so my atmosphery black/thrash/death/whatever band likes the sound of their practice recordings and are doing just fine without a bassist. we have a high screamer/growler, a 7 string shredder/gutteral vocalist, an ambient computer fondler, and yours truly on the drums, we would rather not have "another person in the room" and unless a seriously awesome bass player steps up, we could do without.

on our self-recorded album coming out eventually we're about to see how tracking a bass sounds on it, and i know that every band is different and if the sound is fine then so be it, but my question is how would this translate to a live show, in comparison to a band with a bassist? will it sound like a treble-y tin can of shit? what you guys think? do you really have to pee in a girl's mouth to make babies?

my last band tried playing shows without a bassist toward the end. Granted we had a shitty bass player prior to that...but even we could tell that it was a severe lack. Bass is way more important than people think, even in metal.

live def. need a bassist, but then again if i'm drunk and fondling girls tits than i prob wouldn't care either way. your call.

Use a harmonizer. Most bass doubles the root note of the chord.

having a good bassist who doesn't just do this is a pretty fun experience...but yeah...if you find a guy who just does that...octave pedal...maybe buy a 2x15 cab to carry lows more...

guttural*

Of course you need to pee in a girl's mouth to make babies.

Playing live would be better with a bassist, but if you light your equipment on fire mid-set, you'll be just fine.

we were going to get an octave pedal for vocals, we will experiment with the guitar...the 7 string is beefy, i forsee that with an extra 2x15 cab will sound very nice. and guttural. our ambient guy (i can't put a name to what he does. human synth?) peppers in some low-end too. i think the end result will kick ass but we'll see. thanks for the ideas guys.

no bass can work, but you have to make sure it sounds good in a big room.

the best way to find out (close to) how you really sound, is to take a chance, play one show....have someone (with decent equiptment) come record the set.

if you get a good reaction, and you like the recording.....leave well enough alone.

Oh, and while you don't have to pee in a girl's mouth to make babies, it's more fun if you do.

For extreme shit, bass is not necessary. Just make sure the guitar doesn't sound limpwristed and you're fine.
Plus its really nice not to have to be in tune with anyone else.

We don't have a bass player... never will. One more person to worry about and plus it sounds fine without it, especially for the simple stomp shit we play.

this is all heresy!

NeverSayNever has played alot of shows without a bass player. would be nice to have one once we get shit going again

there's so much that can be done with a good bassist.

damon you're quite the exception in the world of bass playing.

I agree. There's "do we need a bass player" and then there's "do we need someone like Damon playing bass for us?"

The answers are "meeeeh, up to you" and "hell yes you do".

if you pour water on us after midnight, we multiply.

since most metal bass players are idiots, keep it guitar only. Nick from KA is an exception as is Josh from Sexcrement, other than them, i couldn't name a decent bassist

Morgirion are pretty fucking awesome without a bass player. Same with Malkuth. I know there's a bunch more I'm forgetting.

Necromantia.

A N A L S E X

Jon,
I think you guys don't need a bass. For most metal i would say yes, but after hearing your recording on the cellphone, i think you don't need it.

Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't.

[Jan 6,2009 9:14pm - Conservationist]

brian_dc said:there's so much that can be done with a good bassist.


A N A L S E X


you're speaking my language

Let's be honest here. As a former bass player I can safely say they are the worst people on earth and we'd be better off without them. I have a solution (a "final solution" if you will) to get rid of all the bass players in the world.

playing with a bass adds dimension, depth and power.

playing without one reduces that potential dimension, depth, and power.

say what you want about the typeology of the "bassist," I may agree.
but in 'EXTREME METUHL' you need a bassist to flesh things out. It's not enough to hear metal, imho--it's best when you are able to simultaneously hear and feel it.

yeah-yeah you can tweak your settings and add this cab and that one, if you have two guitarists you can compensate with some sort of tonal dichotemy between the two, or theoretically bring up the trigs on the kick drum...but again over-compensation is just that. none of it amounts to what a good bass player does for your music.

btw...what the fuck is a rhythm section sans bass?

btw...what the fuck is a rhythm section sans bass?
>>

solid

I say don't add anything to your band that takes away from the energy (like a player that done not give a shit). Dont get a bass player just to have the sound there, that wont take to you the rock zone.

Bass is gay. ;)

We (Clitorture) did without one for 7 years, and never felt like we were missing anything. We tried out a bunch of players, and none brought anything to the table that wasn't already there, so we passed.

I am playing with some new people now though, including a bassist. I gotta say.... I love it. The dude is sick and likes doing his own thing with the riffs I'm writing, rather than just doubling the root or whatever.

Definately makes it easier to be heavy. Especially when you blend the guitar and bass volumes properly (e.g. so you can actually hear the bass).

To the O.P.... if you like what you've got going on, w/out a bass player, then keep doing what you're doing.

You could always try some out and if nobody that suits your aesthetic comes along, then fuck it.

Don't let anyone ever tell you that you "need" one, or that "you won't be taken seriously without one" (both things we were told on a regular basis... until people saw us play). That's all bullshit.

Make music that you like... that's all that matters.

agreed, Nick is the bawllz. he hammers that thing like a red headed step child. how is Nick by the way Brad? i haven't seen him around.

To put a happy little spin on this thread- which do you prefer playing with:

A bassist who plays with a pick or bassiste who uses his fingers?

After playing for nearly fifteen years with plectrum-equipped bassists who mirrored the guitar parts, I'm really digging playing with a mofucka who uses his fingers and plays something complementary to what I'm doing.

you're forgetting Anthony from revocation.

Yeah, Nick was awesome when I played with him in Adolf Satan. A band like that (total Sabbath worship) needs a bass player. Thrash and death metal and grindcore don't. In AC I tune down so low the guitar almost sounds like a bass anyway and I can cover everything soundwise on my own.

ask Motorhead

interesting discussion. Bass is where I live. Over the years playing Rhythm Guitar in a metal band, I found myself liking the opportunities bass offered more.

good. he just played a couple shows with Larry in NYC on New Years and the day after, sounds like it was pretty wild. it was Upsidedown Cross, sort of. Larry's daughters boyfriend played drums, Nick bass and Larry guitar and vocals. Don't know if you ever saw Larry play guitar, it's retarded. Plus they were all on high powered acid

IllonoisEnemaBradfag is a dumbass. You obviously don't listen to much metal at all if you can't name some decent bass players off the top of your head.

i meant local bands. and no I don't listen to much metal cuz most of it is total shit

then why are you listening to local bands?

..just on a side note, i always loved watching the bassist in origin.

That was NICK??? I heard about that Cross show. A friend of a friend's band played too. I heard that the boyfriend wasn't even really playing drums, just breaking stuff, and they used a drum machine.
And yeah, Larry playing guitar is completely fucking retarded. In Adolf he wanted to sing AND play guitar. He brought this beat to shit guitar and an even more beat to shit amp to practice. I didn't have the heart to tell him how terrible he was but that was when I had the Marshall Major so I just totally drowned him out. We just completely ignored his guitar playing. He got the message after a couple practices. But he was able to save face by making it look like it was HIS idea to not play guitar.
I did not want Adolf to sound like early Kilslug. Answer The Call era, yes, but the early singles when Larry played guitar, no thank you.
I miss touring with Nick and Larry though. It was like touring with the two stooges. Very strange when I have to be the responsible one. Nick would get shy to ask for for a piss-stop so he'd piss into an empty can, but instead of throwing the can out the window he'd just put it on the floor where it would inevitably get knocked over and spill piss everywhere. The rental company must've loved cleaning out that fucking van.

Hypersludge is either a troll or the new dumbest person on the board.

my brother, who plays bass in Sacreligion, uses his fingers and i love the way it works and sounds better than a pick. he used a pick at the beginning, but quickly phased it out. luckily he is also tall so he has gangly spidery fingers and it works greatly to his advantage. i don't care much for picking in bass playing. unless you're Peter Steele and use a wine bottle.

No, i haven't had the pleasure of seeing Larry play guitar just yet. i bet it's a thing to see though, hahaha. although i have found some pretty rare kilslug videos on myspace as well as some nightstick ones. when i get home from work today, i'll try to dig them up and forward you the links Brad.
on another note, i don't know how a man like Larrylifeless can produce such beautiful girls. hot diggitydogdamn.
oh yeah, and TomCWAF moved with Liz and jr. fucked his hand up bad at a party, smashed some dooooods face with a bottle if you haven't heard.

fingers- narkybark is my bassist, and i much prefer it to a pick. Although i make fun of him for not using one..... i guess i would make fun of him for using one too...

My fucking God, don't even get me started. If I had a billion dollars I would pay whatever it took to make a 3-way lesbian incest porn movie.

no shit
WOW
when someone told that was Larry's kid, i almost shat myself. bad thoughts, bad bad thoughts. hahaha

so it's decided, people say bass is essential and people say it's not needed, and we sound fine without one, so we're not looking for a bass player. we've never had luck with anybody standing there with a bass and they never add anything. unless we have the chance to get a REAL bassist that wants to play with us, we're going forward without.

he's fucking ridiculous. we're not exactly world-class like they are

Yeah I heard, I got a call from Tom at 5am after it happened. My number was the only one he could remember. That was fucked, he sounded really bad, saying he was covered in blood, couldn't feel his hands and that he didn't know what happened. Then the nurse gets on the phone saying the cops wanna talk to me about what happened. After explaining that i was 1200 miles away she was cool. Guess he almost died from blood loss, and has no feeling in his left thumb or ring finger.

and Larry's daughters? WTF!! is his ex-wife that hot?

Bass players am dumb.

for fucks sake

i played various instruments in local bands from 1993 to 2007, punk,grind,hardcore,metal or a comination of all of those. We always played with metal bands that had ok drummers and guitarists and shitty bassists. I don't listen to local bands anymore cuz I live 1200 miles away. can you shut the fuck up now?

i really think most bass players only picked it up because they didn't get guitar or drums. that seems to ALWAYS be the case. and then what is worse is somebody that says they actually can play the drums...99% of the time they are terribly WRONG.

I decided bass guitar would be a better fit, I used to open up grand pianos and bang on the wires.

Most definitly... none of them have the guts to play hard!

Ok, so there seems to be a shortage of Drummers and bassist, so where are they and is it because they are already in a band? Why do many people pick up the bass or drums? What is the scoop!

i play bass in a classic rock cover band. its a good frickin time.

From what I hear that bass and guitar can go hand in hand, but how come guitarist dont just jump on bass sometimes... I would love to play bass and keep the low end blasting with speed, but have not much time to learn much now... oh well... guitarist just seem to be spawn!

Well for drummers at least, the answer is easy. Drums are not played as much because it's hard to find someplace you can play, because as a beginner you have to buy a handful of equipment just to start, and because if a drummer isn't perfect, than EVERYONE hears. So when people realize how hard it is, they quit. Not everyone, but a lot of people...
Bass players... I think Darkwar hit the nail on the head, I have known a lot of people who wanted to get into music, but didn't want to have to play "like, everynight". AKA, they wanted to be able to play in a band with minimal effort. Lots of people take this stance, and there are the ones who so the whole "guitar was too hard, how about bass" thing. What you have to find are the bass players that play because they love the low end, the ones that don't need to be in the front of the music, the ones that are creative enough to write parts that counterpoint the guitar and that accent the guitar, not that play the root or fifth the entire time.

they switch off in seemless ... pretty rad.

Definitly, then there must be a lack of interest to be a clock or base for the music and songs.... That is power! Everyone wants to be a showpony! Kidding

alls you need to be a band today is BASSS DROPS, put it on the drum trigger.

I'm not experienced at bass, because I don't have one at the moment. I can play with a pick, it's really not hard that way. of course, most bass players despise others that play with a pick and nothing else. well, fuck you, I'm a guitar player.

i only play with a pick for reeeealy fast stuff and when my fingers start to hurt to much. gettin my callouses back though...slowly but surely.

Only upright is real.

buy me an upright bass

destroyyoualot plays bass with his teeth and penis

he must do the staccato picking with his penis

i clench the bass between my ass cheeks and fart on it. sometimes i shit on it by accident and have to take it to daddy's for repairs.

i think there is just no interest in it for metal... does not seem to be a shortage anywhere else.

unless there is a big jazz influence in the song writing ...metal bass gets typically drowned out and overlooked.

Throwing Shrapnel

ok he counts, but I don't know his name

there are others, but no one ever jumped out at me as a real bassist, just a shmuck who couldn't handle the extra strings

looks like we are going to need another timmy.

Brian "DOOM" Acyder who is playing bass for In The Shit right now

and thanks for the props Lamp.

So, darkwor, anything ever happen with this? LOL

ahahaha....i think we all were disillusioned with bass players. then we decided we needed one, when we realized we wanted more noise but didn't want a second guitar player. then we found a REAL bass player.

I'm pretty sure my phone trashed one or two long rants in this thread and then I gave up.

awesome, best case scenario right there

while i have heard some awesome heavy bands without bass players, i have also heard some great bands with no guitar (just bass)
God Stomper
Gut Bucket
and, when we recorded the first Channel 62 demo, it was just bass and drums, and it sounded heavy as fuck!

a raw ripping distorted bass and drums can kill.

indeed

on the other hand

my favorite bands/one time performances without bass players

Anal Cunt
Suffer Now
Frivilous Calculations
Terminal Logic
Umbrella
Scum Bitch (yes i was in the band, but for the 7 or so years they were around before i joined, i was a fan, and i don't think they ever used a bass player)
Candy Striper Death Orgy (i saw them play without their bassist once and it was still fucking heavy)

also, when i was in Maggot Feast we had....
a demo (old school style grind)
then we played on rttp (our noisier/drone/doom/sludge shit....with some fast parts)
and then there is the song we have up on myspace right now (Adversary of Mankind...the last song we ever recorded)

all of our shit had a very heavy sound, and was 100 % bass free

Pics?

Peter Steele has the best bass tone ever. followed closely by GC Green from Godflesh.

Pete Steele's tone is mighty.

I play bass because I love it, no other reason. I have only ever played with my fingers until recently starting a new band with no guitar and found I liked the sound with a pick better for this. I suck with a pick though..

Doesn't sound like you need a bassist if you like the sound with out.

I would nominate David Vincent's bass sound on Terrorizer's "World Downfall" Good call on Godflesh!

Maybe stupid people.

I like No Comply's half of the split with Christmess, that's free of guitar and pretty snazzy.

I also saw the Rowdy Ones from Connecticut once and they didn't have a guitarist, I think they normally do though. Either way it was interesting.

Usually I prefer it the other way around though, guitar with no bass.

in general i agree