There are no real advantages to any way of playing the bass per se! Each style has it's pro's and con's!
Fingerstyle playing gives a warmer sound whereas a pick gives a snappier attack i.e. it is more focused.
Playing fingerstyle you can use all your fingers to play the strings while some people claim that it is easier to play faster with a pick.
I play both depending on my needs. Slapping and plucking can only be done fingerstyle while it is much easier to play up and down strokes fast with a pick.
Cliff Biurton played fingerstyle whereas Jason Newsted lays with a pick.
Find what works best for you and create your own style!

About the touching of the pickup: It's only bothersome if it affects the sound. Do you hear through an amp and cabinet (or through a combo) that your fingers touch the pickup? If not: no problem there.

For me, I use finger plucking if what I'm playing is more intricate/soft, like if I'm playing say, Orion. I mostly use a pick for the more agressive stuff. Not that this is a hard and fast rule though, I use my fingers to play World Eater, for example, as well as anything that has gallops in it.

Should have my new bass delivered any minute now. It's just a cheap Dean (a flying V as well - for some reason I like owning completely hideous instruments), but it's still an upgrade from my old one...

And re: pick vs. fingers, I got a thumb pick yesterday, so I'm going to see if that would let me switch between fingers and picking easily. Should be interesting to see how it goes...

With regard to speed: if I can't play something with my fingers, in my opinion it's quite likely that there's no point in playing it faster than that (I hardly ever play with picks). I find it more important to retain the rhythmic accent in the right places rather than try to buzz-saw everything. I let the guitars do tremolo while I follow the important drum hits.

Anyone ever played on a B.C. Rich Mockingbird Heritage Classic?

Click here for pic

I'm thinking of getting one, they are beautiful basses, and just in my price range. Was wondering what kind of sound/tone they have and if anyone likes them. I read some great reviews online. but i'd like to hear from people here.

Nope. Because I play a 1981 BC Rich Mockingbird. If you can get your hands on a real one, do it.

Not sure if this has already been touched on but do any of you use slapping, popping and other kinds of techniques not common to metal when playing metal? I'm quite fond of popping chords, some sweeping and slapping my bass like an out of control child. Makes it a lot more fun than what's expected of bassists in metal - root notes/following the guitar exactly.

Of course we do if the situation seems appropriate! We're bassplayers not guitarkilers!
If you listen to the greater bassplayers in Metal you will hear that they also do not stick to the root/guitar following style! That is precisely what makes them great!

A lot of the time I go out of my way NOT to just follow the guitar, although sometimes it is appropriate. I do a lot of slaps and chords when I want a bit more "umph", and I'll throw pops into guitar breaks.

Any good resources or websites for learning to play?

I'm picking up bass again after some years and having a hard time finding good resources to learn everything without a teacher.

Anyone know if there is any hammer ons or pull offs or things like that in any of the emperor bass lines for scattered ashes best of compilation? I got a book of the sheet music with tabs but it doesn't say the hammer ons or anything on the tabs. And I'm not fluent at all in sheet music yet.

I want to learn the album though it would be good practice for me getting back in shape.


edit: sorry for double post, didn't know no one posted after my last one. My bad.

Hey guys,

I'm a 17 year old bass player whos been playing about 3-4 years, and I've come across a problem.

I've been practicing some songs from Atheist's Unquestionable Presence album, and its pretty challenging material, but the problem I have is generally when I get one minute or two into the song (particullarly The Formative Years), my arm and fingers are so strained and tired that they won't move right anymore and I'm unable to play unless I take a short break. I need to combat this problem. Advice please?

I really need advice on those emperor songs. The production washes out the bass so much I don't know where to start. I even have the book with all sheet music and tabs for the best of compilation. The tabs only have numbers though(no indications if they used hammers or pull ofs or anything cept maybe a slide)

Anyone got tips on learning to play them? Or at least fuck with the sound so I can hear the bass being played. I can't read sheet music but I can read tab. Could really use some advice, I wanna play some emperor!!

Which arm and Fingers do you mean?
Maybe you should look at your playing technique. If your arm and fingers get so strained after playing only 2 minutes of challenging material you might be playing in a wrong way. Right now it's hard to tell what you are doing wrong and how to combat it.
Get back after checking your playing style and tell us about it. Then we might be able to offer some advice!

If the tabs are done right it might be that there weren't any hammer-ons/pul-offs used on those songs. I'm not too familiar with Emperor to be sure but they don't strike me as a band with very challenging bass-lines and clever use of different playing techniques.

I'm talking about my plucking arm/fingers
Here's a visual example of my playing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN3403VngI0

You might be able to get an idea of my plucking technique/arm position from watching this

Have been playing Bass for about fifteen years, I have a Westfield and a Kustom K400 amp. I tend to use my thumb as I find picks rather difficult to use, I have used them in the past but cannot get on with them
However I have found that my playing has got a bit better since I stopped using picks.
I am looking to get a new bass at some stage, I would like a Dean Metal Fan as they are reasonably priced and maybe a Peavey practice amp

It seems as though you are not supporting your arm and/or thumb on the Bass. This might be something that helps prevent your arm getting too tired in a short time span. When I play finger-style I always rest my thumb on the pick-up and when playing with a pick I anchor my hand on the bridge.

Another question: Is the position your bass is in the same position it is when playing standing up? This will also give a different positioning of your plucking hand and this may also cause extra strain.

It is very important that you do not have to use any muscle in either your arm or your hand when not playing. Your basic playing position should be one of rest. When you already tense your muscles without playing this will only cause problems in the future. That might be what you are experiencing now. The fact that the upper part of your bass' top is slanted is done so your arm can rest against it without digging into your arm which will happen when you have a bass that has a straight top. It is not done so you have more room to hold your arm away from the top of your bass which will need muscle tension thus causing more fatigue!

When I play I am sitting, as this works best for me, I find though that my elbow and forearm ache for a time when playing. After a while this subsides I also get cramp in my hands when playing this happens frequently I think It maybe age related, as I have had this for some years now when playing. although I play regularly

Are you relaxed and comfortable in the position you sit when you play?
Perhaps it's where you sit down to play, I replaced the bench I sat at by a puff couch because it left my back hurting after playing, now I'm much comftier.
Cramps might be due to stress on the tendons, the aching due to pressure on the shoulder. It's hard to know without being there, but I'd bet it's all related to the posture.

I sit cross legged, and I do tend to be hunched a bit the way I play. And I am rather rigid when I play too, I think this maybe as I am trying to concentrate on playing too much. I think you are right it must be posture related. Thank you for your comments.

It's like i said to IronBlaze: you need to have a relaxed starting point where you all your muscles involved in playing are relaxed. This way it'll cost you less effort to play.
Don you play in a band or are you planning to? If so I guess that you'll have to get used to playing standing unless you intend to play sitting on stage (which looks shitty unless you are in a wheelchair). Most guitars/basses are made with the idea that the person playing it is standing while playing it. That is why the chances of having problems while sitting are greater than while standing.

BTW: If you are more relaxed about playing whereas posture is concerned you'll notice the playing will become more relaxed as well!

@Rob1
I play my own music but I don`t play in a band, so playing live is something I have not done. I think the thing is I have played sitting down for many years so it is probably accumulative that this problem has arisen.
I agree with you that guitars are designed to played standing, I will give it a go and see how things are. Thank you for your comments and advice.

I've got 2 questions for you guys. I've been playing since last year and I'd like to know what skill should I improve first: the speed or technique? I play something between Thrash and Death. And the second question is: which bassist is more valuable, the one playing with pick or the one playing with fingers? Maybe I should learn to play both styles (currently I play with fingers).

I'm not sure what you mean about improving technique first, but you should be able to play accurately when you play fast. Do whichever you think fits the music you want to make better.

You'll never get a definitive answer about pick/fingers, but the people who complain about it tends to be bassists, so it doesn't matter whhen looking for a band.

Ah, great By technique I mean playing difficult and sophisticated lines but not needing very high durability of fingers of right hand. By speed I mean playing not so complicated lines but fast and for longer periods of time that requires high endurance of fingers of right hand.

You're right. I think the stuff is just played really fast and fairly simple, no technicalities. It's actually kind of funny they made the book. Not often you see black metal written out in sheet music.

Just make sure that whatever you do sounds tight enough. If you play pick or fingers it does not matter. You've got legendary bassists playing pick, as well as fingered bass.

A'ight, thanks mates.

Durability is always necessary so that is one point to focus upon.
You have to build stamina and suppleness and with that the complicated and difficult lines will be easier to play as a result. One cannot go without the other.
Start practicing simple things at low speeds and then increase the speed as it gets easier to do.
Practice with a metronome and play one note per tick at low speed. Hold that for 5 to 10 minutes and then crank up the speed a bit and start over again.

As a bass player you are the glue between the rythm (drums) and the melodies (the guitars; keyboards (if any) and the vocals). So your timing should be perfect and that can only be achieved by a lot of training.

I myself started out playing very simple things and doubling the guitars but over time I have begun to do my own thing instead of just being the third guitar player with a handicapped guitar (as some would see it). I do not need a drummer to stay in time since I mastered time but it is great to lock into the drummers groove and add to that. This can sometimes even limit the guitar players in what they can play because you hold the fort down. That is when you have become your own voice instead of just somebody filling up the low end.

I looked at the video and it seems to me that your fingers tend to curl up in a ravenclaw-like position, which slows down your playing and requires more effort to produce sounds. It looks like you have to hit/"pull" the strings very hard. Maybe try a small adjustment of the wrist position to allow straighter fingers?

Simple warm-up exercises have been useful for me, such as this one by Petrucci http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrAaMLpP20k&t=3m0s

Yup, It's great but it's rather difficult to switch to fretless and the maintenance of the bass is a bit more difficult. Exposed fretboard might be vulnerable to strings' hits. My friend ruined his fretless that way, he had to change the fretboard but with enough care it's a great thing with awesome sounding slides and it's very versatile.

It depends on your skill nad . I can do a fast tremolo using 2 fingers but it's very exhausting and may finish with fingers injury or just a fatal fail including breaking the string(!). I'm very tall and I can't switch between pick and finger easily because the position of the guitar good for plucking is not good for picking (it's hanging way too low). It doesn't matter when you're recording but might be an unbeatable obstacle when playing one track with different techniques live (can't change the strap length that fast). I also prefer playing rhythmic when using fingers at low and medium tempo. It's easier to me to count plucks than picks. At very high BPM and playing 16ths for example pick is the only way if you exactly double the rhythmic guitar or playing rhythm as the only guitar. However it doesn't matter if you play slower music. You can always use 4 fingers to play faster.

3 fingers playing is in my opinion less useful than the main ability to play with 2 fingers or playing with four fingers. Of course it depends on the music you play (3 fingers are great for playing gallop but you can do it as well with 2 fingers) nad personal preferences.

Hey guys. I was wondering if ANYONE here knew what distortion pedal Varg Vikernes used on the De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas album. Thanks in advance.

Some random shitty pedal. You can get that sound out of any box, really.

Really nooby question, but how do you achieve this sound I hear all the time on the bass

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgT7tZa4mas

(around 1:05 and onwards) I hear this kind of sound coming from basses all the time, it sounds really metallic and percussive. Is this achieved by use of a pick or fingers?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bocIcyWJjMg
also here, very strongly, around 5 seconds in, then throughout the song.

Boost the hell up for bass and treble and hit the strings hard when you play. I do it with my fingers, but I imagine you can get the same sound as well with a pick.
Also, keep the grip on the fretting hand strong enough or the tone on the notes will sound flimsy.

Treble up. You can use some effect too. It also depend on your string type. Bright will sound better in this case. You can achieve it with pick and with fingers but better with pick or grow some serious fingernails

The natural V-shaped EQ setting on any graphic EQ.: Bass and Treble up mids down! You also need new or relatively new strings. Old strings lose their crispiness needed to achieve this sound.

Me myself I use a BOSS Overdrive ODB-3. It gets somewhat of that tone out.

Recently figured that I'm much comfortable if I play with the bass sitting on my left leg in the classical guitar position, anyone else tried this? After doodling for while I noticed a huge improvement on my left hand's dexterity.