# 5 string bass for extreme metal



## Tomo009 (May 8, 2010)

Well I did a quick search and came up pretty much empty, probably terrible searching on my part but whatever.

I'm a guitar player primarily but I want to get a bass for versatility/recording and to play in a band with some friends.

I pretty much play all kinds of death and thras, bit of prog and if i had the ability tech. Looking for a bass with a nice feal and heavy tone. I won't be buying blind of course but I want to knwo the sort of thing I should be looking for before beginning as to not look the bass noob I am.

Kind of irrelevant but soem of those Warwick basses look beautiful, not that it should influence my choice.

I'll probably also get a distortion pedal and definately an amp, any suggestions there would be helpful too.


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## Bo Millward (May 8, 2010)

I'd recommend a Spector, Bass Guitars built in Woodstock New York, Europe, and Overseas for Bass Players of every budget including 4, 5 and 6 string basses. - Spector Bass I&#8217;ve got an old Spector NS 5 and its the best bass I&#8217;ve ever played. I love it an I&#8217;ve checked out a tone of Warwicks. They&#8217;ve got quicker necks and punchier mids with a more controlled low-end, way better for metal tonally. If you think Warwicks look fit you&#8217;ll spoff when you see Spectors.
As for a pedal, go for a Sansamp Bass Driver or a DHA VT1 EQ Bass Drive, they&#8217;re sick for recording too because of the D.I. outs. For amp Warwick do some really reasonably priced amps that are tight as fuck and compliment the similar tonal qualities Spectors and Warwicks share. So check out the Warwick _Profet line._
Hope this helps man.


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## Tomo009 (May 8, 2010)

Thanks for the detailed reply. Those definately do look amazing, not so easy to get a hold of in Australia though it seems, not to mention they start at like $2500 here when they start at about $1000 in the US it seems.

Any idea on what I should be looking for as a general rule? I have no idea what to look for in a bass, I can only judge on what I hear and feal.


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## TemjinStrife (May 8, 2010)

Honestly, it'd be best for you to try a bunch of basses out for yourself. I've always liked Schecter's active basses for heavier music, as the EMG HZ pickups + EMG BQC preamp sounds surprisingly good out of the box, and the necks are solid but not uncomfortable.

Ibanez's SR505s are another excellent option with Bartolini mk1 pickups and a 3-band active EQ circuit.

For amps, you'll need a lot of power. For rehearsal/gigging I generally recommend at least 300 watts, and you'll need more than that (and/or a ton of speakers) to keep up with a cranked guitar halfstack. Carvin's B2000 and BX1500 bass amps give you a LOT of power in a very lightweight package, for a reasonable price.

For cabinets, 4x10s are the standard, but I've heard great tones out of 2x15 and 2x12 cabs as well (my current rig is a 2x10 and a 2x12, with either a 300w tube head or a 400w solid state head.) For extreme music, you're going to want a lot of speaker cone area to keep up with guitarists.


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## Winspear (May 9, 2010)

I'll recommend a Dean Edge Q5. I have a Q6. I'm not primarily a bassist, but this is the nicest bass I've ever played. It feels wonderful, and the tone is SO thick and warm, but still with plenty of clicky attack when you want it. It carrys drop A really strong.

The bassist in my band got an ESP F-105 which is the exact same scale length and materials. However, even acoustically it sounds thin and clanky. It FEELS thin and clanky too. I can't work out why though  It can't handle the low B very well. Maybe the more expensive models would be better.


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## nhersom (May 11, 2010)

Warwick Corvettes have to be one of the nicest basses i have ever played. I have played a couple Spectors and didn't like them. It's all a matter of opinion. I currently play an Ibanez SRX bass and I think it is great. its not high end by any means but it plays nice and thats all that matters.


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## TemjinStrife (May 11, 2010)

If you are gigging, spend the majority on the amp and get a 'cheap decent' bass like a used Schecter or a Squier VM/CV series.

If you are just playing around and not gigging/jamming/rehearsing, feel free to spend more on the bass. There is no substitute for watts and speaker cone area in terms of bass volume until you get to hyperspecialized fEarful-style designs.


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## newamerikangospel (May 12, 2010)

Well, keep in mind he is going to be playing extreme forms of music, so 100-150 watt amp pair with a 4x10 or 2x15 would be sufficient. The higher wattages help keep the bass clean by the increased headroom, but my favorite extreme bass tone actually comes from my old Hughes and Kettner Vortex 100 head that I didn't want to get rid off. That with a 2x15 hartke was loud enough, and with a little bit of grit, it was a good growly bass tone for extreme metal (alex webster-esque tone). As a rule of thumb, though. The more speakers/speaker area you have, the louder you will be (4x10 sounds louder than a 2x10 for example).


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## TemjinStrife (May 13, 2010)

I play(ed, actually, left last month as I'm moving away) in a loud fucking indie band with alternately clean or lightly driven bass tones. 400W solid state or 300W tube through an Eden 2x12 barely cut it (I added a 2x10 later and it made a big difference), and that was admittedly a fairly busy mix and a loud band.

But for low tunings and clarity (even with those distorted notes) I'd have to recommend some serious wattage regardless of application, unless you're playing light club jazz gigs or with an acoustic group.


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## Tomo009 (May 15, 2010)

Just to let you guys know, I did go and search out a few awesome shops, after trying multiple shops and multiple yamaha/ibanez/warwick and spector basses I now own a Spector Legend 5, loved the feal the second I picked it up, beat the much more expensive Warwick I also tried in the same shop in my opinion. I now fully understand the first poster's post, the neck is faster even than my schecter 7 string guitar.

I'll be sheeling out for a good amp probably the end of this year, right now I'm not doign anything major, just going to be playing with friends at school. I'm also goign to be buying a decent guitar halfstack in a few months so I won't really have any cash until later.

Thanks for your advice, I know that an amp is much more important for tone, I'm definitely not disregarding that information.


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## XeoFLCL (May 17, 2010)

I own one of the earlier warwick rockbasses (with a swamp ash body and corvette truss rod cover and etc.) and it handles G# much better than my SR305 did. The SR305 did have a much thinner neck, but I find the warwick's neck carve much more comfortable. That being said, remember Warwick has a cheaper import line that uses more traditional tonewoods called Rockbass, and if you can find one of the older rockbass corvette 5s with the swamp ash body then snag one


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## Sepultorture (May 17, 2010)

i vote Ibanez SR505 

great price, excellent quality, great pickups

i paired that with an AMPEG SVT classic head and Mesa 8x10 pro cab, and fuck what a sound


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## Necris (May 17, 2010)

Tomo009 said:


> Just to let you guys know, I did go and search out a few awesome shops, after trying multiple shops and multiple yamaha/ibanez/warwick and spector basses I now own a Spector Legend 5, loved the feal the second I picked it up, beat the much more expensive Warwick I also tried in the same shop in my opinion. I now fully understand the first poster's post, the neck is faster even than my schecter 7 string guitar..



Congratulations on the new bass. I love Spectors, my friend recently sold me his and it plays amazingly.


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