Advice for crafting metal bass solos?

Falloffthebonetone

Falloffthebonetone

New member
The band I'm in goes into recording in the last 2 weeks in June and our guitarist just outright doesn't want to play solos for the songs except for maybe like 2 or 3.

Since we are currently a 3 piece and have no singer, this decision for him is pretty odd. That being said, after discussing it with the drummer, we decided to split it up. Some songs get guitar solos, some get drum solos and some get bass solos now. We like the idea, everyone gets a little bit to express themselves and a few songs would then just be compositions where nobody really "solos".

That being said, any advice for metal "lead bass playing" would be hugely appreciated. I'm not a huge fan of slap bass and I would like to avoid as many metal bass cliches as possible.
 
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Re: Advice for crafting metal bass solos?

You have enough time to definitely come up with some cool stuff.
Look into a Digitech Bass Whammy.
 
Re: Advice for crafting metal bass solos?

Also point an ear at The Sword's "Cloak of Feathers" bass solo.

I'm assuming your geetarist has a limited scalar vocabulary? I know that feeling; you can play the same solo 10 different ways live, but once it's on tape, it sounds like the same solo.

However, he also has time to expand his phrasing vocabulary with that limited range of scales, and phrasing is probably more important than the scale itself.

Still, bass and drum and "no" solos is also interesting, so long as the space the "no" solo is in is interesting. Maybe some sort of radio/telephone Twilight Zone/Bridge of Sighs monologue. Or just some stoner/moshpit chugging.
 
Re: Advice for crafting metal bass solos?

DrNewcenstein said:
Also point an ear at The Sword's "Cloak of Feathers" bass solo.

I'm assuming your geetarist has a limited scalar vocabulary? I know that feeling; you can play the same solo 10 different ways live, but once it's on tape, it sounds like the same solo.

However, he also has time to expand his phrasing vocabulary with that limited range of scales, and phrasing is probably more important than the scale itself.

Still, bass and drum and "no" solos is also interesting, so long as the space the "no" solo is in is interesting. Maybe some sort of radio/telephone Twilight Zone/Bridge of Sighs monologue. Or just some stoner/moshpit chugging.
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I WANT to say it's complicated but it's not even that. He's got this annoying perfectionist complex where he has this problem with completing things or letting things go. He's been working on these songs forever and is now just so ashamed and tired of them that he doesn't even want to release them or play them anymore. So he is completely unmotivated to rewrite his own solos or even practice the ones he already had for them out of fear he will be criticized, so he opts to leave them out now. Ironically I think he will be criticized MORE for taking this attitude in the first place.

He's good to have as a grindstone for songs because he will always notice a flaw to improve, but we always have to drag him to the finish line and getting anything done is really time consuming.

The album we are making is going to be a live full band recording, so we all have to play it as perfectly as possible because we won't be able to just punch in the parts individually or juice it with a lot of extra studio magic: it's going to be us, which is more cost effective and unique sounding, but also more risky. I think he is intimidated by this, we all kind of are.
 
Re: Advice for crafting metal bass solos?

Best advice for playing bass solos: don't. (The same applies to drum solos, FWIW.)
 
Re: Advice for crafting metal bass solos?

I had a band where the singer wanted to do all sorts of things in the studio that we had no way or reproducing live - Queen-style multi-timbral vocal harmonies, layering of this and that, sample loops of headtrip stuff, you name it. Didn't happen. Wasn't going to, either.

Definitely sounds like the guitarist has issues he needs to address. A live recording is the litmus test for anyone who thinks themselves a musician; if you can catch it on tape, you are. If not, you aren't.
 
Re: Advice for crafting metal bass solos?

DrNewcenstein said:
I had a band where the singer wanted to do all sorts of things in the studio that we had no way or reproducing live - Queen-style multi-timbral vocal harmonies, layering of this and that, sample loops of headtrip stuff, you name it. Didn't happen. Wasn't going to, either.

Definitely sounds like the guitarist has issues he needs to address. A live recording is the litmus test for anyone who thinks themselves a musician; if you can catch it on tape, you are. If not, you aren't.
Click to expand...

Yep, no doubt about it. He apparently needs to be the only guitarist in the band too, and he wants minimal work done to his recordings, so the OPPOSITE direction. Like he basically HATES anything done in the studio that he can't do live. So like guitar harmonies, tracking a rhythm part under a lead, etc... so he has thrown away things that sound DAMN good already because of that.

And I would be fine and dandy with that... if he would try harder to meet his own expectations, but he barely practices and blames his gear most of the time. He'd make a GREAT producer.
 
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Re: Advice for crafting metal bass solos?

This sounds like such an epic fail….I can't wait to hear it!

#1 Don't go record - you are not ready, neither is the guitar player.

#2 Get a new Guitar player. WTF? Or hire a gun to do it. Then find a new guitar guitar player.


Bottom line, your crap is not together.


As for Bass solos - infinite compression, delay, stereo with clean and distortion channels! Listen to Talas.
 
Re: Advice for crafting metal bass solos?

did you said metal bass solos? get them!, markus grosskopf is a genius on that, also d.d. verni

 
Re: Advice for crafting metal bass solos?

Aceman said:
This sounds like such an epic fail….I can't wait to hear it!

#1 Don't go record - you are not ready, neither is the guitar player.

#2 Get a new Guitar player. WTF? Or hire a gun to do it. Then find a new guitar guitar player.


Bottom line, your crap is not together.


As for Bass solos - infinite compression, delay, stereo with clean and distortion channels! Listen to Talas.
Click to expand...

When/if it is done I'll post it here then. I'm plenty ready to record, been playing these songs for about 2 years now and I still have 3 more months to practice. Not my first recording gig either, I'm usually really quick with it. It is the guitar player's band so it would just be me leaving instead of us getting a new guitar player, which I have considered and am totally fine with if this doesn't work out, but I'd rather get something out of it for the time and money we already put in, even if isn't anything to brag about.
 
Re: Advice for crafting metal bass solos?

I reserve the right to be wrong. Hopefully I am. That said - this just sounds bad in every which way. MAybe I'm just so old I have lost all perspective.
 
Re: Advice for crafting metal bass solos?

Aceman said:
I reserve the right to be wrong. Hopefully I am. That said - this just sounds bad in every which way. MAybe I'm just so old I have lost all perspective.
Click to expand...

Hey, your insight is never unappreciated. If anything it motivates me to be extra sure that I'll be ready when the time comes.
 
Re: Advice for crafting metal bass solos?

my best is get away from funk style bass solos, they sound cliche on metal, find a littel about jazz bass solos, also put hear to the band i just posted, use some technique to made your solo unique, tapping, picking, hitting the body of the bass to get a roar like sound, if you can throw a dis pedal when you play (guitar dist, some bass dist pedals doesn't sound quite right for soloing) and slap the strings muted (a very metallic sound wich can work as outro), also shredding on the bass just for hells sake is a nice idea since that is something so really uncommon
 
Re: Advice for crafting metal bass solos?

EDX said:
my best is get away from funk style bass solos, they sound cliche on metal, find a littel about jazz bass solos, also put hear to the band i just posted, use some technique to made your solo unique, tapping, picking, hitting the body of the bass to get a roar like sound, if you can throw a dis pedal when you play (guitar dist, some bass dist pedals doesn't sound quite right for soloing) and slap the strings muted (a very metallic sound wich can work as outro), also shredding on the bass just for hells sake is a nice idea since that is something so really uncommon
Click to expand...

I THINK I got the core of the structure down. I'm gonna try it with some dirt and the chorus/detune from the Bass Whammy to see how it sounds. I was planning on playing it an octave higher, but I like the sound of it lower, even if it is harder to play. I don't wanna saturate it too much to the point where it blurs notes together in the faster bits, but just enough to bring it out and color it a bit so it stands out. Chances are it won't change that much from what it is now but yeah, I'll take your advice about the effects when I try them out. Thanks!
 
Re: Advice for crafting metal bass solos?

unless you're going for the bass equivalent to dimebag (wich would be totally kickass) for bass soloing the effects and strange musical noises are more intro or outro thing...... at the end of the day what mades a good metal bass solo is originality, showing that bass solos aren't just funky slaped melodies


PD. yep those are basses, there is no one single guitar there, just 4 basses and the drums oh and the bass soloist
 
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