Any tips for fingerpicking HM bass?

[SickBoy]

My band is preparing to record a CD and I'd be glad if you could throw some tips at me for proper bass recording... I've done a search, but most people here are into distorted bass played with plectrum. We need a nice fingerpicked mostly clean bass sound that should have definition but not be overly bright.
My bass player has a custom made 5-string neck-through all maple bass (flame maple center section, maple wings) equipped with P-J Bartolini set (passives).
I have a Firepod, BDDI and PodXT with Bass Expansion at my disposal. He works a lot and unfortunately we simply don't get to spend much time tweaking the sound and fiddling around. My band plays a somewhat old school HM (no 'power' stuff here), you can hear our old recording at www.myspace.com/stimulans .

Thanks for any tips, people!

 

[greyskull]

use a pick

 

[csholtmeier]

When it comes to fingerstyle in metal, you either have the ability or you don't.

There's nothing worse than sloppy fingers in metal.

 

[deanbailey]

Yeah i agree, if your bassist is not consistent enough with his fingers it really weakens the bass in the mix. Just tell him to practice and make sure all his notes are even and playing is neat not too clangy,

 

[colonel kurtz]

alright, here's a quick question for everyone...this is more of a compositional thing than anything else, but fuck it

on extremely fast trem-picked riffs, in your experience, does the bass usually join in with the guitars in the trem picking, or does it do its own thing and hit on 1/4 or 1/8 notes?

i'm wondering because i'm working on some tracks that i'm stuck with playing bass on, and have little experience playing bass to really fast shit...it seems like anytime i keep up with the guitars, i end up with a big pile of mush.

 

[doc_backmask]

alright, here's a quick question for everyone...this is more of a compositional thing than anything else, but fuck it

on extremely fast trem-picked riffs, in your experience, does the bass usually join in with the guitars in the trem picking, or does it do its own thing and hit on 1/4 or 1/8 notes?

i'm wondering because i'm working on some tracks that i'm stuck with playing bass on, and have little experience playing bass to really fast shit...it seems like anytime i keep up with the guitars, i end up with a big pile of mush.

To me it depends entirely on the feel of the drums. Sometimes I will play 1/4 or 1/8s, and others I will pick as fast as I can. The trick to fast picking a bass is to do it lightly!!! If you have too aggressive of an attack, the notes will not be able to resonate and the line will turn to mud. A perfect example is what I just tracked for Shadow_Walker, which can be found here.

 

[csholtmeier]

I've found that lighter gauge strings and light picks fight mushy bass in faster tempo stuff.


And overdrive. Sansamps kill.

 

[deanbailey]

Yeah, it depends on the drums. For me if the drums are doing 16th note kicks, snares, blasts etc along with the guitars i find it redundant to do 1/8 notes on bass as it spoils the feel of that particular riff. If the bassist can't keep up I'd say make him learn it (bad cop method) But if it (on the rare occasion that it does) sound good then keep it at 1/8 or even 1/4 notes (good cop method).

The thing that always baffled(pissed me off) me was when guys who play with fingers try and do the 16th notes and the guys who have picks play 1/8th notes.

This is of course just my opinion.

 

[egan.]

i'm working on some tracks that i'm stuck with playing bass on, and have little experience playing bass to really fast shit...it seems like anytime i keep up with the guitars, i end up with a big pile of mush.

IME if you get it really tight and fast then it usually winds up sounding like you played it slow. Anyway, slow and tight always trumps fast and mushy. YMMV

 

[doc_backmask]

Anyway, slow and tight always trumps fast and mushy.

+1

and that is why there is a "." after your name.

 

[iekobrid]

Bryan Beller demonstrates finger(nail)-picking techniques for metal bass:

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

So the question here becomes: if you record someone who plays with his fingers, and it comes out totally uneven, what can you do to fix it?

Sansamp PS1 + ultra compression did not seem to do the trick. Any other suggestions?

 

[beyond dead]

not too much you can do without getting surgical. regardless of whether a pick is used or not, serious bass players should always practice with an output level meter to ensure they are practicing good even dynamics, and using dynamics properly with the arrangement of the song. its really hit or miss with bass and there are only 2 varieties of bassists: awesome and shitty!!!! bass is actually an instrument on its own and not a 3rd guitar so bassists: arrange basslines tastefully PLEASE!!!!!!

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

not too much you can do without getting surgical.

Not what I wanted to hear.

 

[beyond dead]

you can cut the track into 101010101010020394959045 bits and apply separate processing to each of the tracks, then bounce to a single track... that would work

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Use a pick and play near the bridge (or over the bridge pickup if you have one).

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

you can cut the track into 101010101010020394959045 bits and apply separate processing to each of the tracks, then bounce to a single track... that would work

Not what I wanted to hear.

Use a pick and play near the bridge (or over the bridge pickup if you have one).

Not what I wanted to hear.

 

[Ben Johnson]

"It's really all about the guitars"


Damn! Now THAT'S a bassist!

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Not what I wanted to hear.



Not what I wanted to hear.

Then practice practice practice!

 

[Ericlingus]

Maybe a compressor before the DAW would help a bit too. Billy Sheehan along with some other bassists use a ramp between their pickups that allows them to use the same amount of their finger if you know what I mean on every pluck.