Yeah I had to as well. Had a 30-90 set on beforehand which required low action. Stupid idea, that gauge. Never again.

What's a good bass head to get that costs no more than £300/$600?

maybe one of these:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=482587 (i can personally say this is a great amp, especially with their neo cabs)
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=480315

each of those has a little brother that is cheaper with less power.
~gR~

Yeah I tried the Peavey Tour 450, that had a great sound (the octave option is fucking eeevil) but wasn't super loud, though I didn't try cranking it up much.

30-90, ew.

I play with 45-105 with fullstep down tuning.

At the moment I'm on 40-95 (4-string) or something like that now. It's just about right.

I only chose 30-90 cos I wanted to try super fast slap stuff. Not any more though.

is really, really fucking overrated I don't want silly bass tapping all the time, sure he can play but its really not my style of bass playin

How do thicker/thinner strings affect the sound ? I seek after a soft and warm sound. I mostly solo on bass.

Then you will probably want a thicker gauge. The size and type of strings you buy do indeed affect the timbre, although it's rather subtle. You might want some flatwound strings too, but they are rather expensive.

Thicker strings tend to be more piano-like, thinner ones more clunky.

Bought Hard Rockin' Steel by La Bella for the sake of experiment, shop assistant said they would fit my needs well enough.

Ah niiice, the secondhand Peavey Tour 700 I bought off eBay comes tomorrow.

Also I may have to part with my 4-string so that I may purchase a 5-string...

I guess using a fretless is more useful on progressive metal or anything more improvisational music. As for 3 finger picking... its pretty damn hard! I cant imagine playing the stuff that John Myung and Billy Sheehan are playing!

For me 3 fingers is the normal way of picking, I barely ever use 2 fingers. In some places during my improvisations I use 4 fingers. I can play with 5 fingers as well, but I haven't composed anything decent sounding using that method.

http://thehellpatrol.googlepages.com/Ba ... sation.mp3 . Here I play with 3 fingers, and in some places I used 4 fingers.

I can play longer when I'm using three fingers but I'll use two when I'm playing a lot of staccato notes.

Wow... never even checked out this section..

yeah, I've been playing for about 10 years... I would consider myself decent but I need to work more on my theory knowledge.

Hate picks... alternating is way better. Better tone, better speed (eventually) and more practical with such large strings.

Pick is good for playing tremolo stuff, which you can't play with fingers, or for some no-fancy Thrash. And after all you achieve more clarity that way.

Example : http://thehellpatrol.googlepages.com/ThrashRiffs1.mp3

I prefer fingers for soloing, since it is impossible to do some things with pick.

I am officially selling my 4-string bass now (pics of it a few pages back in this sticky) £250 or good offers (my suggested price gets the gig bag too), you'll have to pick it up from Leeds though.

Ive probably asked this more than 5 times, but i really want to a know a bass that is great for metal and is a great price. It is my birthday in a couple of days. Also, the reason i have asked this again is because people dont ever give me a straight answer they just tell me like 100 diffreent basses. So can you try to leave the bass recomondations to about 1 per post.

What are your criteria ? Do you realize that saying "I want to play metal" is not enough ? To recommend you something I must know what are you requirements to bass, for example : the neck dimensions, pick-up type, requirements to sound, bridge.

Not knowing anything, I can suggest you the bass I use myself. Ibanez SRX-300 . It is loud, growly and has a very powerful low frequencies. It is equipped with two humbuckers and an active EQ. You should not expect Jazz Bass or Precision Bass type of sound, this bass is not meant for it, though if you try hard and you have enough of skills you can achieve a relatively soft and smooth sound. Absolutely suitable for metal. I like the fact that it has quite a thin and narrow neck at the top.

Yamaha RBX-374 or 375 (4 and 5-string respectively depending on what you want). Is looking like a very popular cheap bass at the moment. I plan on acquiring a 5-string one soon.

Definitely worth it. I've had a 375 for 2 or so years and it still plays rather well, though I think it's time for an upgrade cause I wore the hell out of it like I always do.

I think that Ibanez and Cort basses for that price feel more natural. Yamaha basses always seemed "plastic" to me. Dean basses of the same price range also seem better to me.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/shop/produc ... 1824%2e184
That is the one i went for. 440 bucks canadian. FUCKING WICKED

I see what you mean there actually, but I fell in love when I played the RBX375. I think at £200 it's better than any Ibanez or Cort at that price (and is made out of alder as opposed to agathis), though if I had more I would look more at the latter.

Perhaps I might try some Dean basses if I see any.

how loose would the strings be on a 4 string bass if it tuned to B standard?

As loose as you want.. Its all about the setup on the bass & what kind of strings your using

If your a beginner, in my opinion it doesnt really matter what bass you'll start with. If you have no idea what you want from a bass, then the best solution is to buy something as used - play as many basses as possible, this will help you to find out what your really looking for. Cheap (low-end) basses can usually be sold for what you've purchased them for (thats how I manage)

And here's a few pictures of my current basses:


- Spector NS4CR


- Spector Rebop 5

And here's one I just won from Ebay recently, dont have it in hand yet:



- Spector NS2A

I'm currently trying to sell my Rebop, so I could purchase a Modulus Q5. I've played for about three and a half years so far.

Nice stuff. I've been thinking about getting a Spector, love the feel, but they tend to be a bit pricey for me at the moment

A bass and a pair of strings that were meant for E ? would it become unplayable?

Having more thick strings will help you eliminate the floppy-feeling,
I would personally use atleast a 115-50 set. Another choice is to buy a 5-string set and just use the four thickest strings, see what suits the best for yourself.

Also take note, that most of the 4-string basses and especially the cheapest-end products have weak pick-ups and simply havent been designed to handle such low frequencies - causing most of the stuff played from B to sound muddy

I would definetly recommend to use ebay!
I snagged my Rebop for 425$ + shipping.. Cant tell how much of a bargain it is for the price

Today I purchased a Yamaha RBX375. It's lovely, but my bank did a random security check so I had to spend ages with the assistant finding out what sort of security password I left.

That old Ibanez of mine can now be found on ebay UK, but you'll have to pick it up.

Good choice, but what for did you buy a 4 string bass ?

What are you trying to ask me?

Edit: I need to pay closer attention when I post sometimes.

Wrong assumptions. Put 5 instead of 4 and you will understand the question.

Oops, fucked up major there, sorry Deathfog.

Because i like having the extra string. The deeper sound is great.

I want to know some intermediate songs to play on bass. Either Black or Death metal