Known as the Jimi Hendrix of Metal bass, Cliff Burton is immortalized in Metallica’s golden era as the pinnacle of the genre’s low-end wielders.
His virtuosity in playing and writing which brought in elements of jazz and classical music, turned three heavy albums into timeless masterpieces. Among the non-conventional aspects of his sound, the moded Rickenbacker bass he played is the most exciting piece of gear. Cliff Burton’s Rickenbacker history is part of the history of how Metal, with Metallica at the helm, went beyond the genre’s limits.
I grew up with Metallica and still play in Metallica tribute shows across the country. Two decades later, I wish I hadn’t played guitar on Master of Puppets with the band, but instead played Cliff’s bass parts, possibly with the classy Rickenbacker, as detailed in this article.
Clifford Lee Burton was born in Castro Valley, California, in February 1962. Born to a musical family, Burton was introduced early to classical music and piano, only switching to bass after his brother’s death.
“I’m going to be the best bassist for my brother,” was the promise he uttered and undoubtedly kept by practicing daily and helping Metallica become the biggest metal act in the world.
He took his first bass lesson with a jazz bassist named Steve Doherty and practiced six hours daily, even after joining Metallica.
His career started with two bands while still a student, including his high school band EZ Street, and a band called Agents of Misfortune, which he formed with his childhood best friend. Not long after, Burton joined his first professional band - Trauma.
At one of Trauma’s shows in LA in 1982, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich of the newly formed Metallica recruited him. The story goes that both of them thought a guitarist was playing the shredding bits and immediately offered Burton the place when they found out it was his bass doing the magic.
While Burton was undoubtedly a talented bassist, the instrument he used was a key part of his musical acumen. Burton’s guitar of choice was the Rickenbacker 4001, due to its bright and punchy tone, as well as its signature and distinctive growl. This model became his primary instrument during his early days with Metallica and contributed to his status as a legendary bassist.
Sadly, while Metallica saw great success in the 1980s, what happened next is history for Metallica fans and the entire Metal community. Cliff tragically died at 24 years old on September 27, 1988, after the band’s bus crashed while on tour in Sweden.
Cliff Burton played his Rickenbacker 4001 long before joining Metallica. His jamming buddy Jim Martin who played with Cliff in 79.’ said,” he played an old Rickenbacker plugged into an effect caxxlled bass balls.” Now the bass sits in the halls of the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame museum.
Compared to a standard Rickenbacker 4001, Cliff’s bass was heavily modded. Chuck Martin was the luthier who did the mods at ABC Music in his hometown in California, and most of the story of Cliff’s bass guitar comes from him. On a technical side, these were not the best mods, but they worked for Cliff.
Curiously enough, Burton’s bass was not modded to become heavier sounding but more versatile. This was fitting, considering he was not your typical thrash metal bassist. In fact, I find Cliff to be the Metallica member with the slightest connection musically or sonically to thrash music.
Cliff Burton removed the factory pickups from his Rickenbacker, replacing the neck pickup with a Gibson EB Mudbucker and the bridge with a Seymor Duncan stacked jazz pickup. He also added a ‘hidden’ single coil guitar pickup on the bridge for when he needed to kick the distortion on.
A mudbucker is a vintage bass pickup widely used in the early 60s. It’s a big-neck pickup used in single-pickup vintage basses. The name ”mudbucker” comes from its muddy tone. It’s very classic sounding, at times resembling an upright bass.
It’s hard to find one today, yet at the time Cliff used it, it was one of the best pickups to get a solid low-end that balances out the aggressive guitars. There are pictures of a young Cliff playing his first bass, a Gibson EB-O, with a mudbucker. It’s likely that part of his motivation behind using it on the Rickenbacker was so that he could recreate this tone.
Seymour Duncan’s stacked jazz pickups are great for getting a bright bass tone with a lot of attacks, especially when placed on the bridge. Whenever Cliff played distorted fast rhythm parts, such as on “Seek and Destroy,” the bridge pickup gave it the grind note separation.
From experience, I can relate to needing to let the low end go when playing bass in a metal band. You need to have as much space as needed so as not to take up too much space for the kick drums, especially if you play busy bass lines like Cliff did.
The single coil Strat guitar pickup is the secret ingredient to Cliff’s sound in his early days of playing shows. Luthier Chuck Marting fitted it in where the mute foam of the bridge pickup would typically be.
Its very tight nature removes nearly the entire low end and raises the presence of the tone almost to a guitar’s level. Turning it on with a push/pull potentiometer would make his bass sound like a guitar with a tremendous amount of fuzz.
The wiring brought up problems and a lot of noise in the studio, so the audio engineers removed it before recording “Kill Em All.” Bad wiring and distortion don’t go well together, especially on a bass.
Serious instrumentalists don’t choose their instruments by chance - there are a number of factors and features they consider before they pick a model that becomes their signature musical companion. For Cliff in his early days, this was the Rickenbacker 4001, and the guitar has now become synonymous with his early work.
Cliff preferred the Rickenbacker for a number of reasons. For one, the guitar produces a unique tone, that is characterised by its distinctive “bright” and “punchy” sound that is heavy on the treble and lends itself to the fast-paced rock music of Metallica.
Additionally, the guitar is incredibly versatile and allows the player to create many different sounds. Whether you want to create an aggressive and vibrant bass tone or a more mellow deep sound, the Rickenbacker allows you to fit your bass playing around the music you’re making, which is a unique feature that Cliff loved.
Of course, a rockstar always needs to think about the visual appeal of their instrument, so it is no surprise that Cliff loved the Rickenbacker 4001 for this reason. The sleek yet bold appearance of the guitar looked great on stage and cut an impressive shape in his hands.
Finally, the historical significance of the Rickenbacker 4001 makes it a popular choice amongst bassists. Some of the world’s best bands, including Queen, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and The Bee Gees have used a Rickenbacker in their bass section, firmly cementing it as one of the “great” bass guitars on the market.
Metalica’s debut album “Kill ‘Em All” is beloved by many fans, primarily for its unique sound that perfectly encapsulates the band at this time. Cliff’s work on the Rickenbacker is a major part of this as his bass playing features heavily across the album and helps to create the signature “Metallica” sound.
Many fans describe “Kill ‘Em All” as “raw” or “energetic,” and this aspect of the music is largely driven by Cliff’s playing. The vibrant and punchy tone of his bass, as well as his use of distortion and wah pedals, bring his playing into the foreground of the album and help to create the powerful sound that Metalica is known for.
While Cliff did transition to other basses in his later albums, his use of the Rickenbacker was a core feature of early Metallica material and allowed the band to quickly become considered one of the best of all time.
According to one of Cliff’s ex-bandmates before Metallica, Dave Donato, the bass was given to his girlfriend Audrey, who was a bass player herself.
On another account, the Burton family later took the bass and brought it to the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame museum in 2009 when Metallica was inducted.
After the recording of Kill ‘Em All, the bad wiring problems and too much DIY made the bass unfit to play at the required levels. Perhaps the experience in the studio and working with great sound engineers affected his choices.
The Aria Pro II SB – 1000 “Black and Gold” took care of all the sounds he needed using only one pickup and adding some extra frets. Considering what Cliff used it for, I’m sure the Aria was an easier-to-play, lighter instrument with little to no noise issues.
The three pickups were replaced by one passive MB-V pickup with a dual sound toggle switch that gave him enough versatility to shred and hold the band’s low end. Soundwise it’s similar to the Rickenbacker, yet slightly more aggressive.
The good news is that a modern reissue is available to the public and more accessible than a standard Rickenbacker 4001.
Cliff used a Black Alembic Bass for shows during the 1983-1985 period, but it’s not accounted if he used it on “Ride The Lightning.” He also used a Fender P Bass while playing with Metallica’s mostly unknown side project, Spastik Chicken.
Burton’s playing style is a sum of his early musical training, on classical music and jazz and rock influences in his teenage years. His lead sounds more like a classical guitarist shredding on electric guitar rather than a bass, while the rhythm work is groovy and melodic as if a Bach fugue touched rock n’ roll.
Many of you might recall his bass shredding on “Pulling Teeth,” and the now hymn intro of “For Whom The Bell Tolls.” My favourites are the instrumental “Orion” and “Call of Cthulu” in their entirety. The refined composition of the bass is otherworldly.
What made Cliff superior to his peers was not only his playing but his leading spotlight. He was the Metal version of Jaco Pastorius, and just like him, he could compose entire songs. As Jaco did with “Weather Report,” the bass would take the lead only when needed, but even when not, it was the foundation of the drummer’s groove and guitar melodies.
Tone-wise, his most distinctive sound is the chaotic “wah fuzz” he uses for leads and riffs.
Burton’s bass is not nearly as low in the mix as the non-existent Jason Newsted bass lines on “And Justice For All.” Still, If you want to hear his bass up front and mimic his tone, I recommend you listen to alternate mixes on YouTube.
The Rickenbacker 4001 is a hard-to-find expensive vintage instrument, no matter its condition. It’s an excellent choice for classic rock lovers, rockabilly, and everything 60s and 70s sounding.
To recreate Cliff’s tone, you should replace the stock pickups with something similar to what Cliff used, as the stock pickups will not usually be able to handle distortion well. I’d leave out the single coil guitar pickup, though, as there are better choices today for a single bass bridge pickup that can do it all.
For Metal in general, not only for Cliff’s tone, I’d recommend purchasing the new Aria II Signature, as it’s an overall better-crafted instrument.
Not everyone can afford the Rickenbacker 4001 and even less can afford to modify a vintage instrument. However, if you’re on a budget, there are multiple workarounds.
Metal bass guitars, whether 4 or 5 string, all share easy-to-play necks, and pickups that can handle some gain. To recreate Cliff Burton’s tone on a budget today is much easier than in the 70s, as there are many affordable pedals, amps, and digital effect units.
Any mid-range bass versatile enough to go from bummy to bright and snappy can be turned into a shredding bass in Cliff’s style, as long as the pickup doesn’t shrill too much on high gain and still retains some low-end when overdriven.
Affordable basses can be turned into shredding machines with the right pedals and basic amps; however, the hard part is to find a bass that has a good balance between a clean, dynamic signal and a tight distorted tone. Even if you suffer slightly on one end, it’s not a big issue unless you play on high-stakes stages.
In contrast, a premium instrument will ultimately deliver better sound and is more reliable when played on big stages or in the studio. Even Cliff had to give up on his early equipment and switch to professional ones after Metallica hit it big.
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