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Did Cliff burton use wah too much?

N

nussy the whale

Dec 25, 2010
80
1
New York/Massachusetts
#1
Cliff Burton is one of my all-time favs, both as an accompanying musician and a soloist, but is it just me, or did he use the wah too much in lead parts and solos? With the exception of "Orion", every solo I've heard of his he is using the wah. Same thing goes for his lead parts in songs like "Seek and Destroy", "The Call of Kthulu", and "For Whom the Bell Tolls".

Does anyone else think so or care to disagree?

One more thing,

R.I.P. Cliff

:bassist::bassist::bassist:
 
#2
I doubt you can fault him compared to Kirk.:rolleyes:

On the other hand, he only had a recorded output of a few albums, so we'll never know if he would have later abandoned the wah or used it less.

Though I bet he also used it for parts like in Call of Ktulu to make the bass "jump" out more. The Wah Fuzz, from my understanding, has a distinctive "screaming" aspect to it that few other wahs have.
 
#3
Very true, Kirk certainly loves his wah! :cool: I recall a quote of his saying, "If they want me to stop using my wah, they'll have to cut off my foot!"

You bring up a good point. As Metallica's music changed, who knows if Cliff would've kept using the wah. We have no way of knowing. And yes, when he pressed that thing down, his tone certainly got the bite it needed to tear right through Metallica's dense mix. Maybe that's why he used when he played lead lines, so that they could cut through better.
 
#4
I would argue no, because the wah is difficult to make sound good, even more so on bass. He only used it a little compared to many other bassist use other effects. Its like asking if Hendrix used too much Wah. It's not like Les Claypools abuse of auto filter.
 
#6
Too much? Too little? What does it matter? He did what he thought was best for the music. The wah was his go to effect of choice to become in his mind what he thought of when he played lead bass, it probably wouldn't have worked or had the same effect if he had done otherwise. Can you imagine "Call of Ktulu" or "For Whom The Bell Tolls" without those lead parts with the wah? It would've been pointless without it unless he added some sorta handmade technique. Plus it adds something else special to already great music.

Check out Cliff live in the early 80's or better yet Robert Trujillo doing Ktulu on recent performances, all the attention falls to him because of those leads parts with the wah. It didn't really work with Newsted because the tone was different from Cliff's, but when that wah screeaams the music really comes to life.
 
#8
ZanaZulu807 said:
Too much? Too little? What does it matter? He did what he thought was best for the music. The wah was his go to effect of choice to become in his mind what he thought of when he played lead bass, it probably wouldn't have worked or had the same effect if he had done otherwise. Can you imagine "Call of Ktulu" or "For Whom The Bell Tolls" without those lead parts with the wah? It would've been pointless without it unless he added some sorta handmade technique. Plus it adds something else special to already great music.

Check out Cliff live in the early 80's or better yet Robert Trujillo doing Ktulu on recent performances, all the attention falls to him because of those leads parts with the wah. It didn't really work with Newsted because the tone was different from Cliff's, but when that wah screeaams the music really comes to life.
Click to expand...

But what about in his solos? Yes, they sound incredible and unlike anything else, but sometimes I just can't help but find myself thinking that he's using the wah a bit too much. Of course Cliff could and did solo without the use of a wah, but it seems that more often than not he did use it heavily when soloing. Maybe he just used it so much to filter out a lot of the low end to make prevent his lines from being to muddy. Who knows?
 
#9
nussy the whale said:
But what about in his solos? Yes, they sound incredible and unlike anything else, but sometimes I just can't help but find myself thinking that he's using the wah a bit too much. Of course Cliff could and did solo without the use of a wah, but it seems that more often than not he did use it heavily when soloing. Maybe he just used it so much to filter out a lot of the low end to make prevent his lines from being to muddy. Who knows?
Click to expand...

It's music. There isn't a set amount that you "have to use a wah". That would be like telling someone how many notes they can play in a song.
 
#11
nussy the whale said:
But what about in his solos? Yes, they sound incredible and unlike anything else, but sometimes I just can't help but find myself thinking that he's using the wah a bit too much. Of course Cliff could and did solo without the use of a wah, but it seems that more often than not he did use it heavily when soloing. Maybe he just used it so much to filter out a lot of the low end to make prevent his lines from being to muddy. Who knows?
Click to expand...

There were some solos, although rare, where he performed "Anesthesia" and improvised stuff hardly without any wah, or distortion with the exception of what probably came from his amp, and he pulled them off beautifully. Lots of people, particularly on this site claim Cliff was "too sloppy" or "too flashy" or whatever and say he covered all his shortcomings up with his effects, when in fact he accentuated most of his lines with them. In general though, I think he approached his music with an open mind and used his effects as tools, not crutches. If he didn't use them, he'd likely sound like everyone else, or perhaps like a Jazzy, Blues style bassist in a Thrash Metal band, lol... But hey, Victor Wooten does alot of tapping, Jaco used lots of harmonics, and Lemmy uses lots and lots of volume, it doesn't make any of them any less of musicians, does it? Same goes for Cliff...
 
#18
nussy the whale said:
Cliff Burton is one of my all-time favs, both as an accompanying musician and a soloist, but is it just me, or did he use the wah too much in lead parts and solos?
Click to expand...

He used heavy amounts of just about everything - including the kitchen sink. How could you even pick out excessive amounts of wah from the midst of that overwhelming sonic gumbo? :eyebrow:

MM
 

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