SteveXFR

I don't get why people complain about Behringers plastic casings. They're proper tough.

50 minutes ago, greentext said:

I did the Dingwall thing for a bit but was just massively turned off by how hard the strings where to get and the prices of them so flipped the bass quick smart. This was a good 8-9 years back tho and think there are a lot more options now.

My Ibanez multiscale uses the same strings as Dingwalls. Options are still limited and expensive. My favourite strings on my old 4 string were DR black beauties but they're not available in XL scale 

I've had someone tell me I should use old strings and not change them because Jamerson used old strings. I don't remember Jamerson playing much metal though. Maybe he played on Justice For All

33 minutes ago, greentext said:

Corr yh i agreeee, I did the same used to do 3-4 shows and replace them, in the end I just got sick of the £40 for a set of 4 strings then the £15 for the .165 gauge custom extra long string low B string...... insane times 

My XL scale strings are £55 a set plus the Ibanez individual multi scale bridges are a bastard.

Another metal top tip is get some now strings. Nothing cuts through like new stainless round wound strings. I change my strings every two months which is rather expensive with my extra long scale bass but worth it.

1 hour ago, MikeTheMisfit said:

Thank you to everyone who took the time to reply, I really appreciate it.

 

I've decided to go with the Behringer BDI clone because I don't have much money to splash out.

 

It should be arriving today so I'm pretty excited. 

A sensible starting point. It'll get you somewhere useful.

Set your tone controls on your bass and amp and the pedal all in the middle as a starting point and work from there

There's a huge range of bass sounds in metal from super clean to fuzzy, clanky nastiness.

My bass sound is quite mid heavy with a good amount of grit.

I take a little bit of grit from the amp but most of it comes from a Darkglass vintage microtubes with gain up high but blend in the middle and then a Two Notes Le Bass preamp for added valve grit. 

The most important thing in a band situation is to forget about what your bass sounds like in isolation, that doesn't matter. It's all about the sound when played with the guitars and drums. A lot of bassists who hear Lemmy's bass isolated will say it sounds dreadful but listen to it in the mix and it's perfect

The zoom b2.1 won't power a cab. How about a tiny little compact 200w(ish) head like Trace Elliot Elf and a lightweight cab like a TC 2x10. They make a really light plastic cab which sounds OK.

Heresy - Nine Inch Nails

Jesus built my hotrod - Ministry

Burn the witch - QOTSA

3 minutes ago, Jackroadkill said:

 

I use a baritone Tele for just that job and it sounds fantastic.  Glad to hear that it was a productive session.

That's what our guitarist bought. It's only a Squier but with dual P90's. It sounds great.

Because we use a ridiculous low tuning (drop A#) I've been telling the guitarist for ages now he should try a baritone guitar to get some decent definition in the lower notes. Last night he turned up with one. It's such a huge improvement to our overall sound compared to his standard strat. He complained a lot about how difficult it is playing with a .60 lowest string. I pointed out mine is more than double the thickness and told him to stop complaining. 

I'm not sure if it was just because the guitar sounded so much better but we all seemed to be really tight and it was a really productive rehearsal. 

15 minutes ago, steve-bbb said:

i heard ritchie blackmore wants his hair back...

 

 

I don't ever want to see that again. 

I have a wedding ring (she's a lucky lady) on my fretting hand and honestly never notice it when playing. 

Domination - Pantera

46 minutes ago, Paolo85 said:

Sorry to hear that. I can imagine recording originals, promoting them and sharing stage with bands you live and admire could be nerve wrecking. Could it make sense to change band, join one that is less busy, less good, playing music you care less about (maybe simple covers), all just for fun? That could be a temporary thing or a permanent thing, depending what you'll find makes you happiest

 

I don't really enjoy covers to be honest. A band with more members may be less stressful, with just the one guitar and drums and not a lot of vocals, the bass is a huge part of the overall sound so mistakes really stand out. The issue with finding another band is Somerset is a bit of a heavy metal waste land, its all folk and blues bands. 

15 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

I don't understand 'stressed out'? You mean nerves? 

I get really bad anxiety. Dunno why, makes no sense, don't know what I'm anxious and stressed about. 

I used to spend my weekends doing activities which regularly caused serious injuries and id be excited all week. Now that I'm just standing on stage plucking see strings in a slightly aggressive manner I dread it. The worst that could happen is Tony Iommi could hear us and decide to sue for a riff or two we may have borrowed. 

After a busy year with the band, writing, recording and our first few gigs including a support slot with a thrash metal legend, I've come to realise gigging isn't for me.

I enjoy the actual gig but get stressed out for a couple weeks before and I've decided it's not worth the stress. We've got two more gigs in January and then I'm out of the band and selling my gear. I'm not much of a home noodler and don't really enjoy playing along to songs so I guess that's it.

4 minutes ago, DJpullchord said:

This is mad, I can play a couple of these and I’m not even a bass player? I know that makes me sound arrogant but NIB? and that terrible pop punk ‘welcome to paradise’ tune? How high do the grades go up?

They go up to grade 8. I think NIB and Welcome To Paradise are definitely very easy compared to other grade 7 tunes such as Hysteria 

Tell her you've decided as a band that it's time to become a Cannibal Corpse tribute band. Ask her whether she knows the lyrics to "I c*m blood" and "Relentless Beating". If that doesn't work, tell her you've reconsidered and decided a Kid Rock tribute is the future and ask how her racism skills are.

5 hours ago, tauzero said:

 

You know EXACTLY how you assume voting will go. Honestly, as one who has been half of a couple on a band and as one who has played in at least three bands with couples in, I've never encountered a problem. The ones I encountered a problem with were brothers, who sacked me from a band because their mate (not as good a bassist) wanted to join. So don't ever play in a band with siblings, they're toxic.

A mate of mine worked with the Proclaimers once. According to him, they are seriously toxic brothers who absolutely hate each other and are absolute corn holes to work with. He was also not a fan of working with Chemical brothers but I don't think they are actual brothers. 

41 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

 +1 GOK why they have those swirly mud generators!

The sub harmonic is good as long as you keep it around 3 o clock

5 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Yes bizarrely the Shape function, which scoops the mids is engaged when in the Out position.

It confused me for a while. 

11 minutes ago, Vin Venal said:

I play through one of these at a loose jam I go to regularly, it's like the house amp, and I just can't get a decent sound out of the thing. It's just always muddy and scoopy and disappears in the mix. Is there some kind of knack to it I'm missing? I always try pushing the mids, but they don't sound pleasing at all.

Try the shape button, it makes a huge difference to the mids.

Is it an ABM600? The older ABM500 and other earlier models are quite different.