Welcome back to season 2 of know your bass player.
Today we’re talking about Cliff Burton formally of Metallica
and I can’t believe how many of you have
requested to see Cliff’s bass rig.
So without further ado, I’m back, you’re here it’s season 2 … and this is Cliff Burton's Bass Rig
Cliff is obviously known for his signature sound and compositions with Metallica in the
mid 80s.
Before this though he was a member of a couple of other bands
And to begin with we’re gonna start with that.
Cliff join the band "EZ-Street" which then
later evolved into “Agents of Misfortune”.
Here he played with Jim Martin and Mike Bordin, both of whom would later play with “Faith
No More” and be well known, talented musicians by their own right.
After “Agents of Misfortune” he had a short stint in “Trauma”.
Cliff was photographed in these bands at various performances, talent shows and even a music
video. -- And it’s here we see the debut of his classic
Burgundy Rickenbacker.
His iconic Rickenbacker would follow him into Metallica in 1983.
Recording the Megaforce Demo, Thrill’em all and Ride the Lightning.
This Rickenbacker has been modified a few times over the years.
The first modification was made by 1982 and added
a stacked Seymour Duncan single coil guitar pickup to the bridge of the bass.
Yes, you heard right. A guitar pickup in the bridge of the bass.
This was installed where the foam mute would be and activated independently by a push-pull
switch. Cliff referred to this modification as his
“secret weapon”. And wanted to keep people guessing about his tone.
A second modification was made soon after, replacing the stock pickups.
Whilst stock Rickenbacker pickups have a remarkable tone, they do lack a high volume output.
Installed in the neck of the bass was a “Mudbucker” pickup.
The “Mudbucker” is usually found on a GIbson EB-0 and used to the effect of a muddy
boomy bottom end.
In addition to this, the Rickenbacker bridge pickup was modified with a tapped,
maroon coloured split coil for clarity. You will know the pick up these days to be
a Seymour Duncan Hotstack.
These three pickups work together to provide a fat low end, an articulate bite
and a a high output
Cliff has said in an interview with with Harold O.
in the Thrash Metal fanzine that this bass was retired after recording
Ride The Lightning due to problems with said modifications.
This bass now resides at the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Ohio.
Sometime between the release of “Thrill’em All” and the end of “Ride the Lightning"
tour. Around 1983-1985, Cliff briefly used an Alembic Spoiler.
I say briefly, as it was stolen from Cliff at some point during this period.
Corinne Lynn, Cliffs then girlfriend recalls in the biography “to live is to die” …
“There was the theft of the Alembic Spoiler bass ... used briefly in 1984/85.
He came to Sunnyvale after rehearsal and said his Alembic had been stolen"
Using this assumption, we can presume the Alembic was used to record Ride The Lightning
and then used on tour.
However there are other factors doubting the bass being used to record at all.
There are a number of other sources, Cliff included ...
Who speak of three more events where equipment was stolen in and around January 1984.
The details don’t mention the Alembic specifically so it’s debatable.
But if the Spoiler was stolen at this time. It wouldn’t have been used to record Ride
The Lightning.
I talk about this in a bit more detail in the show notes, so please take a look at that
for more info.
So those of you who bought a Spoiler in California during this period,
be sure to check for a fair-sized chip in the back finish
up around the side of the peghead, this bass has never been found,
and if yours looks like that it very well could have belonged to Cliff.
For the remainder of the tour Cliff acquired a Japanese made Aria Pro II SB1000.
The Super Bass 1000 is considered to be one of Aria’s high end models.
With 1 active double coil pickup and six tone positions.
Cliff was lucky enough to gain an endorsement with Aria and almost overnight Cliff switched
to a passive Aria Black N Gold I (one). Shortly thereafter Metallica entered the studio
to record Master of Puppets in September 1985.
Puppets was released in March the following year and
Metallica started promoting the album, supporting Ozzy Osbourne during his Ultimate Sin tour.
The Black N Gold is distinguishable from the SB1000 by its oval inlays and gold coloured
bridge. Some have listed Cliff using an Aria SB Elite
but you will find it to be the Black n Gold.
The major difference between these two basses is the new passive pickup in a humbucking
style. the nut width is slightly smaller making the
strings a little closer together And it’s slightly heavier being made from
Alder.
Speaking of Aria and pickups. One of Cliffs Black N Gold’s
Which was kept in Metallica’s possession after his death.
This bass was spotted at the Metallica Museum in 2013
with PJ Marx pickups.
PJ Marx, whilst no longer trading . Were once famous for supplying then Ozzy Osbourne's
replacement guitarist Brad Gillis with his own signature pickup.
In 2013, Aria with permission of the Burton family released a Cliff Burton tribute bass.
It matched the specs of his Black n Gold to the letter and was released to the public
at NAAM of the same year. This bass has a price tag of around £4000
mostly due to 24 karat gold plating of the hardware
and limited run.
And finally for the completionists amongst us.
During the down time between tours. Cliff, James and Kirk all made appearances in a jokey
band named “Plastik Children”. In these photos he uses an unbranded Precision
bass and a beer bottle as a slide. Peewww
Fan stories in forums suggest this bass was borrowed
as Cliff has never been photographed with a Precision bass.
Cliffs amplifiers went through a couple of changes during his short career.
Initially we see him with back in EZ street …
The band, not an actual street
With a 2 by 18 inch Road Electronics cabinet.
If you look back at photos of EZ street at a talent contest dated 1979.
You can see the 18 inch cab, an Ampeg SVT head and matching cabinet on stage .
However it has more or less presumed the Ampeg gear belonged to another contestant
who combined his rig with Cliffs.
The 2 by 18 cabinet was the main staple in his amplifier rig for many years.
Through the band Trauma and joining Metallica, he powered the cabinet with a Sunn Beta bass
head.
Also mentioned in this period but not really talked about is a handwritten note by Cliff.
It was given to KJ Doughton, the founder of the Metallica Fan Club and printed in a newsletter
shortly after Cliff joined, around 1983.
Cliff states he was using a Randall amplifier a Randall 18” cabinet and the the Road Electric
cab.
This is also backed up in the book “To Live Is To Die” where Guitar shop owner Chuck
Martin recalls Cliff buying the Randall equipment from his shop.
Following this, There are several photos depicting Cliff and
his rig in different stages.
In this picture dated May 1983 we now see Cliff stood in front of his 2 by 18 but with
a Sunn 2 by 12 on top.
Likewise, during the Pre-"Thrill'em All" period we see Cliff with what looks like two whole
rigs.
Nowhere in the research for this video is any of this equipment mentioned
but I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't cover everything related to Cliff.
On the left, Cliff now has a second Sunn Beta head presumably for the second speaker in
the Road 18 inch cabinet.
Then to the right this additional cabinet set has
Peavy Mark IV and a Sunn Coliseum 880
And finally a 15 inch JBL bass bin.
There's no context to this photo and it is possible it could be someone else's rig on
stage so your mileage may vary.
Inevitably, Cliff simplified his rig by the Ride the Lightning tour.
As Metallica were now touring and recording aboard,
it’s not too much of a stretch to think he had to take less equipment.
In footage like Metallica live at the Metro in 1983.
Cliff is on stage with the Road Electronics cab and Randall amplifier.
During the Master of Puppets tour, which was officially named the Damage Inc tour .
Cliff returns to the stage with a new set of amplifiers and cabinets.
Here he has two Mesa Boogie Mark 3 heads and 2 Boogie D-180 power amps.
One to power a clean signal and the second running his effects loop.
These heads go on to power two custom 115 boogie speakers and one 4x12 cabinet
In Cliffs own words he described them as “basically a 115 stuffed inside a 412 box. So, you uniform
the fit with the backline.” And fitting in with James and Kirks gear.
This set up stayed with Cliff until his final performance in September 1986.
And there you have it, that is Cliff Burton’s Bass Rig.
Join me in part two where we dedicate the entire episode to just his effects pedals.
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Thank you very much for joining me and I’ll see you in part 2.