How do i get that sound

[silentbob]

I really love Jason Newstead's sound on the the Metallica "Black" album. Any ideas how i can replicate it without spending a fortune on Alembic and Ampeg gear?

[ashevans09]

If it's any help apparently he recorded the black album with a vintage Ampeg 810 and SVT for his main tone, supplemented by an Ampeg 1x18 for lows, and a Marshall guitar cabinet with a Trace Elliot head for the mid/highs. (plus the alembics obviously )

Common consensus with our american counterparts over at TB seems to say jazz bass, sansamp and a pick though.

Hope that helps. Tbh, I think "Jazz bass, sansamp, pick" is probably your best option

[budget bassist]

yeah he used sadowsky or fodera or some USA jazz copy quite a bit live, pick obviously and a sansamp would be a good idea, and a morley wah if you're after those bass solo sounds. I think he may have used a big muff too, or that may have been cliff

[Russ]

I seem to recall, in an interview, that most of the Black Album was recorded fairly simply with an old P-bass and an 80s Spector 4-string, through the aforementioned roomful of Ampeg gear. A 5-string was involved on a couple of tunes, which, if I remember right, was one of his Alembics.

Edited December 6, 2009 by Russ

[Tee]

Yeah, you see him in the studio with a 4 string Spector in the 'Nothing else matters' vid

[longtimefred]

nothing else matters was done with a fretless stingray, a lot of the other tracks he used the Spector (wherever i may roam, enter sandman, holier than thou), alongside his Alembics.
Jason started using the Sadowskys towards the load and reload era.

Jason was one of the reasons for me starting to play bass and i craved that sound for years. Then realized it would cost a hell of a lot of money to get it!

The Jazz with some EQ scooping can get close to this. I found that when i got closer to this kind of tone, it was getting a little lost in the mix, i guess you need Metallicas sound engineers as well to make it work.

[Josh]

Observe:

4:31 on wards.

Edited December 6, 2009 by Josh