i am just wondering...how many of you guys like cliff burton? he's my idol i model my playing off of him, and i was just wondering....that's all....

Well, when I try a bass or new equipment, I always play the first part of "Pulling teeth", to the part where Ulrich starts off. I don't model my playing to anyone, I try to keep my own style, which is almost no technique, but feeling instead.

But I think he was one of the greatest metal bass players that ever lived. Rest in piece.

Cliff is one of my favorite bassists ever. He impressed me so much with his freewheeling style. Its really a shame that we lost two of my favorite musicians so young....Cliff and Randy Rhoads. RIP!

DEFINATLY my favorite bassist, and main influence. I just wish I could play half as good as he could.

Cliff Burton was an awsome bassist but if he hadn't of died I would be surprised if anyone thought he was a god at bass, they would just think hes great at bass.
Just watch, When Geezer Butler dies he will be praised and called a god. but no says that now.
Greats are never appreciated in their time.
well maybe hendrix.

WRONGO! I say that now.

Hes the guy that made me pick up a bass
I still find myself playing cliff riffs everytime i practice

what is your problem with cliff brewer9?

I think Clif is a better bass player then Jason by far!

both are good, but not "gods of bass"

Originally posted by cliffette_goddess_of_bass
what is your problem with cliff brewer9?

I have NO problem with Cliff. He was my idol (i saw him live back when Kill 'em All was a NEW album!). I was commenting about the previous post. If you go back and read the post right before my last one you'll see that someone said no one will recognize Gezzer Butler as a BASS GOD while he's still alive. To that i say "wrongo." Geezer is and always has been my BASS GOD. He's a Living Legend if there ever was one.

Does that explain it?

HEY HEY,
I'm not sayin i dont like geezer butler, I used to play lead guitar until I saw him in concert, I was sayin how mtv and vh1 and other music press or what not does not recognize greatness until its gone. Fans are the only people who see things for what they are.

It went like this; I got cliff em' all in the mail off of Ebay, popped it in, saw cliff playing the intro to bellz where he goes crazy with it, and I was like holy crap, I gotta start playing bass. A couple weeks later I got some gear and started up and now I plan to make a career of playing bass after high school. anyone that introduces me to an altertive to a 9 to 5 job in a cubicle is a god in my books. his style is something that can't even be understood without seeing him play live. every time I watch it I am just awestruck. Vic wooten may be able to slap faster than he could, but I really don't care about that at all, he was still amazing.

Cliff had a very sloppy techniqe as far as I see,

bass man... please explain by what sloppy means? he was a good bassist...and as far as i'm concerned he's a god in my book....

its really funny how an entire sting of posts can be based on misunderstanding the posts in before posting. i do it too so i'm not critisizing, but you hafta admit its funny.

Yeah, cliff was sloppy....so what. thats part of his style that i like. jimmy page was sloppy too and there's no way to pull him down from his legendary status. and remember, cliff was still very early on in his playing career. he only would have gotten better and better.

i agree with you brewer...i admire his playing...but cliff had been playing the bass for 10 years..he started out at the age of 14.... god knows that i have just stared out...and it'll take me one HELL of a long time to be good....

I've always liked Cliff Burton's basslines better than Jason Newsted's. Especially "Orion" and "Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth)".

i don't like newsted...i think he really screwed up some of the songs and bass lines in the symphony stuff...like bells....it's so tragic....i have nothining nice to say about newsted...

What kind of wah does Cliff Burton (the original bassist for Metallica) use on the song "Anesthesia, Pulling Teeth"? I know he uses some distortion too, but i have distortion that will work already.. PLEASE REPLY@!!!!!!!!! thanks, Evan

It was a Morley...

Without trying to sound like pro wrestler "The Rock", I tend to think it doesn't matter what brand of wah you use because unless you are using exactly Burton's same distortion, same bass, same strings, same set up, same amp and speakers, same rack effects, same compression, and so on...you won't sound exactly like Burton anyway.

More important than using his exact same equipment is playing "Anesthesia" in the way he did even if you do have minuscule variations from his tone. If you plan to play his solo in public, I really feel very few will notice slight differences in tone between a Vox and a Morley or other wah. And if you are just learning the solo for your own edification, it will matter even less if you have the same brand of wah he used.

"Anesthesia" is challenging. Coincidentally, I set out to learn that years ago myself. I got bogged down in a hurry, because it really was a slow going bar-by-bar experience and I was just a beginner, so it soon became clear I had bitten off more than I could chew. I hope you have a far better experience than I had. If you do master the entire peice, you will learn a lot of tricks you can put to use in original solos of your own. Maybe you can even be the next Cliff Burton. I'll tell everybody I knew you when you were just starting. :-}

Jason Oldsted

i recommend a dunlop crybaby. Just my opinion. It has a nice bite to it.

Jason(LOVE THE NAME!!!), i have only been playing for about a year, a little less, but i have already gotten about half of the song(i'm only doing the cool parts, not anything after the drums enter..) When i first heard it, i was like i gotta play this .. it took about a week for me to get the feel of the speed and playin high frets with my hand all squished against the body(i play a p-bass which only has 21 frets..) i kinda stopped playing a little while back but i got a processor with distortion and i was wondering how he got the sound without sounding like Jason does on his solo on the Live Sh*t CD.. so does he just use more distortion than Jason does or a different wah, or, just like you said, his rack and amps and setup..????? Thanks for Posting..
Evan

Well, acording to "Encylopedia Metallica" Jason Newsted uses a big muff and a morley wah, and Cliff just uses a morley wah! so I'm guessing he was just overdriving his Mesa Amp. Cliff was aparently influenced by Lemmy and "the way he got distortion." :)

Cliff Burton was God at bass as far as I was concerned UNTIL I began listening to Dream Theater. Dream Theater then replaced Metallica as my favorite band, and John Myung replaced Burton as my favorite bassist. One of the reasons for this is that Burton only had 2 or 3 definitive basslines: Anesthesia, Orion, and a couple others. However, Myung has a definitive basslines in. just about ever song he plays in. Also, Myung is technically superior to Burton. Just listen to the bass solo in the song "The Dance of Eternity." However, I'm sure by today, if Cliff was still alive he could be as good and possibly better than Myung, and Metallica could still be the greatest metal band there ever was.

Stop this idolizing of a dead thrash bassist!
Yes he was good, yes he inspired a lot people. But for gods sake he wasn't Jaco or anything... Jason does his job good enough and I don't see any reason compering the two. Jason has proven very versitile... I'm sure he could play any style if he wanted to.
I've been a big fan of metallica since 198...? And I think "and justice for all..." is the best album, followed by "master of puppets" and "the black album". I had "Kill em all", but I recently sold it since I didn't find a single reason to keep it. I still have the cliff em all video though.

"And Justice For All" had some good songs on it, but hardly any bass in the mix (just a bit on the title track and on "One").
Lars should stop worrying about Napster and do a remixed and remastered version of that album- as Metallica's songwriting seems to have really gone downhill lately.

ps. re. Burton, in addition to Orion and Anaesthesia/Pulling Teeth I really like what he did in "The Four Horsemen" too.

[Edited by The Mock Turtle Regulator on 12-28-2000 at 09:14 PM]

I need to know if anyone knows where I can get some cool Cliff Burton merchandise. I've tryed ebay, but the prices are too high and there aren't very many items. I love Cliff, and need some memorbilia of him. Can some help?

I know cliff used a 4-string Rickenbacker, but can any one tell me the model number? thanx

~Jeremy~

I'm pretty sure it was a 4001 Rickenbacker. Later he used and Aria Pro II bass an Integra model I think.

I know Newsted played with a pick, but i'm not sure if Burton did. I was looking at the tabs to Orion and.....jeez!! That looks rough to play with your fingers!!!

As far as I know Cliff never used a pick.

yeah! he´s pure finger power!

that´s why he was so cool...while most metal bassist played with pick (and sucked).

and also his headbanging style... man, i don´t know how his head stayed glued to his body.

Orion really aint that bad too play, and the day after alot of gigs Cliff would complain to his parents that his neck hurt, (VH1 Behind the music)....


...Cliff definately uses his fingers... Check out the "Cliff 'Em All" video...

Yes, they are correct, all fingers.

Orion will be easy for you in no time I bet. :)

Yeah, battery looked almost impossible to play with your fingers, so I guess orion isn't THAT difficult.

Originally posted by Stealthco4545
I know Newsted played with a pick, but i'm not sure if Burton did. I was looking at the tabs to Orion and.....jeez!! That looks rough to play with your fingers!!!
If you think Orion is bad, what about Whiplash or Damage, Inc. ?

He ALWAYS played fingerstyle. go buy Cliff 'Em All. The second song they play is Damage, Inc. (or 3rd song). It's sick. I can almost do it right now. Orion is easy on your fingers.

Anathesia (Pulling Teeth) is a nightmare even for me who uses a pick. But then again its all a matter of practice and sticking with it. Burton didn't wake up one morning and could play bass. Only Lars woke up one morning and played drums, and it shows. :D

Merls

i personally think that cliff burton was the Best bassist of all time. What do Ya think?????

i take it you're a hardcore metallica fan, man?
nah, don't agree .. he was pretty cool, tho, there wasn't really much room for him to show what he could really do seeing as ol' metallica is predominantly a guitar band ..

How can you say someone is the best of all time when you don't know the future? :D

I thought yesterday was April 1st?

i'm a huge Cliff fan. he revolutionized how people in that genre viewed the role of the bass. Cliff is definately "one of the greatest" but no, he's not "the" greatest.

I love Cliff to death.. but he's not the best =) Sure he was a great player introducing more things into rock/metal bass, but he only did that style. To be the best, you have to do the rest. hehe

RIP

I get what your all sayin and i agree. Cliff is my personal favourite though!

You might be wondering "what morley wah did he use?" Cliff used a Morley power wah boost pedal. They are hard to find since they dont make them anymore. I got one off of ebay, but it hasn't come in yet. Anyways, Thats what I'd look for. Thats all I know. By the way what do they mean when they say "overdriving his amp?"

email me with the answer at: bass_player_cd@yahoo.com(i wont check the post)

thanks

i use a big muff pi distortion it provides the right sound (cuz its what he used) but the wah he used was a morley power wah i think i have a cry baby and dosnt get a good sound for doing that songs cuz it give you more of a shaft theme song sound than that big wah that you need for pulling teeth

For my music performance class, I used a dunlop cry baby, and a boss metal zone. But i had the distortion at a low level otherwise it sounds messy

hate ta be the party pooper, but shouldnt this be in effects?

don't get a bass wah! hehe

I've been trying for ages to figure out what sort of wah setup works anything from morley to boss metal zone and everything in between and I think it just comes down to the way he played the bass because I think he was just that fukin good it diddn't really matter what he used so don't worry if you can't get it just right persistance is the key

Ok, I'm not a big metal fan, so I never felt the need to do any research on this guy. My question is: Why is he so revered? Also, how did he die?

Will

He wrote very interesting basslines to metal songs when most people thought metal bassists should emulate the "low" knob on a metal guitarists amp. -He fell out of a bus window when it crashed and then the bus fell on him.

Cliff was a genius. Check out some of Metallica's earlier stuff and some of Cliff's works, especially "Anesthesia" off of Kill 'Em All and "Orion" off of Master of Puppets. Cliff had a lot of influence on Metallica, teaching the guys about theory and song structure and that the bass deserves to be more than a mirror of the guitar parts. Check out some live footage of him if you can, I would recommend the video "Cliff 'Em All."

Cliff Burton
February 10, 1962 - September 26, 1986

He also wrote very cool songs in uncommon meters, keys, and with many classical tinges.

Originally posted by Hategear
Cliff was a genius. Check out some of Metallica's earlier stuff and some of Cliff's works, especially "Anesthesia" off of Kill 'Em All and "Orion" off of Master of Puppets. Cliff had a lot of influence on Metallica, teaching the guys about theory and song structure and that the bass deserves to be more than a mirror of the guitar parts. Check out some live footage of him if you can, I would recommend the video "Cliff 'Em All."

Cliff Burton
February 10, 1962 - September 26, 1986

"Cliff 'Em All" is alot of home footage, but when there are sections focused on Cliff playing, your eyes may bug out trying to watch him play. I try it with the sheet music at hand. Wild stuff.

Did he play with a pick or his fingers?

fingers exclusively :D

where can ya buy Cliff 'em All?

Originally posted by spyde223
where can ya buy Cliff 'em All?
Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search/002-0349856-8231256?mode=blended&keyword=cliff+%27em+all&tag=blisshead-20&Go.x=4&Go.y=15

Cliff Burton was doin things on bass that people never thought of doing like guitar-solo sounding bass solos. Also check out Ride the lighting on that labum listen to the song call of Ktulu theres a bass solo in there you have to listen carefully its under distortion and wah

ya mentioned he used his fingers only. did he just walk it or use all five of his fingers. also did he use tap?

Another fact about the death of Burton: When the crane was picking up the bus off of Burton, the crane lost its grip and it fell on him again.

That was the crew, not a crane. Where would they get a crane in the middle of nowhere on a backroad in the middle of the night in winter? Hhhmmm.

Originally posted by spyde223
ya mentioned he used his fingers only. did he just walk it or use all five of his fingers. also did he use tap?
He used index, middle and ring. He did some tapping too.

what song is the best example of his bass playing abilities (besides anesthesia)?

The solo in Call of ktulu(even though it's difficult to hear) or the orion solo.

Kinda a fun little song to do but it was to easy i thought Maybe he could have used a little more of the scales in there he left out! But still a fun little song to play! I teach kids that song when they get good enough,about 2 years or so so they can tell for sure if they are tuned correct because if your not it sounds horrible!

Damn I wish he was still alive!!!!!!! I was just listening to Master Of Puppets, and Cliff is the greatest songwriter of ALL time, I cant wait for the next album to come out. CLIFF RULES!!!!!!

Sigh...

Moved to Bassists.

Will

cliff
god rest his almight soul
*wipes a tear away from eye*
god love him

Dude, We all miss Cliff.
I have a mini- shrine deicated to him in my room.

ohhhh i feel your pain brotha!
A MEN TO THAT!
hehe

I miss Cliff too, i miss Chirs Farley and Phil Hartmen as well.

Cliff was,is,and will allways be an inspiaration to all bassists.The Master of Solos,Cliff made me want to play bass,as he did with so many others today.The world needs another bassist that can revolutionize rock bass playing like he and John Paul Jones did.the closest I have seen to him is probably Jason Newsted,Robert DeLeo and Flea.I mourn the loss of Cliff,and I think Sept.27th should be a national day of mourning for bassists all over the world.I really feel that he could have been even better had Metallica not held him back.Metallica has a thing about being completes jackasses to their bassists.I'd like to take a moment to say,**** YOU LARS ULRICH!!!!!!!!!You are a disgrace to drummers and people that look like monkies everywhere.I almost agree with their side of the Napster issue.ALMOST!!!If Lars hadn't have went about it in his gay-assed little way,Metallica might still have a high number of fans.Oh well!!!!Rest in Peace Cliff,and congratulations to Jason for getting out of there before his mind could be rotted by Lars and co.

hey man what have u got against lars? i mean if it werent for him jaymz wouldnt be anywhere
no-one would have replied to that add her put in the local paper. and god getting rid of napster is the smart thing to do. they should keep napster but only give out samples of song
but hey this poll aint against napster its about cliff
god rest his mighty soul
so lets put this napster $h!t behind us and get on with mourning cliff

Cliff's not the kind of guy that would let someone hold him back.

Getting rid of napster accomplished absolutely nothing. If you can't find the songs your looking for on napster, try one of the numerous other services like www.audiogalaxy.com for instance. All metallica accomplished is alienating many of their fans.

Metallica hasn't been a good band since and justice for all.

Well that's your opinion and you're entitled to it. But mine is that they've been better. And I think that getting rid of napster accomplished much. More and more people, I'm not saying everyone, would stop buying cd's and just download and get mp3 players and burn cd's. Music as a career would start to go downhill. Many wouldn't even make cd's. Napster was a good idea when it comes to bootlegs but the studio cd's was wrong. But, not to get off topic in a thread about cliff, let me go now and listen to orion.

There's and anti-Metallica sight that i saw and the guy who made it actually had the nerve to say that Cliff sucked :mad: What the hell is this guy talking about!

hey lazy can u find out this web site so i can go and email the webmaster of it a virus. jk jk

People that make sites like that are really bored and have no life. so theres a band you dont like. so be it. let it go. whats the point of making a web site like that. it aint gonna bring metallica down coz they rule.

i just thought u might of liked to hear what i had to say about sites like that

yeah but lets not get sidtracked from the forum subject here shall we.
cliff ruled and still does and i think he is looking down at us from that big music store in the sky and i think he would be very proud of where metallica are today
cya

kirby, I agree, Cliff is looking down upon us from that big music store up in the clouds, and even though I'm kinda young, I love Metallica's old stuff, and I think its some the best music I've ever heard, next to the Matthew Good Band. But don't get me wrong, the new stuff, though not as good, still is awesome, and Metallica will always be the gods of hard rock, with or without Cliff Burton, God rest his soul.

young?
im 14

metallica is universal, age does not matter

yeah sorry i dunno why i said that

Man, that's not cool. Those are pretty harsh words playing his tragic death off as nothing, and in that it seems to me you somehow deem to invalidate his life and his astounding influence on the musical world as we know it.


Edited for disrepsectful content. Tsk tsk.

Hey terms bassist! I agree that we should stop mourning Cliff, but to say he was a legend just because he died was cold. You need to watch Cliff 'Em All. He's a legend for a reason. And as for Brian Marshall of Creed...don't ever,EVER say that again. He's absolutely nothing special and should never be mentioned in the same paragraph as the full name of Cliff.
See? New paragraph. All hail Cliff Burton.

does anybody no if Cliff Burton played wid the pick or fingers cos i am learning that Anethesia song on Kill 'Em All

cheers all

Hexanity

fingies.

i could be wrong but i think he played exclusively with his fangers

He did indeed play exclusively with his fingers.

cheers u guys
that helps :)

With his 3 fingers: index, middle, ring.

anyone know why he never used the "pinky" finger?

is like he never wanted the pinky to at least touch a string... looks pretty weird when playing...

hmmm dunno

i do that 2 sometimes


my finger just does it :confused:

Gawd I miss Cliff. He was definately a three finger guy. You're gonna need a Morley Wah too to do that.

cheers

but im only doing the first half until the drums cos its 4 the skool talent quest and i dont wanna drummer cos if i win i'll have 2 share the prize money :p

any way i am adding a few different little tunes after it to make it longer and give me a better chance :D

I never saw him use 3 fingers, I don't know what you're talking about. I watched Cliff 'Em All a bunch of times and he only uses his good ol' index and middle fingers.

I only ever saw Cliff play with his first two fingers, although Steve Harris of Iron Maiden, one of Cliff's biggest influneces played with 3.

I think the reason he let his pinky stick out was to get it out of the way. I sometimes do it too. Sometimes it's really uncomfortable to "tuck" it into one's palm.

I did say "definately" a three finger guy, but what i really meant was "maybe" a three finger guy (I always get those confused (yes or no? up or down? its all the same).

just kidding. But I do admire Cliff's playing immensely. I saw them play at a small club in CT just after Kill em all was released. Great album, but i like RTL better.

he played "Metal Militia", "Fight fire with fire" and "Disposable Heroes" with just 2 fingers? :eek:

I can't play them with less than 3.

I can't play with 3 fingers at all. My ring finger moves when my middle does, and its not very strong.

I'm no faster with three than with 2, but that's just me.

It doesn't sound like he played his really fast lines with three, there were no triplets, and in my Metallica bass book it says of "Damage Inc."..."always remember to play 16th note lines with alternating strokes of your first and second fingers..."

Go figure.

That said, I play most of his stuff with a pick. :o :D

i have a question.....

i`m not a mettalica fan but i cant get a bass line out of my head.....whats the name of the song that has "...off to never never land" in it?

its driving me nuts.....if i can find that out then i can find the tab and learn it properly thx
(i know this post is dumb but i`m DESPERATE!:D )

Bggeezer -

"Enter Sandman" is the one you want.

Try:

Intro/ Verse

E -0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-1---------

Pre-Verse

E -0-0-6-5-5-0--0-0-6-5-5-0--0-0-6-5-5-0---2-0-2-0-2-3-0

or just click "tabs" at the top if this page. ;)

PS: remember to use a pick.

thx purple you saved my sanity;)

I would just like to make this post to honor the Great Cliff Burton...today marks 15 years since the fatal bus accident...RIP Cliff

Ditto.

Yes!

May he Rest in eternal Peace!

yea
Cliff u rock

may one of the best bassist RIP

its a shame he had to die, he was a promising bassist

I wish I could hear what he'd play today. :(:(

Yeah man. Cliff Burton was a phenominal bassist in the metal/rock world. 'Master of Puppets' was his last, and ironically the first, Metallica album where you could REALLY hear the bass and appreciate everything that he was doing. He was great at creating lines that didn't exactly double the rhythm guitar part, but didn't seem too busy or 'out there' for the song.

I agree, I would love to have seen Metallica grow with Cliff. I was really shocked when he was killed, MoP was the pinnacle of my interest in Metallica.

I know it sounds cliche and played out, but the band was never the same for me after MoP. The black album was the last one I bought. :(

Cliff Burton is one of the main, if not THE main, reason I picked up the bass. When Cliff played "Anaesthesia," it sounded like he was doing things to the bass that weren't supposed to be done, and he made the bass sound damn good doing it!

RIP

Cliff was who inspired me to learn the bass.
Listening to him playing Anesthesia it was as if he was kicking the bass guitar right in the ass, like Hendrix did at woodstock with his guitar

I often wonder where Metallica would be today if it Cliff was still there, cause I really think he was only starting to scratch the surface of his career with Master of Puppets, much like Randy Rhoads was when he died

RIP

sitting here listeing to pulling teeth kinda brings a tear to your eye
call me a pansy or whatever you will but he was one of the best bassist ever to grace gods green earth
im sure he is looking down at us from the big music shop in the sky


RIP
Cliff Burton
here are a few memorial web sites
#1 (http://www.lut.fi/~mega/muzac/burton.html)
#2 (http://members.aol.com/EvilCarlos/carlos.html)

RIP Cliff
kirby

To me, Metallica was over when Cliff died

*does "rock on" sign with hand* He's the reason I picked up a bass in the first place.

besides a ric,what did cliff burton play? what was the one with the huge head?

The only other bass I've seen him play is his black Aria Pro II.

What do you guys think of Cliff Burton ?

I think he was a very special talent... a very good bass player ...

i think i'm his reincarnation but that's just me. do a search on the topic it's been done before

I think his tragic death made him more legendary than his playing would have done.
He was a good player, but not that extraordinary.

I was a huge metal head but have now since "grown up" I guess. Back in 1990 I considered him a really good bassist, why? HE USED HIS FINGERS!!!!!

Now a days I no longer listen to metal so...maybe I am tainted

He was good, but not great by any means. He's really overrated with the tabcrawler crowd.

I'm going to leave this open, because we haven't had a thread in at least 2 days. Knowing the nature of some of those who'll likely contribute, I'm going to keep my eye on it.

Cliff Burton? ... ~yawn~ ;)

I like Cliff, I think he's fun too listen to. not the best bassplayer to ever walk the planet, but since when are we all in a contest?

I like Cliff, but like has been said, he was by no means extraordinary. Had he not died, I don't think he would be any more popular than Jason Newstead. (not that Jason Newstead is highly popular or anything.) He was talented and I think his lines are fun to play, but its nothing thats gonna get a standing ovation.

cliff was the first bassist to ever influence me greatly so to this day he is still my favorite bassist now ill agree he was not by any means the greatest ever or even a contender but for what he did he did it great i personally think he was better than newstead and made some great songs with metallica back in the day

OMG cliff played with his fingers?!?!?!?!?!? I seriously never knew that.

(voice of god on)

WELL NOW YOU KNOW!

(voice of god off)

I think Cliff Burton was one of the greatest bass players of our time. Sure he didnt do all of the fancy things that other bass players do, but he made great music no matter how easy it is to play. And I still think anesthesia is the best bass solo i ever heard after all the years.
:cool:

ive heard a few solos of him and there awesome.on behind the music for metallica it shows him solo,quite impressive none the least.

I think Cliff Burton was a decent bass player. My main gripe is his bass was never mixed well and got lost with Hetfield's wall of guitars sound. As far as his bass solos, I actually like the solo he did on the beginning of Orion better than Ansthesia.

In my mind the best thing about Burton was his visual appeal. Here was a total hippie looking guy with bell bottom jeans who could care less what everyone thought.:cool: I liked his attitude.

I still don't understand the appeal of Anesthesia...it's just a bunch of triads! The rest is just a bunch of semi-fast playing masked under effects. Not very impressive at ALL. Rather boring if you ask me.

i was able to figure out anesthia by ear. not trying to pat myself on the back or anything but it wasn't even that hard.

Everyone's a critic.

Is it becoming trendy to bash Cliff Burton? I never thought I'd see this bandwagon, Oh well. I really enjoyed Cliff's playing and would have loved to see where he went with it, in light of how young he was when he died.

Eh.. he was OK, nothing special. Though considering what is band is like these days, maybe he was the only cool one.
Jim

it has to be said, that kill em all is ht best metallica album for bass, and 'and justics for all' would be much cooler if it had bass

and yeah, people get way more credit than they should whne they die

I think he's a bit over-rated

Cliff Burton did what IMHO every bass player should aspire to do, that is play within the context of the song, and Cliff rather than just plod along or walk all over the place with his lines created texture and feel to a lot of the stuff he played on, "call of ktulu" and "Orion" being two outstanding examples, his use of distortion and Wah came into this a lot for emphasising certain parts.

This is my opinion, I think it is valid and therefore requires no comment.

But just to say that "I think he is overated" doesn't really cut the ice.

At least give some thought to justifying yourself rather than thinking "Oh, I don't like metallica (past or present) so he cant be that good"

All I see on this thread is a bunch of technical players who have no idea how to LISTEN to a piece of music, and hear its nuances and feel it's textures, quite sad really

My rant over i'm going to find a flame safe place.
:(

Nobody said he sucked. Nobody said he wasn't good. They just said he was overrated. Don't read into it too much.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

Yes, Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

However, everyone should be able to question that opinion and at least justify it. Yeah ok, this isn't really an over serious matter. at least everyone is going give a different answer to the initial question, but surely the reasoning behind such judgements is what provides everyone with the mental stimulation to question their own judgement and maybe improve upon or reform their own.

And in that way everyone benefits from each and every opinion.

I thought I made that clear, sorry.

;)

karaken, with respect to justifing your own opinions, do you think that when people die (i.e. cvliff burton) they become more idolised and respected than they might have been if they had stayed alive?

Yes people to a certain extent do become more idolised when they die, my reasoning for saying this tends to lean towards the Human preoccupation with death, even more so when it it under tragic circumstances (ie. Cliff), People tend to feel that maybe there was something there that they should have been more tuned into. and so use their grief to over exaggerate their opinions.

Yes to an extent this does contradict my previous opinion about Cliff's playing, However I Will stand by my previous analysis as I feel I tried to keep the traumatic circumstances aside from my summary of his playing style, regardless of how inadequate my words are to describe it.

;)

Next

Which only helps bring me back to my initial statement: I think his playing is truly overrated.

So Angus to justify your statement you would say that he's overated as a result of being dead, you wouldn't even consider entering into discussion about his technique, just write it off, because it takes less effort to think about and an easier option is available?
;)

ah, a man vehemently against people taking the easy way out, not thinking, like watching t.v. right?
most people do take the easy way out, thats because they can and dont get hassle about it.
the guy has nice technique and manages to get his bass playing noticed against the superb guitar skills of hammet and the other dude

Originally posted by Kraken
So Angus to justify your statement you would say that he's overated as a result of being dead, you wouldn't even consider entering into discussion about his technique, just write it off, because it takes less effort to think about and an easier option is available?
;)

Interestingly enough, I mentioned nothing about his death. But thank you for chosing to speak for me. ;)

Technique doesn't make a player. Of all the stuff I've heard with him on it, it's good, but not great. He's most certainly not any "god". Anesthesia, for example, is a B grade solo. It's fine, but nothing special whatsoever. Like I said, I think he's overrated. That doesn't mean "sucks".

Now, if you feel the need to try to be insulting to me, or anyone, because they disagree with you, PM me privately, and we'll work it out for you. Don't let me see you do it here, this place is about having a positive discussion atmosphere.

I thought his point was valid. It seems that often times people enter into these debates with statements like, "he sucks," or "he's over-rated" and leave it at that. If anything that's only going to stoke the fire and give the impression that you are taking "the easy option." My feeling is any statement like that should be backed up with some sort of an explanation as to why you feel that way.;)

Originally posted by Bassin'
I thought his point was valid. It seems that often times people enter into these debates with statements like, "he sucks," or "he's over-rated" and leave it at that. If anything that's only going to stoke the fire and give the impression that you are taking "the easy option." My feeling is any statement like that should be backed up with some sort of an explanation as to why you feel that way.;)
perhaps Angus felt the need to be sparingly pointy in his initial replies is because this exact same topic has come up numerous times in the past and always ends in tears. there is not one thread involving Cliff that hasn't ended in the pro'ers and con'ers of the guy dousing each other with gasoline and striking matches :p

you wanna read a few detailed explanations about why some people think Burton sucks huge pulsating male reproductive organ? do a search - there you go. stop ****ing whining, because i'm sure a lot of us can't be bothered writing out the same goddamn thing every time this stuff comes up.

Originally posted by *ToNeS*

perhaps Angus felt the need to be sparingly pointy in his initial replies is because this exact same topic has come up numerous times in the past and always ends in tears. there is not one thread involving Cliff that hasn't ended in the pro'ers and con'ers of the guy dousing each other with gasoline and striking matches :p

you wanna read a few detailed explanations about why some people think Burton sucks huge pulsating male reproductive organ? do a search - there you go. stop ****ing whining, because i'm sure a lot of us can't be bothered writing out the same goddamn thing every time this stuff comes up.

Well it's nice to know that although "some of you can't be bothered writing out the same expletive thing every time this stuff comes up," you were somehow able to make the time to come up with this profanity laced, yet insightful and, ultimately, informative reply... Thanks! ;) :rolleyes:

A couple thoughts here:

-If this topic has come up numerous times before then why hasn't a moderator bothered to close this one??

-If you can't be bothered to elaborate and explain why you've arrived at your opinion, why bother posting an opinion at all?? Seems like you might save more time in the long run.

I actually know this topic has come up before but it doesn't change my opinion that making statements like "he's overated" and leaving it at that gives the appearance of taking the easy option and only stokes the fire.

But, then again, maybe I'm just a whiner!;) :p

The irony here is that, although I think Cliff Burton was a decent bassist, I do believe his death has created a certain reverence that wouldn't have been there otherwise. Because of that I agree he is somewhat overrated.:) ;)

Originally posted by Bassin'


Well it's nice to know that although "some of you can't be bothered writing out the same expletive thing every time this stuff comes up," you were somehow able to make the time to come up with this profanity laced, yet insightful and, ultimately, informative reply... Thanks! ;) :rolleyes:

i'm australian. i'll **** in your open mouth if it'll get my point across.

A couple thoughts here:

-If this topic has come up numerous times before then why hasn't a moderator bothered to close this one??

well, Angy did say we hadn't had one like this for a while, so i'd just put it down to an itchy trigger-finger on his part :D

-If you can't be bothered to elaborate and explain why you've arrived at your opinion, why bother posting an opinion at all?? Seems like you might save more time in the long run.

i can't speak for everyone, but you'll notice that i hadn't posted until now - and rarely do on this subject, because Burton isn't really a player that i'm into. i guess some people just like to provoke the inevitable. i just like to watch :eek:

I actually know this topic has come up before but it doesn't change my opinion that making statements like "he's overated" and leaving it at that gives the appearance of taking the easy option and only stokes the fire.

But, then again, maybe I'm just a whiner!
hey, maybe you are? :D

Originally posted by *ToNeS*

i'm australian. i'll **** in your open mouth if it'll get my point across.

So it's an Australian thing? Hadn't heard of that before. ;)

well, Angy did say we hadn't had one like this for a while, so i'd just put it down to an itchy trigger-finger on his part:D
Actually, wouldn't the itchy trigger-finger be more on your part?

i can't speak for everyone, but you'll notice that i hadn't posted until now - and rarely do on this subject, because Burton isn't really a player that i'm into. i guess some people just like to provoke the inevitable. i just like to watch:eek:

Really, the only reason I posted anything further was because I couldn't see where Kraken was insulting or out of line. I often times see brief posts that read more lack a slam than a reasonable opinion and I understand why he might be frustrated.


hey, maybe you are? :D
Oh yeah!!:mad: Well....yeah, maybe your right there.

I think Burton was the driving force behind what Metallica was.

Bassin, Karken wasn't out of line...yet. But he had a rude-toned (internet...:rolleyes: ) sarcasm that often leads to the fighting. I'm just giving a general warning because CB threads always end up closed.

BTW, I've closed about 2-3 CB threads in the last couple of weeks, which is why I finally left this one open. Normally there would be a huge discussion on it, but people are tired of it because it's been done over and over. And over. And over. Get the point?

((( I know I'm going to sound biased because of my name, but know this : MetallicA and MegadetH are my favourite bands, but Cliff Burton and David Ellefson aren't my favourite bassists. I just picked that username cause it sounded so cool!!! )))

Many TB members:
"Cliff Burton? He's not as good as Jaco, so he sucks!"
"Geddy Lee? He's not as good as Jaco, so he sucks!"
"Geezer Butler? He's not as good as Jaco, so he sucks!"

Not to sound cold, but this is the attitude that too many people around here have.

Personally, I think that Cliff was quite a good bassist, but I I believe that he was a better SONGWRITER than he was a bassist. Most of Metallica's best songs are amazingly put together, even though they aren't very technically challenging. Still, it was Burton's love of classical arrangements that made Ride The Lightning and Master of Puppets Metallica's best albums.

Any talkbass members who can compose a song as good as Fade To Black, please speak up...

(*silence*)


Remember, this is just my opinion, but i think i have a good point

Originally posted by progplayer


Now a days I no longer listen to metal so...maybe I am tainted

HETHEN!!!

:p

:D:D

Merls

Originally posted by MetallicadetH

Many TB members:
"Cliff Burton? He's not as good as Jaco, so he sucks!"
"Geddy Lee? He's not as good as Jaco, so he sucks!"
"Geezer Butler? He's not as good as Jaco, so he sucks!"


Funny, I haven't read that anywhere.

Originally posted by MetallicadetH

Many TB members:
"Cliff Burton? He's not as good as Jaco, so he sucks!"
"Geddy Lee? He's not as good as Jaco, so he sucks!"
"Geezer Butler? He's not as good as Jaco, so he sucks!"

Not to sound cold, but this is the attitude that too many people around here have.

that is completely ridiculous. i've never seen anyone on here hold Jaco up as the be-all and end-all of what an electric bassist can accomplish.
point me to a thread where this has gone down.

I like the fact that MetallicadetH pointed out that he was a good songwriter. because isn't that what it's all about THE SONGS. if you like the songs, listen to them, if you don't like the songs, don't listen to them.

and like I said before, since when are we all in a contest? why does someone have to be "better" than someone?

we're talking about artistic expression, there is no "better" in that. do you look at a Piccasso, and say Michalanglo is better? or, Michalanglo is over-rated? no, you like it or you don't, then you move on. the only thing I can think of, that would be in the proper context to judge art would be, if they were trying to make a representation of something. for e.g. if they were painting an apple and one guys looked just like a real apple, and one guys looked like a red blob on the canvas, then you could say one is better.

the bottom line is, you either enjoy listening to Cliff or you don't. me, ...I do.

skill wise, burton isnt as good as jaco but i know i'd rather listen to kill em all for the pleasure than the jeez i need to go practice syndrome

WELL CLIFF BURTON WAS DEFINATLY A STANDOUT IN THE THRASH/METAL SCENE AND I THINK DREW A LOT OF ATTENTION TO METALLICA, HE WAS A VERY GOOD BASS PLAY ONE OGF THE FEW METAL BASSISTS OF THAT TIME THAT COULD ACTUALLY PLAY THE BASS AND YOU COULD HEAR IT
ITS A SHAME TO SEE WHAT METALLICA GREW INTO THEY ARE HORRIBLE AND HAVE BEEN FOR MANY YEARS NOW

STOP YELLING PLEASE.

STOP YELLING PLEASE.

Originally posted by SMEGandtheHEADS
WELL CLIFF BURTON WAS DEFINATLY A STANDOUT IN THE THRASH/METAL SCENE AND I THINK DREW A LOT OF ATTENTION TO METALLICA, HE WAS A VERY GOOD BASS PLAY ONE OGF THE FEW METAL BASSISTS OF THAT TIME THAT COULD ACTUALLY PLAY THE BASS AND YOU COULD HEAR IT
ITS A SHAME TO SEE WHAT METALLICA GREW INTO THEY ARE HORRIBLE AND HAVE BEEN FOR MANY YEARS NOW

*turns speaker volume down*

[QUOTE]Originally posted by MetallicadetH
Many TB members:
"Cliff Burton? He's not as good as Jaco, so he sucks!"
"Geddy Lee? He's not as good as Jaco, so he sucks!"
"Geezer Butler? He's not as good as Jaco, so he sucks!"

Not to sound cold, but this is the attitude that too many people around here have.

Granted Jaco is a well respected bassist around here by many, but I have never seen anyone in all my time here (over a year) say anything like that.

Any talkbass members who can compose a song as good as Fade To Black, please speak up...

(*silence*)


Ya know what, I think I can compose a song as good as Fade to Black. Might take me a little bit of time, but i can do it. I think it's even safe to say the Pacman and JT could write something much better than fade to black.


Remember what you think is good others may think is crap.

is it just me or am i the only one who thinks cliff burton the old bassist from metallica is a genius when it comes to bass playin.

Nah, he's a genius.

Im with you guys.

Originally posted by ironman5766
Nah, he's a genius.

He was a genius!

he influences my playing more than anybody
ive always wanted to be like cliff
hes the reason i picked up a bass.. =D
he was my hero though.. not just because of his bass playing but on his outlook on life.. he had this everything happens for a reason attitude going on..
I think he was a musical mastermind though.
Im now pumping out classical lines with buttloads of fuzz with lots of bottem end and shreaking wah pedalness =D hehe I put a flanger ,distortion and wah on my P bass and ran it through my dads leslie amp... wooohooo!
ill record it sometime

yes alot of people think that. you can most likely read all of their views by going to the other trillion threads about cliff. most of these will be found in "Bassists"

try doing a search, or better yet try looking at what forum youre in....

edit-sorry im being an a-hole, bad day, long story, dont ask

Originally posted by JP Bassman



Most of these will be found in "Bassists"

try doing a search, or better yet try looking at what forum youre in...

edit-sorry im being an a-hole, bad day, long story, dont ask


If it weren't for the unnecessary expletive, I'd say you were on the money.

Begone.

Well, first off, get a load of the screen name! If that doesn't give my opinion of Cliff away right away, then I shouldn't be associated with you people! ;) Next, Cliff is my inspiration as well, and now I'm gonna sound like every stereotypical music fan out there: his music probably saved my life. Without it, I wouldn't have any direction in a career and I most certainly wouldn't have the kind of confidence that I have in myself. I've played clarinet for about 9 years, but I value my bass playing skills over my clarinet playing skills. Because of my musical training I am able to write songs on bass, though I've only been playing for about 6 months now. My bass teacher thinks I sound just like Cliff. That is the most amazing compliment I can recieve, I believe. Cliff is an absolutely prolific musician, and I think any rock musician worth anything has some claim to make on his influence. Just my opinion.

Everyone's entitled to my opinion. :cool: :p ;)

Originally posted by MetalliCliff
Everyone's entitled to my opinion. :cool: :p ;)

*entitled to your opinion* :D

No, you're not alone. IMO, Cliff was too good for Metallica. I don't mean that in a bad way. I love Metallica & I like every album, but since Cliff passed, Metallica's music took a turn for the worse.

i agree. the next 2 albums were ok but is wasnt the same with out him. iv been playin like 10 months and i learned how to play the first half befor the drums come in on "anesthiesa", sorry for the spellin, and "the star spangled banner" thing he did. i also got a distortion pedle and a wah to just to play his songs. i also think he was one of the fastest bassist at the time.

Are you kidding me? So often I hear "Anestesia - Pulling Teeth" in my head. Either that or Orion, which IMHO displays the melodic capabilities of the bass.
Cliff was a genius...and a humble one at that. I heard a story, when Metallica first hit it big and his sister called him and said, "so what's it like to be a rock star?' he responded with "don't ever call me that!"
Cliff proved that a bassist could stand out between to blistering guitars. He demonstrated that a bassist could be in heavy metal music and play more then just root notes.

He is one of my inspirations.

Originally posted by BassPanther
...Either that or Orion, which IMHO displays the melodic capabilities of the bass....One of my favorite songs, from any band!!!!!

I liked Cliff's playing too. He was a true genie.

Cliff was a bass guitar god. That's all there is to it.

Here's a curveball for y'all: I loved Master and Ride and Kill, but I also really enjoy Load and Reload, Justice, and the Black Album. The musicianship on Master is probably the pinnacle of the bass playing in Metallica, but howabout the lyrics and lyrical content? More personal, easily understood lyrics came out of everything after Justice. The musicianship changed after Justice. The solos stopped being so predictable and lenghthy. Yeah, so Justice basically has no bass. Call me weird, but I can understand that they're way of mourning Cliff was tuning down Jason's bass. He should've stuck around for mixing and spoken up. But he didn't, but now their songs, from the Black Album on, are more bass-driven than Cliff's stuff, when he just semi-soloed over everything. I like the progression, and am interested in how the new progression is going to come out with whatever new bassist they get. And plus, James isn't a half-bad bassist anyway, so even if they get a temp., the bass is still gonna rock. So how about letting your poor opinion of Lars for sticking up for himself subside and just start listening to the music?

I think Cliff's an awesome bass player, (and sticks out amongst the trillions of crappy Metal bassist), but I don't consider him a "Genuis". Still, I love playing old school Metallica songs. (Wish I could get my band to cover one)

By the way, I love Load and ReLoad. :D

Originally posted by MetalliCliff
And plus, James isn't a half-bad bassist anyway JAMES?? Did you mean Jason?

:cool: Nope, I meant James. Since Jason's gone, he's the one writing the bass parts. In fact, he wrote most of the bass parts to Metallica songs. Props to Jason, but he's not the best songwriter in the world...;)

people diss metallica for load and reload, coz they were going for more alt-rock style not to get more fans but because they realise that the heavy metal style was getting old and that the only way they could save themselves musically was moving into new areas. They get marked down for not giving the so called fans what they want.

:D Exactly :p

In my opinion Justice was the worst album they made because they tried to keep the same style as they had before but it just wasn't the same without Cliff. I think they realized this and developed a whole new sound with the Black Album (which is actually my favorite, Paster of Muppets is second). That being said, I heard Kirk Hammett say once that Cliff basically tought them everything they know about how to write songs and how to fit melodies together.

today is the 16 annaversity of a genuis's death, cliff burton. i just wanted to start this to pay tribute to him and being one of my biggest influences.

RIP Cliff..

Cliff Burton

I only heard (Anasthesia)-Pulling Teeth about a fortnight ago. Wow.

Cliff
I hope your up their with the lord rocking away in heaven with your ric and distortion pedal. My be your prayers could help METALLICA. Thanks for the good tunes

MAJOR METAL ;)

RIP Cliff...gone but never forgotten.

Forever an inspiration to headbangers everywhere.

Cliff,man you were such a Wicked Bassist if Only you were still here Rockin' with the Gods that are METALLICA!!!!!!!!

I was suprised to see no links whatsover to any Cliff Burton threads in the FAQ.

Anyway, what kind of player was he? Other than damn good.

I heard someone call him a 'box player' before.

What's that mean?

Read the threads about him (search), and you'll know why.

Um...thanks...?

<a href="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=342140&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending"><b>CLICK HERE</b></a> to see a few threads about the Great Cliff!!!!

Also, if you can, buy, rent of borrow Cliff Em All. Alot of great live stuff that is a MUST for any Metallica fans!!!!!

Thanks man. I've d/l a few of the clips already.

I've never thought Cliff Burton was very good. But all I have to go on is the Metallica albums. And on the early ones (the ones Cliff was on) I can't even hear the bass track.

Originally posted by Eulogist
I've never thought Cliff Burton was very good. But all I have to go on is the Metallica albums. And on the early ones (the ones Cliff was on) I can't even hear the bass track.

Metallica are renound for dumbing the sound of the bass down :mad:

Originally posted by kirbywrx


Metallica are renound for dumbing the sound of the bass down :mad:

Um...buddy? :confused:

They only did that to the AJFA album, and that most likely had to do with Cliff's death.

Kill Em All (if you can't hear the bass in that your deaf)

Ride The Lightning (If you can't hear the bass on Fight Fire with Fire, For Whom The Bell Tolls, Fade to Black, Creeping Death, or Call of Ktulu [bass oriented instrumental], then save us all the trouble and just shoot yourself :D )

Master of Puppets (Uhhhh...Master of Puppets, The Thing That Should Not Be, Orion...)

AJFA (I can't even distinguish Jason's VOCALS on this album..haha)

Black Album (You can hear the bass on every track..especially My Friend Of Misery)

Load (bass is very distinguishable on every track)

ReLoad (Just look at Devils Dance, bass can be heard on every track)

Garage Inc Discs 1 & 2 (that doesn't count...those aren't their songs :D )

See people...know your facts before you start something.

Originally posted by Garrett Mireles


Um...buddy? :confused:

They only did that to the AJFA album, and that most likely had to do with Cliff's death.

Kill Em All (if you can't hear the bass in that your deaf)

Ride The Lightning (If you can't hear the bass on Fight Fire with Fire, For Whom The Bell Tolls, Fade to Black, Creeping Death, or Call of Ktulu [bass oriented instrumental], then save us all the trouble and just shoot yourself :D )

Master of Puppets (Uhhhh...Master of Puppets, The Thing That Should Not Be, Orion...)

AJFA (I can't even distinguish Jason's VOCALS on this album..haha)

Black Album (You can hear the bass on every track..especially My Friend Of Misery)

Load (bass is very distinguishable on every track)

ReLoad (Just look at Devils Dance, bass can be heard on every track)

Garage Inc Discs 1 & 2 (that doesn't count...those aren't their songs :D )

See people...know your facts before you start something.

Calm down buddy, so I was wrong, so sue me...

Aparently the bass sound on their live gigs is down a fair bit, on S&M (yes I am aware there are alot of other instruments on stage) it was a bit hard to hear the bass on the songs that didnt have bass intros ect, and the same applies for Cunning Stunts and Live S***

*disclamier* i dont mean to start a fight, im just putting my opinion foward :)

Originally posted by kirbywrx


Calm down buddy, so I was wrong, so sue me...


You'll be hearing from my attorney first thing Tuesday morning.

Well then shoot half the people on here buddy. everyone knows that the bass was hard to hear on all his albums. Even when he played "Lead Bass" on Call of Ktulu. you can hear it, but only if you listen to it a good while. he had a diffrent kidn of tone, try to listen in around the midrange of the guitars, and it will pop out at you. don't listen for any low end.

Originally posted by Garrett Mireles


You'll be hearing from my attorney first thing Tuesday morning.

:rolleyes:

Originally posted by PollyBass
Well then shoot half the people on here buddy. everyone knows that the bass was hard to hear on all his albums. Even when he played "Lead Bass" on Call of Ktulu. you can hear it, but only if you listen to it a good while. he had a diffrent kidn of tone, try to listen in around the midrange of the guitars, and it will pop out at you. don't listen for any low end.

When you put it that way, yeah, I agree.

Originally posted by kirbywrx:
:rolleyes:

What's this?? Harassment? Oh your going down buster!

If cliff were among the living how much back and neck damage would he have.I would tend to belive quite a bit. i know Jason Newsted has had some serious problems with the his back because of head banging. Another question,what kind of bass would cliff be playing today Ric's?

Originally posted by MAJOR METAL
If cliff were among the living how much back and neck damage would he have.I would tend to belive quite a bit. i know Jason Newsted has had some serious problems with the his back because of head banging. Another question,what kind of bass would cliff be playing today Ric's?

I think in the situation he was in, he'd either be dead or miraculously (sp?) survive with minimal injuries. Being crushed by a bus isn't the kind of thing you can walk away from; even if he did survive he probably wouldn't be able to play bass which IMO, is not to far from dying.

Cliff Williams died?!?!?

Originally posted by Hategear
Cliff Williams died?!?!?

Yes.

He would have some neck problems, but I know alot of headbangers that don't have the problems that newsted has. In the behind the music, cliff was always telling his dad "My neck hurts man" and his dad was like "well yeah, your up there giving yourself wiplash everynight". I don't know. he's not here, so we can't really know.

His homepage is still up and his GWR 4566 looks better than ever!
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~specshop/

Originally posted by PollyBass


Yes.


Cliff WILLIAMS is the bassist for AC/DC. Not to be confused with Cliff Burton formerly of Metallica. Hategear was taking advantage of the fact that Cliff's first name was mentioned but not his last. But surprisingly I was going to reference AC/DC for this... Angus Young's neck never stops moving. Sure, he's no Cliff Burton, but whenever he's playing his head doesn't seem to stop moving. If he didn't look like the cryptkeeper in a school boy outfit, he'd still seem in good condition.

Originally posted by PollyBass


Yes.

It's a joke. it should have read

"Yes. ;)"

Hategear tried to take it off topic, so I just said "Yes" and moved on. I am fully aware of who Cliff WILLIAMS is. Sorry. gotta work on the net sarcasm.

Originally posted by StupidMatt
Angus Young's neck never stops moving.

You should've seen Soulfly's bass player go then, I saw them at ozzfest 2001, and I swear he was swinging his head trough at least 120 degrees!

Anyone know what bass Cliff Burton of Metallica played when he recorded Pulling teeth?
also...do you know what type of wah and distortion he used? thanks alot...


-Jon:o

He used Rickenbackers bassically

yeah, he used ricks a lot, but he recorded anesthesia with an aria pro II...he also played an alembic spoiler...the wah he used was a morley power wah and his distortion was courtesy a big muff...he played through a mesa rig...he used ampeg some too...prolly backline stuff, though...it's pretty amazin' what you can find with a google search :rolleyes: :D

sorry for being fat and lazy...

but I'm Jon...what' do yah expect? ;)


thanks for info!

-Jon:o

Hey,

I got a listen to two more solos of his, i have pulling teeth, but i got my friend of misery and one thats just called bass solo from Sweden.

I will admit that i wasn't much of a metallica fan, but wow after hearing Cliff's solos and paying attention to his playing in the early metallica stuff...i've been converted...i can't get enough of the guy now.

I don't know the name.

Anyhow, what i was wondering was did he play with a plectrum or fingers the WHOLE time? I heard that Cliff NEVER used a plectrum but i didn't know if this was just hype from a metallica fan.

Cliff Burton R.I.P.

Cliff was the man.

Cliffs name has been brought up numerous times here in the past. Hes not in the FAQ as of yet, but he will be soon.

Use the search feature and you'll find out loads of stuff about him.

Much Love
Mama Cass:bassist:

"My Friend Of Misery" was actually played by Jason Newsted, and yes, Burton played fingerstyle exclusively.

Fingers rule!

Here's a story from an old Metalli-fart (I'm 36)

We saw Metallica in Leiden, Holland in '84 - they had just released "Ride The Lightning", and the set basically consisted of that entire album and "Kill 'Em All" minus Jump in the Fire. Anyhow, we were right in front of the stage on Cliff's side. They started "For Whom The Bell Tolls", which was pretty new to all of us, and Cliff was doing his little bass runs, which turned into a full on solo riff, and James kept looking over at him like "man we need to start the song!" - but Cliff was just in his own little world jamming out like a maniac. Finally he looked over at James and they kicked into the song. Man that was a great show. Only one of three that Twisted Sister opened for them ... hehe, what a night. That show, that whole era, is the reason I play bass guitar.

Ok, enough nostalgia.

BTW, if Cliff hadn't died, none of us would be suffering from St. Anger right now ... and yes, I have to flame the cd on every relevant thread :)

Originally posted by Sanctum
Fingers rule!

Here's a story from an old Metalli-fart (I'm 36)

We saw Metallica in Leiden, Holland in '84 - they had just released "Ride The Lightning", and the set basically consisted of that entire album and "Kill 'Em All" minus Jump in the Fire. Anyhow, we were right in front of the stage on Cliff's side. They started "For Whom The Bell Tolls", which was pretty new to all of us, and Cliff was doing his little bass runs, which turned into a full on solo riff, and James kept looking over at him like "man we need to start the song!" - but Cliff was just in his own little world jamming out like a maniac. Finally he looked over at James and they kicked into the song. Man that was a great show. Only one of three that Twisted Sister opened for them ... hehe, what a night. That show, that whole era, is the reason I play bass guitar.

You lucky bastard! ;) Must have been a great show!

Originally posted by Sanctum
BTW, if Cliff hadn't died, none of us would be suffering from St. Anger right now ... and yes, I have to flame the cd on every relevant thread :)

I can't help but question this... Do you really think Lars and James gave a sh*t what Burton or Newsted or Trujillo have to say?

Yes, I truly think they cared what Cliff thought. Look at the old song writing credits. Cliff knew more about guitar theory than all of them at the time.

Jason - no i don't think they gave a crap.

Rob - he wont last

Bob Rock - a hack :)

Originally posted by Sanctum
Yes, I truly think they cared what Cliff thought. Look at the old song writing credits. Cliff knew more about guitar theory than all of them at the time.

Jason - no i don't think they gave a crap.

Rob - he wont last

Bob Rock - a hack :)

I agree completely
After loosing Cliff they weren't about to let some new "kid" have anything to do with Metallica other than playing what they need him to.

I do not think that Rob will last

and Bob is a producer not a musician. I am not saying because he is a producer there is no way he could play well, I am saying that I don't think he would work out well as a touring musician.

and yeah I think they really did love Cliff like a brother. and not a younger brother that you beat up all the time:smug:

The Cliff solo that blows me away is the one in Orion. I always heard of the Orion solo and thought it was just that bass break where the song changes up, which is cool, but not amazing. The fourth solo in the song, which sounds like guitar at first listen, is actually an ultra melodic classically inspired bass solo which I find to be brilliant, my favorite bass solo I have ever heard. It's not just a wankfest, its a well thought out melody. I don't like it when the guitar comes in and harmonizes with it, it takes away from it. Very cool stuff, I regained faith in Cliff Burton after hearing the "hidden" Orion solo.

Originally posted by Solmnia
Cliff was the man.

closed until i have time to merge it with the other cliff burton threads

People have mixed views on this guy, In my opinion he was a very good bassist, perfect for Metallica, if it wern't for him all their, records would be like kill 'em all, which gets a bit boring after a while(except anesthesia).
So do people like him, i do, don't think he was the best, but it's not the bass lines in the normal songs which stand out at all, the are quite simple, powerful fast,and effective, it's the instrumental stuff, when he shows himself, and his other influences like classical and jazz.
He was a good composer, could play his 4 string almost as fast as hammett can play a guitar, and had he not died we would have seen much more from him, He was only 24 or so, i'm sure he would improved as metallica would have done.

I really like his style (my definition of metal bass) and his sense of melody was awesome (For Whom the Bell Tolls, Orion, many others). He was equal parts chugging metal bassist and show man, but everything he played took the melody into account.

One of my favorite bassists ever.

I really like his style (my definition of metal bass) and his sense of melody was awesome (For Whom the Bell Tolls, Orion, many others). He was equal parts chugging metal bassist and show man, but everything he played took the melody into account.

One of my favorite bassists ever.

Here Here! Ill drink to that!! The mighty Cliff-ster had alot going for him as far as metal bassists go! He was one of the first speed metal power bassists to grab my attention since Steve Harris! Lets face it...he more or less took the rule book and threw it out the window, and redefined what a bassist could and couldnt do in a band!

I thought Cliff was awesome, too bad he left us so soon

I think Metallica whould have been a completely different band than what they are today.
I couldn't even imagine what Metallica would be like today if Cliff was still alive. Unstoppable. I'm sure I would still be a fan.
I've lost intrest in them along time ago.

Anyway, do a search. there has been alot of discussion on Cliff.

RIP Cliff.

I have this vision of Cliff jamming with Hendrix and Bonham.
I'd die to see that show.

my only beef regarding Cliff's bass playing is that it's generally too far down in the mix... (tho it's not as bad as what they did to Jason on 'And Justice For All'), and I appreciate those big scooped guitars needed a lot of space, but as a bass player it's a disappointment

I'd put that more down to the production, definatlely not his fault anyway. Still if you are listening for the bass you can usually here it, especially in kill 'em all cos it's a very basic low end tone, in the other albums he uses more of a growl so it gets mixed up more.

@By-Tor,

+1...RIP...


~S~

Cliff is one of my favotites since the first time I saw the Cliff 'em All VHS.Cliff and his bass were together as one. :bassist:

http://web.vrn.ru/vlad14/cliff9.jpg http://web.vrn.ru/vlad14/cliff8.jpg

http://web.vrn.ru/vlad14/cliff4.jpg

Cliff had some good chops, very much a style of his own.I really appreciated the classical elements he broght to Metallica i think he very much shaped the early Metallica sound and arrangment. Rest in Peace Cliff. :bassist:

For that style of music,excellent bassist. -Luke

What bass is Cliff using in those pictures (not the Ric, the other)?

Aria Pro 2?

I have one myself and on some pics he plays one too, can't say here cause i can't see the headstock.