David Ellefson vs. Cliff Burton

[PortlandBass77]

David Ellefson. Cliff Burton is way overrated.

 

[lokikallas]

Call of Ktulu, Orion, and anesthesia are 3 of the best examples of bass solos of all time, so Cliff.

 

[JeffreyMcJunior]

I've always admired how tight & solid Ellefson's playing is.
But no Megadeth song could ever have as big an impact on me as Anesthesia/Pulling Teeth.

> BURTON

 

[OldDirtyBassist]

I like how Cliff would make a pattern out of harmonics he got from pounding on the strings. There's two Cliff Burtons for one.

 

[Korladis]

Call of Ktulu, Orion, and anesthesia are 3 of the best examples of bass solos of all time, so Cliff.

"Call of Ktulu" and "Orion" are two of my favorite examples of good songwriting, too. And both of those, from what I've heard, are mainly Burton's work. And that's what I keep saying in threads like these. I don't think Cliff Burton was the most technically proficient player ever, but for me, that's only half the picture (if even that). As soon as he joined the band, their songwriting improved dramatically, and basically every song he had a hand in writing is excellent.

 

[DiabolusInMusic]

"Call of Ktulu" and "Orion" are two of my favorite examples of good songwriting, too. And both of those, from what I've heard, are mainly Burton's work. And that's what I keep saying in threads like these. I don't think Cliff Burton was the most technically proficient player ever, but for me, that's only half the picture (if even that). As soon as he joined the band, their songwriting improved dramatically, and basically every song he had a hand in writing is excellent.

Call of Khtulu is mostly Mustaine from what I understand. Metallica owes a lot of their early sound to Dave. They owe most of their 90's sound to Pepper Keenan (Corrosion of Conformity)

 

[Hamlet7768]

Call of Khtulu is mostly Mustaine from what I understand. Metallica owes a lot of their early sound to Dave. They owe most of their 90's sound to Pepper Keenan (Corrosion of Conformity)

The chord progression is Mustaine's; Mustaine later used it in "Hanger 18." The bass solo is all Cliff, though. And Orion is definitely all his.

 

[bass nitro]

David Ellefson. Cliff Burton is way overrated.

Do you think that playing is overrated?
I like both of them because they are right opposite and shows the best of the both worlds - fingers and plectrum one and different tonal ranges.
Just check this out also
Both are monsters.

 

[since197three]

Cliff Burton all the way for me. IMO he knows when to solo and when to do just enough to accent guitar parts. Plus he's nasty with his fingers.

 

[Chriso21]

Let's be honest: The bass isn't the central point of either of these bands. Metallica and Megadeath are all about roaring guitars and associated solos. In terms of supporting roles, they did fine. At least Cliff took a little bit more of a risk, but I felt that when he did, it was mostly unsuccessful. For me, even Tom Araya has more street cred than Ellefson because he can at least "sing"...or at least pretend to sing.

To each their own.

For me, much more interesting bassists playing similar music would be Steve Harris or Geezer Butler.

Not a big thrash fan then? Duh!

Ellefson's time and style rules. Cliff wrote masterpieces.

 

[crucislancer]

Burton for me, only because his playing was more along the lines of what interests me, with regards to technique, approach to writing bass lines, and so forth. Ellefson is a fantastic bassist in his own right, just different from what I typically prefer.

 

[A.K.]

Ellefson all the way for me. He has a very unique style, derived in part from the way Dave Mustaine writes riffs. Ellefson has a lot of precision while still managing to swing.

 

[patas75]

I like Ellefson's playing on Soulfly's Mars. Especially the outro section. Very melodic lines.

 

[blue4]

Cliff for me. He wrote songs, was one of the first rock/metal bassists to use effects and solo in a way that everyone liked. People who aren't thrash fans like the songs that he wrote. As others have said, Metallica's songwriting improved after he joined.

Ellefson, no matter how good he is with a pick, is a sideman.

 

[Machiavelli]

Not a big thrash fan then? Duh!

I'm a big thrash fan, in fact. I just don't see the bass as prominent in Metallica or Megadeath.

 

[thelittleman66]

Although Ellefson is a fantastic player, his tone is a bit narrow and thin for my tastes. Cliff, although not as precise as Ellefson, had a bit more balls in his tone, and his presence and playing had a little more personality.

 

[Korladis]

As I've said before, while I do like the tone and playing of both, I really feel Burton's largest contribution was as a songwriter. I think Ellefson may be more technically proficient (even just comparing their work in the era when Burton was alive), but I like the songs Burton wrote more.

 

[vbchaos]

I don't know if it has been mentioned already but Ellefson wrote in his biography that most of his bass lines and riffs are actually written by Mustaine.

 

[A.K.]

I don't know if it has been mentioned already but Ellefson wrote in his biography that most of his bass lines and riffs are actually written by Mustaine.

He does not say that most of his bass lines are written by Mustaine. He says that Mustaine gave him the opening bass line to "Peace Sells." That's all he says about Mustaine's involvement in his bass lines. I've read the book a couple of times.

 

[AdamR]

Burtons tone sounds like mud to me.