Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out

[lucas303]

Apropos of nothing, I've commented to my wife that "I really like listening to bands with two drummers, but I don't know if I could hack a band with two drummers for very long, drummers are weird."* I really do love the sound, to the point that anything I do at home with a software drum machine, I'll at least listen to a version where I've got a second track going heavier or less heavy on the random and swing settings, or I'll even change the emphasis on beats if I'm not feeling lazy and actually know where I'm trying to go.


*I apologize to all drummers, but I can personally feel the drummer weirdness happen in myself as I become a more competent drummer. It doesn't stop me from practicing, and you guys aren't evil or anything, but being able to operate a trap set properly seems to activate neural pathways I didn't have before. Of course, my wife can seem to play about 75% of beats in about two bars of hearing it with no instruction or practice, she just sits behind whatever kit and does it. I had to practice for years to insert a fill into a 4/4 rock beat believably. So I may be the weird one.

 

[kleinenenten]

I'm no flats expert but Chromes are pretty sweet. If it were me in your shoes, I'd try them first. Take that for what it's worth.

Ditto here. Love my Chromes, never tried others. Never had a reason to.

 

[Deleted member 132197]

Ditto here. Love my Chromes, never tried others. Never had a reason to.

I had Chromes on my last bass. I really liked them. On my current bass I have TI flats and I also really like those. But both basses are quite different so a comparison wouldn't be easy

 

[Andsvara]

Which string gauge(s) would you suggest?

 

[kleinenenten]

If memory serves, there's really only one string gauge for Chromes...

Alright, nevermind. One gauge for 5 string, so that's what I use. It's the 45-100 set with a 132 B string added. The other is a 4 string set that is 50-105. My gut says that for downtuning, but I have no experience. I like tight strings, if that helps any.

Which string gauge(s) would you suggest?

 

[Deleted member 132197]

Which string gauge(s) would you suggest?

I used the ECB81 set, that's 45-100

 

[El_Charro]

View attachment 4386923

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Lol-Get a few more drummers up there and they could play some Slipknot songs…

Granted those are keg drums, but the whole thing about multiple drummers made me think of them…

Thanks! \m/

 

[thombo]

I love the two drummer thing! Miles Davis fusion bands, Spirit of the Stairs (a cool Wichita two-drummer band), Denver's Native Daughters (great band, similar vibe to Spirit of the Stairs), Tortoise does the two drummer thing, some Butthole Surfers stuff, the Melvins era w/ Big Business, Cult of Luna, Genesis, King Crimson, James Brown, Motown, Modest Mouse... so much girth!

 

[kleinenenten]

I need to play more bass. That is all.

 

[cornfarmer]

What's a bass?

 

[El_Charro]

What's a bass?

———————
It’s a fish with a big mouth, but that’s not important right now….

Thanks! \m/

 

[El_Charro]

Hi Everybody,

Has anyone here has tried these strings out???: Steve Harris Custom Flatwound | 50-110 • Rotosound Music Strings

I’ve been trying to learn to play (and thus have found myself listening to) a ton of Maiden songs lately and I’m currently lusting after a Fender MIM Pbass, so I suppose it’s not exactly a shock that I found myself recently wondering what his signature strings sound like…

I’m already playing heavy gauge strings on my current bass (I will spare you the the .110 E string question again bc I felt like that was already very well answered)…

I really like my DR Black Beauties (Geezers) that are the same gauge, but kicking around the thought of using stainless steel strings (mostly it’s a combination of thinking about trying something different and wanting to give flats a whirl)…

I like the sound I get out of the DRs, but not always sure how I feel about the coating on them…

Anyway-Just wondering if anyone here has tried those and if so how did they sound???…

I’ve listened to a few videos on YouTube, but wanted some more detailed feedback on likes/dislikes…

I am very much a “I don’t change my strings” kind of player…I’ve had my current strings on my existing bass since last Halloween…I don’t even know if I’d change them with these-I might just assign them to the Pbass I inevitably plan on acquiring sometime in the next few weeks/months…

…And…While we’re on the subject…

Does anyone here prefer stainless steel flats in general (regardless of the brand) to some other strings???…

If so-What is it that you like about them specifically (e.g. makes your fuzz/distortion sound better, easier to play, etc)…

I have lousy fine motor skills so I don’t like using a pick…I get that a pick on stainless steel sounds pretty “Metal”, but I would be using them for finger style playing…

No wrong answers here, just wondering what your personal results were with stainless steel flats especially for songs in the Stoner/Doom Metal genre…

Thanks! \m/

PS-THIS song apparently won’t be leaving my head anytime soon:

 

[thombo]

Flats have more fundamental and less sustain, whether playing clean or dirty. The older the string, the more this is true. Flats sound more wooly with dirt, focused fundamental with less overtones.

I’m not too precious with strings. I swap them around different basses depending on my needs/whims. I gravitate towards nickel rounds and steel flats. Since it’s usually more about what is reasonably priced, I usually use D’Addario or Ernie Ball.

I’ve used flats intermittently for over a decade and never paid attention to the fact that they were steel until @El_Charro posted. I’ve used D’Addario and Fender and was fine with both. I’ve read that the Ernie Ball cobalt flats have nice life and fair grind, but I haven’t tried them yet. La Bella are too expensive for me to justify.

For heavy music, I usually use fresh round wounds through a driven tube amp. A producer encouraged rounds because he can “…always cut frequencies, but (he) can’t add the ones that aren’t there.” I ended up with a grindy, bell-like tone that worked well for me.

 

[Novarocker]

I've never used ss strings, heard great things and I should at some point. Been on the fence because I like the slinkies I've used for ages so much, flats and rounds. I've heard good things about the Steve Harris strings, very stiff though.

@arbitrary or anyone else with experience. I love the sound of my meatbox, but I just can't maintain unity volume and really get buried in the mix when I use it on its own. I know part of it is my cab, but even with larger cabs, I'll have the output maxed and still lose some volume. Unless I crank the sub more and risk my speakers.

Anyway, does the Mantic Hulk have more output? Or is there another oct/sub pedal out there with enough output? I love the mxr sub octave fuzz, but don't have room (keep it on my gun for hire board) and it doesn't have the sub the meatbox does...I might just need to give up on the sub and try it with the octave only.

 

[Andsvara]

I used the Harris strings on a Squier P once. They sounded great but were very (!) stiff in E-Standard. Too much for me, though I love flats.
Keep in mind that SH changes his strings before every concert. You can't keep them on your bass and expect instant Iron Maiden sound (besides many other factors).
I will put the same set on my bass later this week and tune to C-Standard. I'll let you know about my experience then.

 

[kleinenenten]

I have no experience with Steve's set (I've only ever used Chromes and have found no reason to stop), however, I DO love flats and need to learn more Maiden...

Anyway, for me, the biggest difference was the increased fundamental. I switched to flats instantly once I played my buddy's bass that had them. I'm just now starting to appreciate rounds again, though I still find "my tone" with flats. My experience was that the rounds got lost in a distorted mix easier. The extra highs were nice for solo type stuff, but in practice I found that the extra distortion just got mixed up with the treble frequencies of the guitar and the bass simply wasn't heard. When I put on flats, I instantly heard myself better in the mix, and was still able to poke through and cut when needed. Mind you, I'm not the type of player who is always out in front of the mix, and some pedals/dirt definitely do better with flats than others, but I find that the flats sound better in a mix for me. Better, in this case, meaning that I can distinguish my parts in the mix more but they are not overpowering the parts. It seems to me that flats allow each instrument their own sonic space better than rounds. I'm sure rounds can also do this, but distortion seems to make that harder for me to accomplish.

 

[arbitrary]

I've never used ss strings, heard great things and I should at some point. Been on the fence because I like the slinkies I've used for ages so much, flats and rounds. I've heard good things about the Steve Harris strings, very stiff though.

@arbitrary or anyone else with experience. I love the sound of my meatbox, but I just can't maintain unity volume and really get buried in the mix when I use it on its own. I know part of it is my cab, but even with larger cabs, I'll have the output maxed and still lose some volume. Unless I crank the sub more and risk my speakers.

Anyway, does the Mantic Hulk have more output? Or is there another oct/sub pedal out there with enough output? I love the mxr sub octave fuzz, but don't have room (keep it on my gun for hire board) and it doesn't have the sub the meatbox does...I might just need to give up on the sub and try it with the octave only.

what are your settings on the meatbox, where’s it in your chain and passive or active bass?
Mine is first and I’ll post the settings

 

[Novarocker]

Here's a slightly older picture, I believe I maxed the lows since (60hz). I don't push the sub anymore, I've started to hear even the Mesa 12's not digging the meat it pushes.

Passive Ric bridge & firebird neck pup bass, P, and J basses.

I gotta double check but should be whataphaser > rubberneck > meatbox > gonkulator > spires fuzz > Atreides > architech OD > amp.

I do have an hpf, but haven't used too much. Been on the fence with how I like it with it on.

 

[kleinenenten]

Here's a slightly older picture, I believe I maxed the lows since (60hz).

View attachment 4390286

Meatbox into Gonk? Color me jealous. One day, I want a Meatbox.

 

[kleinenenten]

Just spent the better part of my evening un-screwing-up my computer after inadvertently uninstalling MS Office... Had to do some detective work to figure out it was registered under my wife, find the old key code, download and re-install, etc. Glad it's done. One of these days, I'll play bass again. Or at least watch a movie I've been meaning to...

Speaking of which, anybody ever see "The Death of Stalin"? It seems right up my alley, being a historical satire(ish) film with some solid actors (Michael Palin, Jeffrey Tambor, Steve Buscemi). That's what I'm attempting to watch some time this week. Thus far, each night has found nothing but difficulties in doing so! It appears to have had an almost non-existent US release, but I remember seeing ads for it when it came out. I had completely forgotten about it until I heard it mentioned at my library's surplus sale. I had to track down the German Blu-Ray (which plays fine here, but the English audio track must be manually selected). Looking forward to it one day!