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Best Geezer Butler bassline


lidl e

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On 13/02/2024 at 23:42, lidl e said:

Is it Megalomania or Wheels of Confusion?

I am so glad to see Wheels Of Confusion mentioned (I thought I was the only one who liked it). But funnily enough I think the best bit of the song is the 'pedal' where Geez plays a repeated single note and Iommi does his riffing over it (where you get the mystical howling over the top) - it starts at 2:50. I think it's magnificent.

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On 14/02/2024 at 10:21, dmccombe7 said:

Heaven and Hell album for me. Loved the bass lines and his tone was IMO perfect.

Dave

Me too I love Sabbath but Geezers playing on Heaven and Hell is top drawer.

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  • 6 months later...

Apologies for dragging this thread up from a few months ago but I noticed from watching the California Jam footage today that 'Children Of The Grave' is played with a pick, which I was surprised about. The only bit of Sabbath I thought he used a pick on was the outro of 'Iron Man'. So, I did some more trawling through Sabbs footage and saw that he played 'Neon Knights' with a pick too, in the footage from New York in 1980. That took me by surprise too, as he definitely played it with fingers later (see the Wacken 2009 clip of Heaven And Hell live).

 

Anyone aware of any more Geezer pick moments?

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2 hours ago, Cosmo Valdemar said:

A lot of Never Say Die sounds like it's played with a pick - and a Rickenbacker, despite what Geezer says 😄

 

 

 

What I want to know is, why have they got XLR cables up their noses instead of the usual ants and coke?

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4 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

What I want to know is, why have they got XLR cables up their noses instead of the usual ants and coke?

For balance.

 

 

Sorry, I'll get my robe.

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The production on Sabbath's early albums was pretty grim: vocals way too forward and drums & bass hidden in the background.

When Dio joined, Geezer got a lot more prominence, but Bill Ward (possibly my favourite drummer) didn't like the band and left.

I'm just learning War Pigs and the bass lines are really just mucking about (not in a bad way!) in the pocket.

I saw Heaven & Hell live and the bass sound was really good; I have a set of GZR pickups to put on a bass some time, but I actually like the current sound of my Precisions so I'm not sure when that'll happen.

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16 hours ago, Cosmo Valdemar said:

A lot of Never Say Die sounds like it's played with a pick - and a Rickenbacker, despite what Geezer says 😄

 

 

I love that track. One my favourites from latter period Sabbath. Don't like much of the rest of the album but the vibe on Junior's Eyes is great.

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1 hour ago, prowla said:

The production on Sabbath's early albums was pretty grim: vocals way too forward and drums & bass hidden in the background.

I dunno about that. The first album and 'Paranoid' are widely regarded as being a benchmark examples of a four piece rock band captured live in the studio. Both have a great, dry, in-your-face- quality that really helps the power of the band cut through.

 

The next three have got some muddy moments I'll agree with you there (however many people will argue that 'Master Of Reality's sludgy sound is what they like about it) but it doesn't detract from their appeal.

Edited by AMV001
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1 hour ago, prowla said:

The production on Sabbath's early albums was pretty grim: vocals way too forward and drums & bass hidden in the background.

When Dio joined, Geezer got a lot more prominence, but Bill Ward (possibly my favourite drummer) didn't like the band and left.

 

I've got to disagree there - the first three Sabbath albums have a very clearly defined mix to my ears. It's a very live, hard stereo-panned sound and I've always found it easy to pick out Geezer's basslines.

 

Vol 4 is a murky mess though.

 

I always felt Geezer sounded a lot more discipline on the Dio material, but then so did the band as a whole. Less improv.

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51 minutes ago, AMV001 said:

I dunno about that. The first album is widely regarded as being a benchmark example of a four piece rock band captured live in the studio. Its got a great, dry, in-your-face- quality that really helps the power of the band cut through. 'Paranoid' is much the same.

 

The next three have got some muddy moments I'll agree with you there (however many people will argue that 'Master Of Reality's sludgy sound is what they like about it) but it doesn't detract from their appeal.

In terms of the production of its time I think that the first four albums are really good. I honestly prefer this type of 'band in a room' production than more expansive 'modern' rock production where the kick drum and snare drum are compressed to the max. 

Considering how quickly and how cheaply the first album was recorded I consider it to be incredibly well done. 

Edited by thodrik
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3 hours ago, prowla said:

The production on Sabbath's early albums was pretty grim: vocals way too forward and drums & bass hidden in the background.

When Dio joined, Geezer got a lot more prominence, but Bill Ward (possibly my favourite drummer) didn't like the band and left.

I'm just learning War Pigs and the bass lines are really just mucking about (not in a bad way!) in the pocket.

I saw Heaven & Hell live and the bass sound was really good; I have a set of GZR pickups to put on a bass some time, but I actually like the current sound of my Precisions so I'm not sure when that'll happen.

 

I had a P bass with GZR pickups and they did sound really good. Still very much a recognisable p bass sound but more aggressive. 

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The EMG Geezer model is an undeniably great-sounding P pickup, regardless of genre. It'll do a great job for any style of music 

 

Totally agree with what others have said about Geezer effectively disappearing into a mysterious sludge for a few albums following Paranoid. Starts to resurface on Sabotage but quite not enough. Technical Ecstasy is a bit better, as is Never Say Die, but Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules are the benchmark albums when it comes to bass tone and Geezer's playing. Absolute perfection, for my taste anyway.

 

I got to meet Sabbath on the Heaven and Hell tour and it was pretty awe-inspiring. I remember they were all deeply tanned with leathery-looking skin. Geezer had a perm and moustache that wouldn't have looked out of place on a Bayern Munich midfielder of that era, or a male porn performer from around that time. 

Edited by Misdee
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Hmmm. Atypical choice but Solitude? Lovely relaxed, plonky backing in a song with a lot of bass space.

My heart is with the Heaven & Hell album but am not sure how much he plays on it. I know it was Geoff Nichols on the demos. It's certainly a different sound from the Ozzy years but I guess that applies to the guitar and drums too. Assuming it's him, what about Lonely is the Word for a heavy-yet-relaxed album bookend that could go on for years?

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On 07/11/2024 at 10:40, AMV001 said:

Apologies for dragging this thread up from a few months ago but I noticed from watching the California Jam footage today that 'Children Of The Grave' is played with a pick, which I was surprised about. The only bit of Sabbath I thought he used a pick on was the outro of 'Iron Man'. So, I did some more trawling through Sabbs footage and saw that he played 'Neon Knights' with a pick too, in the footage from New York in 1980. That took me by surprise too, as he definitely played it with fingers later (see the Wacken 2009 clip of Heaven And Hell live).

 

Anyone aware of any more Geezer pick moments?

I find it's much easier to keep the tightness on the skippy pedal in the verses of COTG with a pick. I'm not a big metaller so don't have that kind of stamina and I start to fall out of time a bit after a few minutes with the fingers. Or it may be because it's one of the very few tunes I still play from when I was a teenager with a pick (but without a clue 😆). As for the best Geezer lines, for me it's Paranoid pretty much from start to finish. From that noodling at the start of War Pigs onwards it's consistently great. The killer tone, the ability to squeeze soooooo much heft and feel out of just pentatonics and R 5 O and the way his parts weave so perfectly with the guitar and drums. Stellar stuff.   

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I came here to say the exact same thing - his part in Perry mason carries the song.

2 hours ago, ARGH said:

Soft spot for 'Perry Mason', the guitar solo section is brilliant, ALL of Dehumanizer is brutal... NIB, Hand of Doom, Hole in the Sky... Terry Geezer Butler just kicks arse.

 

Edited by dudewheresmybass
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4 hours ago, dudewheresmybass said:

I came here to say the exact same thing - his part in Perry mason carries the song.

 

It's one of the best post Daisley Basslines, and deffo imho as distinctive as Phil Soussan's ..identity..errr...you can tell who it is.. type of line since a 'Shot in the dark'. Yes I know Inez does a really good job on No more tears, but without THAT line, on 'Perry Mason', played, like that, Like the Bob Daisley stuff, the tune would just fall apart. It's Bassplaying as it should be, as a rhythm section, not just a double of the guitars, with maybe a hint of a fill at a verses end.

 

Edited by ARGH
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