If it hadnt been for the spoken introduction - "bass solo take on" - odds are that most listeners would have mistaken Burtons fuzzed-out "(Anasthesia) Pulling Teeth" for aguitar piece. It wasnt just that Burton playes to fast and so high ; his phrasing and tone were totally outside the traditional bass vocabolary.
Back the, Burton was playing a Rickenbacker 4001 through a Ampeg SVT 1540HE head - a classic "lead bass" combination - allthough he would eventually switch to an Alembic and then an Aria pro. His solos - particulary on "Anasthesia", "Seek and destroy" and Ride the lightnings "for whom the bell tolls" - also made heavy use of effects. Burton was one of the few bassists around to use why-wha (specifically, a Morley Power Wha) an he dirtied his tone with a Electro-Harmonix Big Muff, a vintage distortion pedal typically used by guitarists. He also liked guitar-style Mesa/Boogie 4x12 cabinets, although he grounded their midrange roar with the beefy bottom of the Mesa/Boogie 1x15's.
By the time the band made master of puppets, in 1986, Burton was pushing the envelope still further. Describing the intro to "Damage Inc", he told thrash metal, "its about eight or 12 tracks of bass, a lot of harmonies and volume swells and stuff". He was also proud of his bass solo in orion, although he jokes, "No one will probably be able to tell that it's bass, but it is".
