reconditionedman Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 I already have a Fender hotrodded P bass bought sometime ago, mainly as I liked the P bass sound for soul, and the idea of j pickup for more rock style. To my ears it doesnt seem to cut it for Metal, so any advice on a second bass, around £500-ish, would be useful. I quite like the look of the Ibanex SRX and Soundgear, and the Yamaha TRB, both 4 strings, but open to all help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 (edited) The best thing to do ,is to try as many basses as possible until you find one or two that catch the ear/eye. There are so many types out there now. You could try Dean,Schecter,Gibson/Epiphone thunderbird/BCRich/washburn for starters. Also ,if your bass feels good and it's only the sound that's bothering you,you could try effects pedals,or possibly a change of amp. Edited August 10, 2009 by RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Fender P's are great for metal. Do not underestimate how much better they can be compared to a more 'metal' style of bass. Just change your amp perhaps? Or a dirt pedal. Nice new strings....chunky and driving bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 What sorta metal? Badass and 1/4 pounders is classic metal P bass. Dude from Opeth used a Marcus Miller sig, for some contrast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 A lot of the time it's just weak pickups! I plopped some Dimarzio UltraJazz pickups into my C-tuned jazz bass, and it sounds huge, clear and great for heavier music! Massive output for a passive Jazz Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thodrik Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 I think for a £500 'metal' bass you can't go too far wrong with an Ibanez or Yamaha. You could also try some of the Fernandes basses, Really though, I can't understand how any kind of P-bass wouldn't cut it for metal. A P-bass with thick strings played through a decent amp should deliver for most metal (and for me most music in general!) apart from maybe some technical-metal that requires you to slap, pop and tap all over the place. You could look into a decent pre-amp for the P-bass rather than a separate bass. Changing the pickups is also another possibility, but if you like the sound of the bass for other types of music, you might not want to change that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noisyjon Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 Another +1 for new pickups in your Hot Rodded P bass first. I have a Precision with a Jazz P'up and it is wearing Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder P bass and Hot Stack jazz pickups. It cuts through great on Punk, Hard Rock & Metal with it's powerful pickups and sound IME you need the right amp & cabs to chuck out enough volume and definition for the metal stuff, what do you own & use? Regards and welcome to BC, JTB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 A Warwick with a nice wenge neck would be my choice. It'd cut through a dense guitar and drum mix like the proverbial hot knife... Hence why my goto metal bass is my Warwick Corvette. There was one for sale here the other week for £350. Spend the other £150 on a set of heavy guage strings and a Sansamp VT Bass and you're set! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHUFC BASS Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 Mate, I've just bought a Traben John Moyer with a Chaos bridge and the output and sound from the thing is incredible. Like a cross between a Spector and a MM Stingray on steroids. Well worth looking at if its metal you want to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 BC Rich are certainly worth a call. I think people tend to overlook the fact that they're decent instruments, once you go beyond the entry level and the copies. They're not all pointy! You can pick up good 80s-90s NJ-series instruments cheaply, and they're often available via Ebay or BCRichplayers.com. That should leave you plenty of pennies for the Badass bridge and EMGs! You don't fancy an Ironbird import, do you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyJ Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 I think lots of basses are very well-suited for metal. For a modern, agressive deathmetal tone I like basses with two big humbuckers like the Ibanez SRX and similar instruments. They sound big and fat but with a bright and agressive edge to their tone which really makes them cut through and gets you heard in any setting. This also combines beautifully with some dirt from an OD-pedal. But as mentioned above, a Precision can do very well too. Last sunday in rehearsal I used my G&L SB-2 (which is much like your Hot Rodded P, with a PJ-setup) in my female-fronted melodic metalband with some drive from my Ashdown ABM-rig and both pickups full on and it cut through very nicely and sounded big and fat. I had to cut the lows a little on my amp though. And last thursday I tried my MIJ '75 Jazz reissue with a BadAss II (so it is now basically a Marcus Miller sig without the preamp, like Martin Mendez from Opeth uses) and I loved that too. I usually go for my Ibanez ATK305 though. Tight, articulate, very ballsy and with a bright edge. Works like a charm every single time. But this goes to show that many different basses may well fit the bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 Since being in my current band I have used a Sandberg California PM (p style bass), a Sandberg Bullet II with a musicman style pickup, a Musicman Sterling and I am getting a J style bass very soon. All of these have worked well for me and after a couple of small tweaks with EQ can all punch through a wall of sound. Just get what you want and you'll find a way to make it work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 [quote]For a modern, agressive deathmetal tone I like basses with two big humbuckers like the Ibanez SRX and similar instruments. They sound big and fat but with a bright and agressive edge to their tone which really makes them cut through and gets you heard in any setting.[/quote] My memory could be failing me, but I seem to remember Sepultura being endorsed by Ibanez? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Low End Bee Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 Although it's not my genre, there look to be lots of ESP basses that fit your wishlist. Lots of pointy ones too. And as we all know Precisions can do more or less everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cetera Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 Get a used Spector Re-Bop or Spector Euro/LX and put it through a Sansamp... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robocorpse Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 If you can't get a good Metal sound from a P-Bass, you either have a very different idea of the definition of "Metal", or you have a sub-standard P-Bass to start with. A good one should still have loads of cut and top end if its well built and matched. Steve Harris gets a great choppy sound even with 50-110 flatwounds and no pick! However, if you want to tune down to A and play Technical Egyptian Progressive Vegetarian Deathcore, you might well be better off with something else. I always thought Warwick Corvettes had an amazing and very tweakable sound for many types of Metal, but not everyone likes the feel of the necks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDM Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 (edited) [quote name='cetera' post='565961' date='Aug 11 2009, 03:11 PM']Get a used Spector Re-Bop or Spector Euro/LX and put it through a Sansamp...[/quote] Spectors are perfect for metal IMHO. I play in a metal band and my Euro is perfect for it. As a matter of fact I just happen to have a Rebop [i][url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=56762"]for sale[/url][/i] /Shameless plug Edited August 11, 2009 by thedonutman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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