How to get Cliff Burtons tone.. close enough anyway

[rob_thebassman]

this a video on youtube I posted abit ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkuCXVUzX0w

[bigchiefbc]

Sounds pretty good. My only correction is that Cliff didn't use a Russian big muff. I have no idea how that story started, but its impossible; EHX didn't even move to Russia until after cliff was already dead.

[rob_thebassman]

ive read he used an original russian big muff, not the black but the green one

[gnasher1993]

Originally Posted by rob_thebassman

ive read he used an original russian big muff, not the black but the green one

That's a common misconception.

He used a USA big muff (the year of that is unknown as far as I'm aware).

When big muff's were discontinued in 1982 when EHX stopped making pedals, the vintage prices went up and many musicians complained. Matthews restarted making the pedals in the early 90's because the demand was so high. The big muff production was moved to Russia to keep prices down.

So:

Russian Big Muffs -> post 1990

Cliff Burtone -> Died in '86

Go figure

[Pandafist]

No offense, but I'm just not hearing it.

sorry

[rob_thebassman]

Originally Posted by Pandafist

No offense, but I'm just not hearing it.

sorry

check the master of puppets album bass tracks, like i said its almost like it

[rob_thebassman]

Originally Posted by gnasher1993

That's a common misconception.

He used a USA big muff (the year of that is unknown as far as I'm aware).

When big muff's were discontinued in 1982 when EHX stopped making pedals, the vintage prices went up and many musicians complained. Matthews restarted making the pedals in the early 90's because the demand was so high. The big muff production was moved to Russia to keep prices down.

So:

Russian Big Muffs -> post 1990

Cliff Burtone -> Died in '86

Go figure

rather hard to believe to be honest cos the US big muff sounds sod all like metallica bass

[gnasher1993]

Originally Posted by rob_thebassman

rather hard to believe to be honest cos the US big muff sounds sod all like metallica bass

So Cliff Burton hopped in to the future and picked up a Sovtek Big Muff?

Yeah... let's go with that one. Seems feasible

[Darkstrike]

Originally Posted by gnasher1993

So Cliff Burton hopped in to the future and picked up a Sovtek Big Muff?

Probably caused a warp from playing too fast....

[rob_thebassman]

Originally Posted by gnasher1993

So Cliff Burton hopped in to the future and picked up a Sovtek Big Muff?

Yeah... let's go with that one. Seems feasible

lmao XD

sovtek did make big muffs before the black russian one

[Smurf-o-Deth]

What people don't know is that the bus accident that led to Burton's death was actually caused by attempting to generate the 1.6 gigawatts necessary to return to the future, so that he could buy another Russian Big Muff.

[gnasher1993]

Originally Posted by rob_thebassman

lmao XD

sovtek did make big muffs before the black russian one

Yes they did, the green sovtek muffs; I didn't deny that...

But the Sovtek factory didn't start building EHX products until the 90's. Cliff was long gone by that time.

You have to remember that there's several different versions (6 to be precise) of the USA big muff and there's a lot of variation between them. So saying "the US big muff sounds sod all like metallica bass" is nonsense.

As I said though, the time warp scenario is very much feasible for a man such as Cliff .

[Darkstrike]

Originally Posted by Smurf-o-Deth

What people don't know is that the bus accident that led to Burton's death was actually caused by attempting to generate the 1.6 gigawatts necessary to return to the future, so that he could buy another Russian Big Muff.

I reckon, that Kirk pulled the flux capacitor out of his bass, and put it in his wah pedal, both causing the accident, and now making his wah unable to be turned off.....

[rob_thebassman]

Originally Posted by gnasher1993

Yes they did, the green sovtek muffs; I didn't deny that...

But the Sovtek factory didn't start building EHX products until the 90's. Cliff was long gone by that time.

You have to remember that there's several different versions (6 to be precise) of the USA big muff and there's a lot of variation between them. So saying "the US big muff sounds sod all like metallica bass" is nonsense.

As I said though, the time warp scenario is very much feasible for a man such as Cliff .

fairdues, but the US big muff today doesnt sound much like the one cliff used at all

[gnasher1993]

Originally Posted by rob_thebassman

fairdues, but the US big muff today doesnt sound much like the one cliff used at all

That's true, the new versions won't cop Cliff's tone. It's not clear which of the original US muffs he used as there were 6 different versions. There were even several variations of each of the 6 circuits.

USA Big muffs were produced between 1967 and 1984.

Triangle - 1967
Ram's Head - 1973
Red and Black - 1976
Op-amp - 1978
op-amp Tone Bypass - 1978
Reverse Logo (Red and Black) - 1979

The Sovtek muffs were produced between 1991 and 2009:

Sovtek Grey and Gold - 1991
Sovtek Civil War - 1991
Sovtek Green Civil War - 1994
Sovtek Green - 1994
Sovtek Black (big box) - 1998
Sovtek Black (small box) - 1999

Since big muff production returned to NY (producing USA muffs alongside those being produced at the Russian factory), there's been 3 new versions.

BIG MUFF NERDS OF THE WORLD UNITE

[Mad Maestro]

A key ingredient for Cliff's tone is how to use the Muff. "People often ask why their Muff sounds like a bee’s nest, – all fuzzy and muddy. The fact is that a Muff needs to be driven quite hard to get that super smooth, sustained tone. As with most of these old beasts, it was designed to be used with clean tube amps and the louder you play the more the saturated tubes reacts with the Muff and vice versa. And by loud I mean REALLY loud." - Bjorn Riis, Gilmourish.com

[KarateKid25]

Originally Posted by gnasher1993

That's a common misconception.

It just keeps get spewed out every single Cliff Burton thread. Two seconds of research is all it takes to realise that the dates don't even nearly line up

Cliff was well and truly gone by the time ANY Sovtek Muff was on the scene, be it Green, Black, or any other shape or form...

It's mentioned on the Big Muff Wiki page as well. Or at least it was until I deleted it last week

[rob_thebassman]

shame its hard to get hold of vintage big muffs musket sounds pretty good for metallica :P ill see if i can get hold of one

[Don Tony]

I believe Cliff used a the Morley Wah pedal with distortion

[Aaron_D]

Step 1. Find the best bass for metal.