Naetharu Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Hi folks, So I have just joined a Prog/Metal band. Up until now I've been playing funk and pop stuff for the most part so its new territory for me. Its been great fun but I do feel the need for a bass amp that has a bit more grind to it and so I am looking for some advice. I've tried the Orange OB1-500 head and I was very impressed with both its clean and dirty sound so that one is very high up on my radar. However, given the general paucity of bass amps on offer in local stores I'm going to have to travel quite a bit if I want to try other makes/models before committing my cash. As such, I was hoping that some of you folks that have a bit of experience with his genera might be able to point me to a few models of amp that would be worth taking a look at. Cheers for any advice you can offer James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 I played a lot of bass in metal bands in my younger days and to be honest I never thought dirt / distortion really worked on bass... The guitars are generally a wall of gain and the only way a bass can be audible is to be clean and punchy and not wooly and boomy. I'd go for a GK rig if I was still playing bass in metal bands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Beat me to it Rob, I was going to suggest GK - the GK MB Fusion is a great amp, very versatile, and plenty powerful. That`s where I`d start looking, and probably look at their cabs too, keep it all in house. That said James, your Ashdown rig is capable of a lot - an MXR M80 DI would be a nice addition on that rig, set it flat, get your eq/grind from the M80. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 if you get the bass right it will make everything else sound huge. for me its all about the valves! and my 810......and i could play with that but with a few really nice dirt pedals i can change the feel a bit, from aggressive sounding to big a fat! give the ashdown ctm a try, but also i did used to use a markbass lm2 with effects and that sounded good, i basically look at it as my job to fill in the gaps in the dirt of the guitars and get some lows that work with the kick. the ctm100 and mag 810 works in my band, and also dnt forget your amp still needs mids :-) one of the reasons i love the sealed 810! andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuNkShUi Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 I played in a metal/heavy rock band for a bit. I was the same as Rob. Kept my sound relatively clean. Otherwise it was just all distortion. To messy for my taste. But as people have said, a good pedal should do the trick. Unless you want to go for valves.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lw. Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 I'd be more tempted to buy one of the just discontinued (and so cheap) Orange bass terrors if I were you - Thoman are selling them for 350 I think. I too have played a lot of metal/hardcore bass - often for more metally stuff I've kept it very clean so the bass cuts through but other times that slightly overdriven tube sound sounds awesome, especially if there's a bass-only build up bit (you know the ones). I use a Dave Hall Amps tube DI/pre-amp thing for my dirt sound, it's very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LewisK1975 Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Easy - get a sansamp! Also don't just consider the Bass driver - I use the Para Driver which is very similar but has a semi-parametric Mid control too. Can dial in a little bit of grit or be nice and clean too!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 When I was playing metal, clarity was the most important thing in the amp tone for me, I had to fit in with two guitarists playing in drop B with high gain amps and a fast and heavy drummer. I would suggest keep the bass as sounding as clear as possible, with potentially a little drive, though not saturated, to help cut through; to this end, EBS/Gallien-Kruger/Hartke would be who I'd be looking at depending on budget and taste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 (edited) My rig in my metal band was an Orange Terror 500 (set quite clean - gain about 9 o'clock) into a Tech Soundsystems 4x12. Never had a better sounding rig. Used the same setup (albeit with a different bass) for a wedding/function band for a while without PA support and it covered the gig no problems, and in MUCH larger rooms than I would have played with the metal band. STUPID loud when required, even with the gain so low. I wouldn't necessarily say that you would want your sound squeaky clean for a heavy band - a little bit of grit can work wonders in helping bring the bass to the front in my experience (I've heard Nashville great Michael Rhodes describe it as a bit of fur around the note!) - but I wouldn't recommend full blown distortion except for effect. Edited September 18, 2015 by Bigwan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naetharu Posted September 18, 2015 Author Share Posted September 18, 2015 Cheers folks, that's some really helpful advice. I'll certainly make a point of checking out the GK stuff as I have never tried any of it before. The Orange Terror sounds interesting too - I love the OB1-500 in many ways. As to the gritty sound, it's not something I want for all tracks but we're kind of prog/metal (influences would include Muse, Mars Volta, Dream Theater, Tool...) so its not all crazy driven guitars. I'd quite like to be able to get a nice deep and dirty 'Chris Wolstenholme' kind of bass sound for a few of the tracks - something along the line of what he uses for Psycho on the new Drones album. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 What's your current rig? I'd use pretty much the same stuff for metal as funk, but funk can vary hugely in loudness and tone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Camden Rob and Graham are spot on. You need clarity - a clean solid platform for the HM guitar histrionics out front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naetharu Posted September 19, 2015 Author Share Posted September 19, 2015 [quote name='alexclaber' timestamp='1442594809' post='2868132'] What's your current rig? I'd use pretty much the same stuff for metal as funk, but funk can vary hugely in loudness and tone! [/quote] Right now I am using an Ashdown Mi-Bass 2.0 head with a 112 cab. It does fine for practice but it lacks a bit of clean headroom (once the gain goes above 12o'clock a 'tube emulation' circuit kicks in giving a kind of dirty fuzz). It's also got a bit of a weak E.Q. - I'd like something that I can get a bit more of a gritty mid-growl from. I'm not after distortion but rather a nice gritty growl for some tracks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40hz Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 You are describing GK. My MBE cab is grind central, almost too much sometimes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 Metal covers a lot of sounds. I like Frank Bello's sound. Big ass Hartke with a pedal for a little grit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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