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If Cliff Burton were alive today..

#42
gurensan said:
He'd be playing 'wicks.

There ya have it.
Click to expand...

Nope, That's Robert Trujillo ;)

On Topic : Would be hard to say, since a lot of musicians change to brands you'd never expected. Trujillo played a lot of Fernandes Gravity Deluxe 5 basses, some Fenders, Rickenbackers, Tobias basses, Music Mans, Yamaha TRB 5 P II basses, Zon and now Warwick.

Oliver Riedel from Rammstein played a Music Man Sterling bass in their early years, then had a ESP Eclipse bass and now plays Sandberg basses since 1996. He could stay at this brand, but he might change his gear next year (you can't tell it).

So, as for this topic goes : Maybe Cliff would have stayed at his Aria basses and some Rickenbackers, but he could have played Spector basses too. It's something that never can be answered ;)
 
#43
I wouldn't be surprised if he was still playing Aria. Maybe even the same exact bass he had back in the day. I've never thought of him being as committed to thrash metal as the other guys. So who knows what type of music or playing styles he would have come across between 1986 and now but it most likely would've affected his choice in playing style, bass, amps etc...
 
#50
Mr_Music90 said:
Nope, That's Robert Trujillo ;)

On Topic : Would be hard to say, since a lot of musicians change to brands you'd never expected. Trujillo played a lot of Fernandes Gravity Deluxe 5 basses, some Fenders, Rickenbackers, Tobias basses, Music Mans, Yamaha TRB 5 P II basses, Zon and now Warwick.

Oliver Riedel from Rammstein played a Music Man Sterling bass in their early years, then had a ESP Eclipse bass and now plays Sandberg basses since 1996. He could stay at this brand, but he might change his gear next year (you can't tell it).

So, as for this topic goes : Maybe Cliff would have stayed at his Aria basses and some Rickenbackers, but he could have played Spector basses too. It's something that never can be answered ;)
Click to expand...

I was thinking he'd have upgraded from the Arias by now but wouldn't have gone the super-spendy route. No Zon, Wal, Alembics, etc. So the midrange upgrade equalled Warwick to me. I was thinking 'Vette $$, but something in the matte black finish, not all woody. Something with serious balls without breaking the bank.

I don't feel this Spector business and got no idea where y'all are getting it from.

Rick might have a signature model by now, come to think of it.... 4003CB anyone?
 
#53
I've owned numerous Fenders, including (and still) Custom Shop, Rics, Music Man, Yamaha, etc...

Give me an Aria SB1000 anyday. If you've played one and disagree, I'd like to hear. If you haven't played one, go do it and then criticize. I'd be interested to hear... All this Aria snobbery is ill-informed and cheap.
 
#55
I think that if Cliff were still alive, he would be playing a bunch of basses. Rick, Aria, and I'd also add Yamaha and G&L, and maybe a Fender J. I can't see him paying Spector or Warwick, too far from his sound.

I also think that if Cliff were still alive, either Metallica would've ended in the early 90's, or they would have some different musicians playing in the band (Ulrich would've been out, and I think eventually Hetfield much later - Hammet would've stayed). At the same time, I don't think they would have been as big as they were in the mainstream if Cliff were alive - the albums would have a very different sound and wouldn't have capitalized on the alternative wave when they did.

It's actually a bunch of interesting observations.
 
#56
If cliff didn't die in that bus crash the band would've either seen cliff leave or quit. And if he didn't, Metallica would've broken up before that. These guys already had problems dealing with issues but after cliff died, they were a complete mess for years. I'd like to think that they would've kept the Metallica machine going and making some kick ass trash due to the fact cliff seemed to be a purest and uncomprimising when it came to his music, but due to Lars and James being who they where/are, cliff probably would've walked away from them. As far as what he'd play, I'd like to picture something like a Wal or Warwick in his hands. Maybe even a sadowsky. Hmmmmmmm
 
#57
Veldar said:
He'd play a Warwick in a super group with Randy Roads, Dimebag, Rev on drums and Mitchell Lucker singing.
Click to expand...

Cliff, Dimebag, Dio and Gar Samuelson sounds more like a dead rocker superband to me. And Cliff Burton would obviously play a Modulus, if he did not stick with Aria. Aria makes really good instruments and Cliff could have made the SB series a mainstay in their product lineup, then if the SB series were developed forward for 30 years instead of occasionally reissued we would probably have more people playing Arias, because the SB is a badass design and I really think they sound excellent as well as play great.
 
#59
I have no idea what he'd be playing, nor do I care, nor do I think it matters, however, I believe Metallic peaked with Puppets. They've been repeating themselves ever since. Burton, like the rest of the band, was essentially a bar band musician with a ton of heart and some damn good rock chops. Had he lived he would have been the one to take the band to more interesting places had he continued to grow as a musician. But who knows? Maybe he said all he had to say. And that's okay. It has to be.
 
#60
Wal or Sadowsky....wow. Now those are brands I wouldnt picture. Not impossible mind you, after all, MY high-end thought was Zon and I'm sure plenty of people would disagree with that.
And add me to list of people who defend Aria. While they havent really captured a huge market share recently, back in the mid to late 80's they were literally everywhere- look at 80's videos and tell me how many different bassists in different genres were using Aria's (and I'm not talking about fantasy or lyric based video's- I'm talking on stage "live" videos)- John Taylor from Duran Duran, Jim Rodford from the Kinks, I'm pretty sure Joe Bouchard from BOC was rocking one for awhile. And didnt Rudy Sarzo use one in Whitesnake before he got his Peavey sig model? And I know there were more than that.
Then in the early 90's Michael Anthony of VH and Billy Gould from Faith No More were using the Integra.

As far as the band side of things- very interesting to think that he would've been able to get Lars out of there. Him and Hetfield seem to be joinedathtehip and I think James would've had a problem if Cliff wanted Lars gone. But what do I know? I wasnt part of any inner circle of theirs.
 

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