Geezer butler technique

[Bassistcali]

Ok, what does he do exactly he has his own thing going on Ive never seen anyone play like it?

 

[AdamR]

Depending on how far back your going he use to play over the neck. He seems to play much more traditionally now.

 

[mancefine]

He does what I would discribe as throwing his right hand at the strings and attacking the hell out of the bass. His fingering technique is awesome. That's what she said.

 

[Hamlet7768]

Depending on how far back your going he use to play over the neck. He seems to play much more traditionally now.

I've read elsewhere on TB that he actually played so close to the neck because he never thought to remove the chrome pickup guard. Now that he's removed it he plays squarely over the pickup.

 

[AdamR]

1970, No pickup cover. Playing over the fretboard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clySTJtd81c

 

[AdamR]

His fingering technique is awesome. That's what she said.

Just had this conversation with a girl I know.

 

[Salamenster]

Geezer's technique? He just downright PLAYS the darn thing!

 

[wishface]

In the video for Neon Knights he uses a pick. Was that just for the clip?

 

[Salamenster]

In the video for Neon Knights he uses a pick. Was that just for the clip?

He sometimes uses a pick, you're not wrong.

 

[Natejitsu]

From what I understand he played over the neck on Black Sabbath and Paranoid with a Fender P, which is why his tone is so...muddy(?)...and it growls like hell. I guess it's a bit like slapping but not quite as percussive.

The Paris 1970 show is a good example. Post Paranoid I think he uses a combo of pick and fingers, and probably doesn't use that style quite as much. I at least can't really pick it up, except for a couple songs on Masters of Reality.

 

[Natejitsu]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnGo_ta6gbs

 

[higain617]

I don't know, his tone had some mean growl on MoR.

 

[Fair Warning]

His fingers are like giant sausages, beating the hell out of the strings. I have studied and aquired his technique for use in Black Sab Tribute here in LA.....got it to sound pretty damn good using the right bass with the right strings. It all came alive for me when I started using a Lakland 44-64 P-Bass

 

[wishface]

Steve Harris has that same 'slap' the string technique (it's not really slap, more like funk fingers from Tony Levin, but with actual fingers). I have inherited that myself. It's the sort of thing that probably gives engineers nightmares,but it really adds to a sound I think. Geezer's sound is traditionally a lot less bright than harris.

 

[AdamR]

Steve Harris actually says he plays very gently.

 

[Bassistcali]

His fingers are like giant sausages, beating the hell out of the strings. I have studied and aquired his technique for use in Black Sab Tribute here in LA.....got it to sound pretty damn good using the right bass with the right strings. It all came alive for me when I started using a Lakland 44-64 P-Bass

Ahahahaa the sausages.... But yea
Lakland p-bass I think he used one of those out of his many laklands

 

[wishface]

Steve Harris actually says he plays very gently.

I don't know, but you can hear the sound he has. Just listen to the opening riff to the Clairvoyant.