly worried about, just can't ever remember even seeing a yamaha bass cab before. Until this deal came up on CL atleast...
These upgrades are coming because I actually found some guys that want to jam some doomy tunes, even have a drummer
! Me and the guitar player have been back and fourthing some ideas the last couple months so it looks like we may have some original shiznit in the works pretty soon
New Spaceslug track is damn good...has an Alice in Chainsy psychedelicy vibe to it...
I mean, yeah, there’s tropes and cliches in S/D, but imho, it pales in comparison to many, many other guitar-driven genres.
What is a trope or cliche to one person is just a characteristic of the genre to another. At the end of the day all that matters is whether it gives you the fizz.
Definitely tingly for fuzzed out riffs and misanthropia.
