SteveXFR

I play in a stoner/sludge metal band. Getting gigs can be tricky so we'll play just with the hope someone might buy us a pint, preferably one each

I had exactly that and it's an awesome combination. I think I'd rather keep the distortion on a pedal board. My Darkglass B3K overdrive pedal has a huge range of sounds available and I don't see that range could be achieved with onboard distortion where you've not got all the knobs and switches.

If you can play funk, post punk and dub then you've got everything you need to play metal. Just hit the strings harder, crank up the gain and look angry

Where is my mind - Pixies

Did you not expect the death metal comparisons?

Well yes but my point is that very, very few people who aren't musicians will have any interest in it

If you're moving from guitar to bass, remember that space is good. Don't play bass like a guitar, just because you can fit in a note doesn't mean you should. Sometimes, a long sustained note on bass sounds so much better than a busy bass part.

Get yourself some basic skills. Learn some scales and arpeggios then get along to a local jam session. Don't worry about not being as good as the others, everyone will be encouraging and helpful. Be prepared to play outside your usual musical tastes. Have fun, join in and you'll learn a lot and meet people. I went to a jam session while learning, met a drummer and arranged to meet for a jam and a year later, we've just been booked to support a pretty important band within our favourite genre

It's music for musicians. Anyone who downloads this can identify the point at which Scott plays a flat four over a minor augmented 9 with sharp seventh and they know that tone is in the glove.

My thoughts on it are pretty much the things normal people would say about death metal. There's no space in it, it's too busy, it's just meaningless noise etc, etc Maybe if he played it on a BC Rich Mockingbird and wore corpse paint I'd get it.

Very clever an everything but I don't get it. I appreciate a lot of stuff that isn't to my taste but I don't get this at all.

May I recommend taking a look at the mumsnet forums. That's full of bored house wives looking for an argument with other bored house wives while complaining that their husband doesn't satisfy them and the favourite buzz toy is dead.

I'm in a metal bass group which used to be good but is now mostly church bass videos and religious posts. Their bass playing is very good but their use of major keys is unacceptable and Jesus doesn't love me.

Homey I shrunk the cops - Star F*****g Hipsters

Police Truck - Dead Kennedys

I want those for playing doom. My band mates will hate me

Next Monday it's Alcest at SWX in Bristol then on the Tuesday it's Cult Of Luna at Marble Factory in Bristol. Alcest play shoogazey post metal. All very atmospheric. Cult Of Luna is a wall of progressive metal, a super intense assault on the senses

If you want to play with others, have you tried going to local jam sessions? I met my current band mates at a local pop/blues jam and we ended up forming a stoner/doom metal band. None of us could jam very well but we could see that we could all play in time and talk rubbish

Play whatever works for you, don't worry about whether it's "valid" is that even a thing? I play drop A# and found I couldn't get decent string tension and clarity with a low tuned 4 string even with the low four from a five string set. I now play a multi scale five string and its so much nicer to play in A# and has much more clarity on the low string.

Marijuanaut - Sleep

I think it was their records up to black than are the reason they're so huge. Everything after that was good but not amazing and they've made some terrible choices in mixing. Master of Puppets and Ride The Lightning are both top class metal records.

In my opinion (others may have different/wrong opinions) the best grunge album. Mike Star's bass sounds amazing on every track

If it's still available when my p bass sells then I may very well buy it.

Overrated - Behringer Super fuzz clone. Sounds like fried butt holes on bass and guitar. Some people rave about these things. Underrated - Peavey International IV. Sounds great, plays great and cost £80 used Ashdown MAG300 combo. Really sounds great, cost £150 quid and loads of volume.