Here's a section for bass players. Whatever.


To start the thread off: what is your opinion on the use of fretless bass in metal? I myself own one and have been playing bass for 14 years, and I've had the fretless for 3 years.

No matter what they say, bassists own everything.

I dunno about fretless though, the only player I know that plays a fretless is DiGiorgio, and I cant tell the difference really (because I'm a noob).

Oh, and since you're probably the most experienced bass player around, mind throwing a couple of tips for starters like myself?
Perhaps a few really easy metal songs I can learn for fun?

Well, I don't have a fretless bass, but Steve DiGiorgio's fretless bass work sounds very nice, especially his work with Sadus.

The first songs I learned were really easy stuff like old Sepultura, Slayer, old Death, then once I got better I started playing stuff like Sadus, some Cynic (the easier songs), Atheist (same as Cynic) and Coroner. It's good to learn your favorite songs by ear, but tabs are ok too. Start out with simple stuff.

All I can say is PRACTICE! Also, take lessons if you can afford it, they're extremely useful.

Remember: PICKS ARE FOR PUSSIES!


As for Steve DiGiorgio, his best work lies at the end of Death - The Philosopher. The bass solos are outstanding, and it is also Death's last good song. Steve is an excellent bass player, but sadly never fully shows his talents.

For good bass playing, definitely check out Pavor, their bass solos shred more than the guitar solos, really technical stuff.

Fuck yea, picks are gay as hell for bass playing. I used to use one and then I realized that the only reason I was using a pick is because I could play alot faster with one... So I decided that I was going to get as fast with my fingers as using a pick. I havent got up to that speed yet.... But I am getting there.

I have recently been getting into tapping on the bass which is alot of fun. I downloaded Power Tab and I got a pile of Necrophagist songs where I have been learning all their tapping parts. Its alot of fun. Stefan Fimmers is definitely one of the best bass players out there.

Pavor is an amazing band and especially Rainer Landfermann. I dont know how you get as good at the bass as he is... Its unbelievable. I lvoe his work and solos. The solo on "Totemist" is crazy.

I already am taking lessons, and I fingerpick too.
I'm having a trouble to practice too much, I get bored really fast because the large part of the excercises my teacher gives me are these blusey-sounding lines, it takes me some time to get them right but after I do, it begins to bore me quickly. It's not really my style of choice (musicwise) and I just give up pretty quickly.
My musical ear sucks too, I can seperate the bass from the other instruments in most cases, but I cant get it right by ear. I tried once to get Nirvana's "Smells Like..." out myself, and after I checked it out with a tab I wasnt even near the real thing, and it's like the easiest song on earth.
I guess I'll be working with tabs in the near future.

I can't help but think he uses one of those MIDI correctors or whatever they are on that song; it's great. Alas, I think he uses a pick, at least he does live. I can play "Inflictor of Grimness".

Necrophagist's bassist is good. What you want is to be able to play the beginning of "Only Ash Remains"...

Remember: use three fingers if you want to be a good finger player, index, middle, ring.

Ah yes! Only Ash Remains. I love that solo... And its fast as hell. I know the whole solo but I cant play it the speed Stefan does. 120BPM, 16th notes, all triplets AND in 7/8 time which changes to 4/4! Ahh, I am working though. I learned the the bass intro to Extreme Unction if you know that song. And I learned the bass solo in Fermented Offal Discharge as well. Both are really cool and not too tough to learn if you know your stuff.

I am good at playing with my index and middle finger and I have been working with my ring finger alot lately. One thing I have been trying to master is doing a gallop rythm with those 3 fingers starting with my ring finger. Its tough to play it cleanly and tight though.

What kind of bass do you play Exkretor? I just picked up a Dean Edge-Q6... Which is a 6-String bass. I love having the extra string and the fatty neck is really nice. And fretboard/neck seems to be flatter then my other bass, so it makes tapping and playing at the higher frets alot easier. My other bass is a Schecter Stiletto Elite-5. That bass is really eally nice as well... It has a neck-thru construction which is cool. But it is really heavy since it is made of Mahagony...

I've been playing since high school in the late 80s and I think one of the most important thing for a bass player (esp within metal) is NOT to let god damned lead guitarists tell you what to play ha ha! The most important thing though is play YOUR way, whether its fingers or pick, clean or distorted. However it sounds good to your own ear is the most important, because then you will play it as often as possible, IMO of course. There is no right or wrong way to play/write music...thats the beauty of it!

Oh yeah there is, Korn and Slipknot have seemed to mater it, haha!

Pfft, anyone who doesn't use a pick is a mongoloid and is limiting themselves. I play with both pick and fingers, depending on what style depends on what I use, I seem to get a cleaner tone when finger picking but when I want to play faster and get a specific sound in combination with my distortion and overdrive picking seems to be the best way.

I really don't have an opinion on fretless, I don't play them nor do I care to so meh, a lot of people I know who play fretless generally aren't very good at it and didn't master fretted bass in the first place. Seems like more of an image thing.

People who use picks are pussies who can't play fast enough with their fingers. I can play pretty much any song with my fingers. And if it's too fast for you, stop doubling the fucking guitars and make up your own bassline; that's what the bass is for!

Pfft, I can play plenty fast enough with three fingers, that isn't the point, I get a different sound when playing with a pick and for certain sounds I find it fits more, even if it is only a slight difference.

But I guess I am not such an elitist asshole.

I had a pick once, but I lost it and I don't intend to buy one again.

Yeah, Pavor's bassist (and the rest, too) is just Get A Pale Debilitating Autumn, if you don't have it alreday, too, Exkretor!

Ahh, but if you know how to EQ your amp then you dont need to use a pick to change the sound. With my SansAmp pedal I can change some settings in a metter of seconds that make my playing sound alot like I am using a pick.

Fingerstyle all the way, bitches.

For some reason I find it much easier to play fast using only one finger than with two or three. I'm working on geting my speed up with multiple fingers at the moment, but it seems ridiculous since I can already go much faster using only my index. I just don't like the tone that produces though. Does anybody else find this?

I've also developed a bad habit of using my thumb a lot for E string playing instead of alternating. It doesn't sound bad but I feel it's limiting me somewhat. Again, thoughts on that method anyone? Should I be trying to wean myself of that?

Well, unfortunaly for me my fingers have always been very very (very) weak. I really need to train them if I have to play more than one song.
That's why I use pick, but I do aswell know how to use fingers.

I have it. FUCKED BY DARKNESS!

Yes. Try playing some FILLS or even solos using just one finger. Train yourself to go just as fast with three fingers.

Does anyone else do Steve Harris style two finger gallops? I've found that I get plenty of speed on just two fingers, enough for speedpicking and enough to keep up with a guitarist. I probably can't go quite as fast as some of you three-finger players, though.

By the way, as long as we're mentioning great metal bassists, Roger Patterson (of Atheist) has really inspired my playing. If you haven't heard the pre-production demos from Unquestionable Presence (with Patterson before he was RIP) on the Relapse re-issue, you should really check it out.

I agree 100%, the bass is way better on the pre-production demo. Unquestionable presence is an excellent album but would have been even better had Roger Patterson lived.

What are all of your guys amps and accesories like? Currently here is what I am running through:

-Ampeg SVT-350H
-Ampeg SVT-410HE
-Ampeg SVT-15EN
-Korg DTR-1 Rack Tuner (Old model)
-Furman Power Conditioner RP-8
-SansAmp Bass Driver DI

It is an amazing sounding setup... And currently I am looking to upgrade my head to an all tube one; preferalby the Ampeg SVT-Cl or SVT-VR.

What's everyone's take of slapping and popping in metal? I really can't recall any bands doing that technique, however I remember seeing Martin Mendez doing some slap on a song. Any bands use that technique extensively?


What about basses beyond 4 strings? Yay or nay? I personally don't mind more than 4 string basses and actually like them as long as the bassist uses them to the full potential.


I'd definitely like to get a bass and learn it properly, I'm a guitarist who plays bass with a pick. Regardless whenever I play bass I have a lot of fun with it and seem to come up with more riffs on it than I do with guitar.

I stepped up to 5-Strings a few years ago... And now I stepped up to a 6-String. I love them... and I dont like playing 4-Strings anymore... I dont as comfortable on them as the higher stringed basses. 5 and 6 are the way to go.

I already can. I just don't think the sound is as good as with multiple fingers. Plus it can be awkward making sure my fingernail doesn't make contact (which is a large part of why the quality is bad). I'm working on adding more fingers, as I said; I'm just wondering whether people think it's a requisite, an whether anybody else does it.

Cryptopsy does on None So Vile, IIRC. I don't see anything wrong with it, I like me niggerstyle bass playing.



You can't be serious. OF COURSE it is a requisite. There isn't a single competent bass player that uses one finger. In fact, I don't think any bassist does.

Come on guys. What the hells is wrong with you?

What the fuck should be wrong about using a pick for bass playing? I myself use finger picking, but if people want that picking sound, then why the hell not?
As for the fretless bass. If your playing some prog kinda thing, I guess it would be ok. Otherwise, why the hell would you? Apart from the image thing of course.

Nothing is wrong, but if you play with your fingers

1) it sounds better (thicker and stuff)
2) it's kvlter and tr00er

James Jamerson was notorious for playing with one finger. I heard Charles Mingus only used one as well, although I dunno if this is true. And they were both awesome.

Charles Mingus definitely did not use one finger, and Jame Jamerson is no one noteworthy.

Hello,

I've been playing bass around 5 years now. I started out using two fingers, quickly gaining speed and learning how to play very intricately. But just recently, I've been using three fingers to get even more notes in faster. Does anyone ever use four fingers? I've been trying that out for some faster scale-playing..it seems okay but it just feels weird using that pinky haha.

On another note, in all of my musical projects I usually play bass lines that are not identical (almost just opposite and off the wall) to what the guitar is playing and it sounds good. Some guitarists say to play along with the guitar mostly..but I just can't play that way. I like to go all over the fretboard. Any of you do that when playing/recording with a band?

I'm rather ignorant on bass, so if someone could enlighten me: is there a practical use for the pinky finger? Is four-fingered play concievable or not pragmatic?

I dont use a pinky but I have seen it done. This local band called Killing Roots, thier bass player used a fretless Warwick and played with all his fingers. He was pretty damn good at it too. I think its all a personal thing. If you can get your pinky coordinated with the rest of your fingers that go for it. But I know for some people its tough to even coordinate 3 fingers.

Ive gotten to be relativly good with 3 already and hopefully I will step up to 4 eventuality.

Can't say I worked on it a lot, but I just can't get the hang of using the 4th finger. It's way too short, makes it pretty rough to hit the string repeatedly. Occasionally I'll do the 1-2-3-2-1 thing (with 3 fingers), but I can't understand why my friend says that's meant for tremolo parts and supposedly allows faster playing than 2 fingers, because I never could reach quite the same speed. Eh, depends on the bassist and his own prefered way of playing I guess.

BTW, in what order do you guys use your 4 fingers? 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4 or 1-2-3-4-3-2-1?

It depends on the bass and the genre. If you're playing a cheap BC Rich in a straight up, raw sounding black metal band, picking sounds great. If you're in a really epic or progressive band then fingerpicking would be better.

On picking vs plucking: I've found that playing faster on multiple strings is easier using my fingers. I naturally fell into using a pick (being a guitarist and all) and I'll generally use a pick when I play for a long time (like when I was in a band). The thing is, the spaces between bass strings are larger than the spaces between guitar strings. While I can play faster and cleaner on a single string with a pick, it takes me longer to go from the E string to the A or D string on a bass using a pick than with my fingers. I've really been working on my two finger technique and I'm really liking it. I'm not going to knock pickers, but in the long run I think they're limiting themselves.

I can do gallops, but I use my three fingers, and I still can't make them sound clean! That's why I've been trying to do them with two fingers. After all, I've been playing bass for almost a year, so there's still a lot of things and techniques to work on!!

Three finger's?,that's it?.Learn to use all five like myself,it will offer alot more in your bass playing if you do.

All five? How long have you been playing and when do you use your thumb?

I have been playing bass for 3 years. Today it was the first time I tried fretless bass. My first impression - in some certain situations it might as well be useful. 6 string fretless bass with a bass overdrive pedal, is ideal for replacing guitar and for experimental music. In the distant future I would try making a solo instrumental project with that kind of instrument and a normal 4 string fretted bass.

As for pick style and finger style. Everything depends on the exact situation. You cannot pull out fast tremolo with your fingers, for this purposes pick is preferred. In some cases when there is no need for showing off your technical skills, but when you just need to double guitar (yes it is not always bad), pick is also preferred. For example playing rhythmic, no fancy thrash is better using a pick IMO. Both of the methods have their own limitations.

I can play with 2 and 3 fingers. As I usually play stuff of my own I use 3 fingers. Sometimes I use 3 fingers even for playing on one single string. Depending on situation I can combine 3 and 2 finger playing.