I know there are probably some other ones, but I can at the moment only think of one heavy metal drummer who played really well without double bass, and that would be Bill Ward. Granted I only have one Black Sabbath album (Paranoid), but from what I did hear he didn't use any or just very little if at all.

Food for thought.

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Nah, he had a big double bass kit later on - stuff like Children of the Grave has got triplet double bass most of the way through it.

Bonham had a double bass kit early on, but dropped it pretty soon and he was a big influence on many people - all his famous stuff is single bass-tastic.

Clive Burr from Iron Maiden only ever had one kick. I've never really liked Nicko's stuff - sorry.

On topic - I thought double bass wasn't important at all when I couldn't do it. Oddly enough, now I'm getting quite good it seems to find its way into every song of ours and I'm just starting to get brave enough to stick it in at stuff over 200bpm and trust myself to be able to pull it off every time.

Well, nearly every time.

Yeah, you definalty cannot be without doubles these days. Its pretty much essential.

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Unless your name is Jojo Mayer.

Jojo rules. I've seen this one clip of him showing people the heel/toe technique on a single pedal, and he was doing 16 note triplets and stuff. Really amazing.

Damn my big feet.

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I dont think that double bass can help out metal bands for there rythms, but yes of course double bass is an amazing rythmic instrument with a guitar, (for me)!

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yes... very important


yah JACKASS!

ooououoohou! tricks!!!

arent we pround of ourself!

Im sure your band thinks you're the key lyric and musical talent, and wouldn't ever get rid of you because you more talented than any of them.....


NOTTT

fucking die you fuck!


metal needs DB like we need a new president!

Stop triple posting. Use the edit button.

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Not essential. And Foreign objects do have a double bass pedal tranny.

Well, I'm pretty sure they do anyway, listen to far cry behind, sounds like the opening riff is backed by double bass to me, but i have shitty quality rip i could be wrong, but im pretty certian its double bass there....

essential for death, some black, thrash.


it took me about a year to get my double bassing powerfull and accurate at a fast tempo at extended times.

but you can always to blast beats, those are awsome

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I dunno what kind of music we play.... or to be more correct, have written and have yet to get together to learn how to play. We aren't trying to fit into a specific genre, although we'd like to be in the vein of I guess melo death, something like Dark Tranquility-ish music.

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Well in that case, it's nice to have but not needed at fast speeds. 140-175? I mean, look at At The Gates (Slaughter of The Soul, specifically.) that didn't have many fast double bass parts, but it was an amazing album. Their older stuff though (The Red In The Sky Is Ours) had faster pieces..I don't think you need it. It's only as needed as you let it and make it be.

id say double bass is pretty important in most metal, i noticed nu metal drummers never tended to use it exept in small bursts which could probably be done with a single pedal. but then nu metal is bollocks anyway. all the metal bands ive been in have used double bass, some more than others. go to www.myspace.com/thesufferingbru and see how much i use it. its not always needed but some parts really wouldnt sound good without it. as for getting good at it in a month, id say thats bollocks, ive had an electric kit to practice on pretty much since i started, the first band i was in bullied me to learn double bass and it took a good few months to keep at a good tempo 130 ish. after 5 years of it i can do 16ths at 200 but it dies out because i have become very unfit recently. it is all about practice. find some songs and sit and do double bass to them even if it isnt on the kit. overkill by motorhead. spheres of madness by decapitated are the best ones i can think of. i just sit and do it till i cant go anymore.

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since i last posted i have just snapped the kick on my electric kit, playing metal. look at the kick pad on a dtxpress the one for db pedals, i snapped where the join is turning the L shape into two peices, two 3" long welded metal strips destroyed. id say double bass is pretty important in metal

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i like double bass with blast beats a lot

I use to believe in only blasting with one foot, but damn using both really makes it sound fast.

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Probably my favorite metal drummer who does'nt use double bass a lot is Thomas Haake. Or at least it sounds to me like you could do a lot of his work on a single pedal. I'm not a drummer so I could be wrong.

I don't doubt for one moment that given a certain amount of talent and creativity, some great metal can be produced with only a single bass pedal... even today, as far as metal has been pushed. Sometimes less is more and we lose sight of the essential role that simplicity has in all musical compositions.

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