Death Metal Bass guitar

[sifi2112]

[quote name='JimBobTTD' post='576317' date='Aug 21 2009, 04:49 AM']I've played a good few Ibanez basses - both four and five strings - and I've managed to get along with every one of them! I can't recommend them enough![/quote]I've an Ibanez DWB3 (black stained no longer awful orange !) with 18v & EMG's .. nice fast neck like SR series .. for sale .. £400 !!

[JimBobTTD]

[quote name='sifi2112' post='663420' date='Nov 24 2009, 08:40 AM']I've an Ibanez DWB3 (black stained no longer awful orange !) with 18v & EMG's .. nice fast neck like SR series .. for sale .. £400 !![/quote]

Ooh...I would, but I'm only doing 5 strings right now.

[Brave Sir Robin]

A Warwick Thumb BO would be great, if it wasn't so weirdly balanced. I'd give a Traben Chaos Core 5 (or John Moyer sig, same thing really) a go, but they are hard to come by. Another would be the ESP Surveyor LTD, again hard to come by. EMG P-MM config. And Spectors, but they are expensive. Another expensive model would the Warwick Stage 2, or for a cheaper version, a Warwick Corvette Bubinga 5. Heavy, and the neck is on the thick side but it's tight!

[agoulding]

I used to play in a VERY heavy death metal band with the same bass. I had no problem with the sound, infact i thought it was great. I then started using the Ibanez SRX300 which is very similar to the rbx, just a thinner neck and a higher output. I changed because i didnt like the feel of the yamaha, it simply didnt play fast enough. I think Ibanez would be the best way to go next, SRX or SR both are great fo that type of thing.

Im back to yamaha now though, an older BB and TRB. I play in a stoner/doom band using drop c, and i use fairly heavy strings (55-110) and they make a huge difference. Just try a few things out.

Edited November 25, 2009 by agoulding

[Dread Bass]

There are a few things IMO that are critical to getting a good bass sound in death metal.

1. know your eq. Having your eq set up wrong will be your enemy in death metal. I would start by flattening everything add a fair low mid boost and go from there. DO NOT Whack the bass and treble right up your wasting your time.

2. Setup. If you want to cut through it is good to adopt a technique which allows you to get good clack. It is a constant battle between getting your action low enough and fret buzz but keep at it. Once you have mastered this you shouldn't need to play so hard so you can keep your stamina.

[danny-79]

have you seen the warwick "vampyre sn" or "vampyre dark loard" ?
thay come set up tuned B-E-A-D an F#-B-E-A with stupidly heavy gauge strings, bit extreem but worth a look

[Eight]

[quote name='danny-79' post='665580' date='Nov 25 2009, 08:45 PM']have you seen the warwick "vampyre sn" or "vampyre dark loard" ?
thay come set up tuned B-E-A-D an F#-B-E-A with stupidly heavy gauge strings, bit extreem but worth a look[/quote]
I think only the Dark Lord comes like that (could be very wrong though), but the Vampyre SN (and probably the NT) does go low quite nicely in my opinion.

There's the Schecter Stiletto Sub too which comes setup for BEAD. Don't know much about it though.

[Kongo]

[quote name='agoulding' post='664579' date='Nov 25 2009, 12:31 AM']I used to play in a VERY heavy death metal band with the same bass. I had no problem with the sound, infact i thought it was great. I then started using the Ibanez SRX300 which is very similar to the rbx, just a thinner neck and a higher output. I changed because i didnt like the feel of the yamaha, it simply didnt play fast enough. I think Ibanez would be the best way to go next, SRX or SR both are great fo that type of thing.

Im back to yamaha now though, an older BB and TRB. I play in a stoner/doom band using drop c, and i use fairly heavy strings (55-110) and they make a huge difference. Just try a few things out.[/quote]

I'm thinking of moving back to Yamaha and also fancy a TRB 6-string...They are very nice and Yamaha always did me well before Ibanez...both companies offer very well built instruments but now Ibanez seems to be going with exotic woods on the BTB series and lack in the electronics section, giving weak output...

On the note of Dark Lord strings...Rotosound also do their "Drop Zone+" which offers a low F# of .175.

[The Goatreich]

I've played in death metal bands for a long time now. I started on Ibanez and then went to BC Rich and now I'm back to Ibanez. They just sit better and feel so much more comfortable to play whilst thrashing your head and fingers around. Especially if you're doing vocals as well. As far as tone is concerned whatever you decide I can't recommend the Sansamp enough. It just gives the whole sound an extra punch to cut through the wall of guitars.

As far as detuning goes I've never had a problem with tuning G#, C#, F#, B, E in order to match our guitarist and I still have the lower string if I want to really make things rumble, although I admit it doesn't get used a lot in the band I currently play in. You will probably want to choose your strings first, and then get the bass setup in that tuning so that everything is balanced well. I know very little of the technicalities of this, but that's what I've done for a long time and it has always worked a treat.

[basshead56]

I agree that you can play any style of music on any bass.
That said, some basses do seem to fit certain styles of music perfectly.
I reckon you´d not go too far wrong with a Warwick.
The $$ does seem to be the best of the lot, though i would definately have a look at the Vampyre (the Rockbass one I had the lend of last Halloween was awesome- perfect for that Misfits sound)-fantastic MEC (i think) active pups.
I had a BC Rich NJ Beast years ago and loved the twang, but hated the shape- Im not a metaller anymore, and realise now, I probably never really was
I did try a BC Rich Virgo (Celtic?) a few weeks ago when I was in a shop in London, thought it was pretty heavy sounding.
The humble yet trusty Fender Jazz bass would be another safe bet. The active deluxe (mim) would definately suit harder finger playing. Also worth a look is the standard jazz (Eerie Von from Danzig had one and there is some serious thump on it)
Also, the amp you drive it through will make have a big impact on the sound, so consider the many options there too
Cheers,
Col

[The Goatreich]

[quote name='basshead56' post='666091' date='Nov 26 2009, 11:55 AM']Im not a metaller anymore, and realise now, I probably never really was [/quote]

Haha, if you're not a metaller anymore you definitely never were

I totally agree on the BC Rich thing. I played an NJ Warlock for a year or so and it was just too cumbersome, I still have one for messing around on, but I'm over the whole spikey guitar thing now. The neck dive on them is also completely ridiculous.

I've never tried a Warwick Vampyre, but have always been tempted by the look of them. I love the matt black finish of my ergodyne though.

[TDM]

I vote Spector. In fact, Spector is the solution to everything!

[charic]

Not sure how it has slipped under the radar but a standard P should fit in great and only 1 pup 2 upgrade if u so desire!

[The Goatreich]

[quote name='thedonutman' post='666606' date='Nov 26 2009, 07:16 PM']I vote Spector. In fact, Spector is the solution to everything![/quote]
What an unbelievable bass player Alex Webster is as far as extreme metal goes. So solid and fast as hell with finger picking. I would love to be able to drop the pick and play like him.

[Kongo]

[quote name='The Goatreich' post='666699' date='Nov 26 2009, 08:36 PM']What an unbelievable bass player Alex Webster is as far as extreme metal goes. So solid and fast as hell with finger picking. I would love to be able to drop the pick and play like him.[/quote]

Then do it! I've always been a finger player but it's he and Sheehan that got me into advanced finger picking.
You will never learn until you start...so do so!

As well as canibal corpse listen to "Blotted Science" his instrumental band...here's an example...this song got me to buy the album actually!



HEAVY as hell!!! Listen further in for a few of his licks and breaks!

[The Goatreich]

Yeah I've just started to train up my ring finger as I can't get up to speed using two.

I'll check that link out, cheers

[Kongo]

[quote name='The Goatreich' post='667494' date='Nov 27 2009, 03:49 PM']Yeah I've just started to train up my ring finger as I can't get up to speed using two.

I'll check that link out, cheers [/quote]

The way I go is different from Sheehan etc...they go 3,2,1,3 2,1,3,2 etc etc
I go: 3,2,1,2 3,2,1,2

I can't do 16ths with 3 fingers in a line as it confuses me into playing triplets so I add my middle finger again to break it up.
And also rock your hand from side to side, I do this so all fingers hit the same part of the string and so that when on the lowest string they all hit against my thumb or the "Invisible string" as it were.

Have a go with that...it's proper tricky at first and well confusing!

[The Goatreich]

I like the sound of the 321232123 route, but it's giving me a headache I'll stick it into my warm up routine and see if it clicks.

[Kongo]

[quote name='The Goatreich' post='670043' date='Nov 30 2009, 02:49 PM']I like the sound of the 321232123 route, but it's giving me a headache I'll stick it into my warm up routine and see if it clicks.[/quote]

First practice on just one note to get your fingers relatively together on this, with a metronome set to VERY slow, playing 8ths @ 60-80bpm...remember this is a new thing to your muscle memory...it's not going to be easy.
I got better at it by using it in a song, only a small part first but it forced me to need to play it for gigs etc...then you can place it into more parts if it sounds good / is easier to play that way...next thing you know, goodbye 2 fingers hello perma 3!
Even rocking slow 8th notes with 3 fingers going 3 2 1 2 3 2 1 2 has a nice feel to it...and it never hurts to be thorough.

Have a go.

[The Goatreich]

Cool cheers, and also apologies for hijacking this thread.