Geezer Butler: Did His Bass Gear Hold the Key to Black Sabbath's Domination of Heavy Metal? 🤘
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- Опубліковано 5 лис 2017
- Geezer Butler is the forefather of Heavy Metal and today we talk Geezer Butler's Bass Rig. Geezer has played bass in the original line up of Black Sabbath and the related band Heaven and Hell with Ronnie James Dio.
Geezer's Bass Rig has seen him with basses from Fender, John Birch, John Diggins, Rickenbacker, B.C Rich and Lakland. In this video we talk through all of these basses and their configurations.
#geezerbutler #blacksabbath
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📔 SHOW NOTES
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You can find the show notes and a list of the Lakland basses for this episode at
✅www.whichbass.co.uk/Geezer-But...
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🎥GEEZER BUTLER SERIES
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Watch all the rig videos for Geezers Amplifiers, effects and racks
🎥 • Geezer Butler Bass Rig...
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Stop throwing invisible stuff at me.
Dude, I got so much invisible stuff I just got to get rid of it. Please take some stuff.
Lol
I agree it freaks my mind out
I Tweeted Geezer a link to this video ... He only watched and replied! My life is complete.
twitter.com/geezerbutler/status/940313686744489984
BTW - Vigier and BC Rich basses. Yes I know! It's mentioned in Part 2 and 3 respectively, I haven't forgotten!
ua-cam.com/play/PLw0E3Z43zL4ifg_L_2O5R7Kw0qzi-DUTx.html
nice!!
When I saw the Sabs on the "Mob Rules" Tour in 1982, Geezer was playing a B C. Rich Eagle.
Sick man
That's so cool. Geezer and Ron Holzner from Trouble are the reason I own a 1980 Bc Rich Eagle.
Probably my favourite bassist of all time! Brilliant and massively influential.
Glad you picked Geezer so many folks have no clue how many intricate runs , fill and amazing bass lines in general he plays . I learned Iron Man from beginning to end on bass . The entire weight of the song was on Geezer and Ward . Their roles were so ahead of the game . Back when most rhythm sections were keeping it rather simple . That's not to take away how incredible Iommi and Ozzy were / are .
Couldn't say it any better. Thanks Dane.
1:03 gave me eye cancer
Fun fact: that red Rickenbacker at 3:10 is the same bass used by Glenn Hughes to record Deep Purple’s album Burn. Glenn once tried to buy it back but Geezer said something like “no, I don’t sell me basses. You can come round and have a look at it though!”
In '92, he played Vigier basses during the first Dio reunion (Dehumanizer).
Yep! That's right, it's in the show notes.
I've only seen him use Spector once or twice (a white NS-2) and Vigiers on a lot of TV appearances. Can you name or link to where he used Spector frequently? I'd love to know more.
@@WhichBass he can be seen using a Spector during the Ozzy tour from No Rest For The Wicked.
The Spector he played sounded better that most he dabbled with IMHO.
Dude very good research
Thank you DarkBass, I appreciate that.
The inlays on Tony’s guitar are crosses, not crucifixes. A crucifix has a figure of Jesus on it. Just a minor quibble.
I'm glad someone is paying attention!
Jeffrey Dohnger go get some help
@Jeffrey Dohnger The distinction I made mostly applies to iconography/pictures, not crosses used for crucifixion in general.
Yay an episode about my favorite bass player
Thanks for that, very good video
Keep it up man :)
Very glad you enjoyed it Flo, hope you come back for part 2!
Where has this channel been my whole life? Just amazing work, love these videos
Thanks Javier, glad you're enjoying yourself :D
This series is exactly what i've been wanting for years. Just found it:)
That's probably the biggest compliment I can receive, thank you Anton.
Haha, np probs. And i have a suggestion also, John Paul Jones, my favorite bass player:)
You got it man, I'll see what I can do :D
I still want to know how he got /that/ sound out of a short scale in the volume 4 era, tuned down to C#.
Has to be the coke for sure.
lmao, for real though, he had to be using some HEAVY gauge strings those years.
Vol 4 was recorded on a regular fender p bass
Yeah, what's up w that?!?? Seems like you would want to go longer scale not shorter scale, and does anybody know what gauge strings he ACTUALLY played?
@@sethnicholls7861 I'd be surprised If Geezer himself knew.
dude, your channel is quickly becoming one of my favorite channels! love the video's man! keep up the good work!!!! btw, i'm sure i've seen pic's of geezer using bc rich basses at some point in history.... but other than that great stuff! can't wait for the next video about his amps and effects!
Hey Jam, thanks very much for the compliment I appreciate that! If you've have a picture of Geezer using the Ric else where I'd love to see it and put it in the show notes, link me if you do!
Geezer got me started in bass playing. Being a Geezer fan brought me to your channel. Your research and commentary got me to subscribe.
May we all bow down to Geezer with thanks. Thanks for the sub Verst, glad to have you.
Wow again...another GREAT VIDEO! Always wondered the bass's geezer toured with. Thanks again for this video..will be looking forward towards part 2
Thanks Cruise, very glad you liked it. Part 2 will be up soon as.
Which Bass can't wait.
Love these videos dude! Cant wait for season 2 :)
Danny Danny Danny, thanks dude. Glad to hear it!
Super cool video. Well done. Thanks for making it !
Thank you Captain, I appreciate that.
Awesome vid! Thanks so much for this.
Thanks Maxwell, so glad you enjoyed it.
Always interesting work and research, thanks
Thank you Adrien, glad you enjoyed it.
Keep the videos coming. Love them
Thanks very much Joe, part 2 is on the way.
Another brilliant video!
Thanks Jon Jon! Glad you enjoyed it.
Learned to play from this man...I bow down.
Love your research very in depth on my favorite bass player. Nobody plays bass like Geezer Butler.
I just found this channel. Premium quality content. Mark my words - you're gonna be big on UA-cam if you will keep up the good work. Greetings from Poland :)
Hey Hubert, thanks so much for your comment this has to be one of my favourite! That's really find of you to say so, I appreciate that. Dziękuję bardzo (Mówię trochę po Polsku ;) )
Great channel. Thoughtful with plenty of good info. Greetings from San Francisco.
Thank you Alex, very nice to hear from you in SF. I hope the weathers better than the UK's!
Geezer and Les are two of the best bass players of all time
Thanks for your this whole information about a bassist that I respect and love.
Hey David, thank you the comment, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed yourself, please come again!
Yo man, this is amazing. You have a really original idea that I've not seen anywhere else on UA-cam, keep up the work and the subs will start rolling in bro. Also I'd like to see an episode on either Mike Dirnt of Green Day or Cliff Burton of Metallica
Thanks for the kind words Ryan, I appreciate that. Glad you have enjoyed yourself. Mike and Cliff are great suggestions and I know one of those players will be expected soon!
Bravo once more for your thorough research. Uncanny and very factual with a bit of humor. Very well made!
Thank you Steve! Very glad you enjoyed it.
I just discovered your channel. Great vids mate! Also, in the future could you do John Paul Jones? I just thought that if you were going to do Black Sabbath you might as well have Led Zeppelin with it.
Thanks very much Kim, glad to have you here! John Paul Jones, a great choice, I'll add your request to the list. Watch this space!
u better do part two. awesome work dude, i've watched this and flea's one (pretty my influences like everyone else). subscribed, keep em coming
btw, tim from ratm would be nice.
Hey Mario, glad to have you subscribed thank you. Part 2's coming, don't you worry. No promises to exactly when but it will be soon.
Hey Mario, just letting you know Part 2 is now online if you haven't seen it ua-cam.com/video/zIOX5jw2Ytw/v-deo.html
Binge watching your series is a must
Thanks Bubbly! I appreciate that dude.
Awesome videos man!
Thanks Tarun, glad to have you watching.
I love your videos! Do keep up the good work! cheers m8
Thank you Strawmega, glad to have you watching. Love your Ghoul mask!
Excellent research sir.
Thank you Ted, glad you enjoyed it.
Great video!
Thanks for watching Rene!
3:10 Wow, Geezer playing with a pick, that's rare
@Darth Zaratustra Ooohh, that's interesting. Didn't know about it.
This is a great video, I'd definitely like to see more.
Thanks Trevor, glad you enjoyed it. If you subscribe you'll get a notification when part 2 is online.
Amazing! Thank you!
You're welcome Frol. Thanks for stopping by.
Geezer and Jon Paul Jones rule on bass and song writing! THIS is the way to bass!
Can't wait for Lemmy's Rig. Good stuff, mate!
Hey again Fleig, yes sir! It's in the plan.
This is the one I've been wanting
Would love a John Paul Jones episode. Also any chance of a Mike Kerr from Royal Blood episode. Thanks in advance
JPJ and Mike Kerr are both on my list. I'll get to them eventually I'm sure!
Dude. This is my favorite video of all time! Also, I subscribed to your channel and turned on the bell icon in case if I get notified by you. Best content ever!
Sonic, thank you very much for the comment and the subscription, I appreciate that. I think the Geezer video is one of my favourites too. It was a lot of fun to research.
Your welcome Which Bass. I'm actually drawing Geezer Butler for my Visual Arts project.
Oh awesome, I'd love to have a look send me a copy on twitter when you're done! @AlfieWilliamsUK
I recently found this channel and it's really cool, and as a guitarist and bassist I'm looking forward to the new vids. As for suggestions, I'd love to see guys like Les Claypool, Paul McCartney, Geddy Lee, Mike Dirnt (Green Day), Cliff Burton, Lemmy, Krist Novoselic (Nirvana) or even Nate Mendel (Foo Fighters/Sunny Day Real Estate)
Hey Andrew, thanks for the comment and the suggestions are great. I'll add them to the list, a few of these will be coming verrryy soon.
Hey Andrew, just wanted to let you know my Cliff Burton video is now up. I'm hoping to do Claypool afterwards
ua-cam.com/video/3cb_99LWKnM/v-deo.html
Love these man! Keep going! I wish someone did this with guitarist tho
Thanks James! Glad you're enjoying them.
Geezer is the greatest to ever live! His playing, his lyrics, the two are completely perfect
Do les claypool. I really wanna know how to get his sound:)
Another vote for Les! Watch this space. ***UPDATE*** The video has been made! ua-cam.com/video/FyDJrFpQIHw/v-deo.html
me too
all in the fingers sir.
You’ve got to have his fingers 🤣
Play with a super low action and beat the shit out of your bass. A little bit of overdrive also helps.
Geezer is at the top of the pile when we talk about bass players in the pantheon of rock - they don't get more legendary than this guy. Without him we probably wouldn't have the bass tone and sounds we hear from metal/rock bands the world over. It's all derived from this guy and Tony. Massive respect for Gezzer as a bass player but also as a decent person all around. Listen to any interview with him and he's just a regular kid from the backstreets who's so down to earth and very funny as well. His status as one of the all time greatest rock bassists is not in dispute.
Well said Blazing, couldn't agree more.
I'm a fan of these videos. It's nice knowing what your hee is use. Could you do a rig rundown for Peter Steele he is my favorite bassist next to Geezer and Lemmy
Thank you Armando, I have Peter on my list I will see what I can do.
I really like the content. Keep it up.
Thank you Samuel, I appreciate that.
My first time here. Liked, subbed.
Thanks for the like and Sub James, good to have you watching.
Well done.
Please show part 2.
Thanks Crlaw, part 2 is on the way, watch this space.
Hey Crlaw, just letting you know Part 2 is now online if you haven't seen it ua-cam.com/video/zIOX5jw2Ytw/v-deo.html
Happy B-Day Sir.!!!!
I saw Geezer using a B.C Rich iron bird style bass at Live Aid during their first reunion. Now that was a wicked bass.
That's right, it's in part 3.
Fell in love with a lakland 55-01. Its my main unmodified for sure.
They are great basses for sure. I've reviewed my 4401 if you're interested.
I just wanna know what type of amp he used since his bass is heard very loudly in every song and I love that since I'm learning to play a bass
You forgot his BCRich Iron Bird custom which he only used in the Live Aid 85 reunion also his Vigier bass from the 90s reunion. Anyway , great research and video!
They're in part 3 check it out. ua-cam.com/video/ItnAS-7fvdM/v-deo.html
3.02 the stripe bass shown in Never Say Die isn't the JayDee Roadie, it's probably a John Birch. Look closely, it's got the EB-style body and there are crosses on the neck like Iommi's.
Still a really good video, thanks.
nice Video men, pls you can make a video about Les Claypool From Primus ? PLSSSS ? is one of my favorite bass players and i really want to see what gear he use
Hey Sebastian, Les is getting a lot of interest so no doubt a vid will be on the making soon. Glad to hear you'll be looking forward to it already :D
Does anyone know what amp settings Geezer used? I swore it was mentioned during this vid or part 2 but i can’t find it:(
What's the intro music? It's been stuck in my head for days. Great vid on Geezer too.
Hey Sailor by Letterbox it's on YT. Glad you liked the video Ckolonko.
@@WhichBass lovely. Thank you very much. I'm really enjoying your videos.
such an underated bass player
He’s not
Geezer collected well over 12 Lakland basses? What? 13? Great vids.
Damn, this Jude Law guy knows Geezer's rig(s) backwards and forwards... excellent video series!
Thanks Duke. Glad you enjoyed it.
geezer is who I follow when I play bass . I totally robbed his style but he's my # 1 main influence on bass but it was nikki sixx that got me playing bass . love them both !
Same here man. I think Geezer is my bass foundation for sure.
great vid, I'm the biggest geezer fan started in 1975 sabptage album , never looked back, 1999 tour with system down, PANTERA .I'm a past member of Original Bad Religion, Wasted Youth, The firs Punk band Overkill, Circle Jerks, Circle One, Anti,......
Hey Tim it's really good to hear from you, glad you liked the video. That 1999 tour sounded awesome, what a show that must have been. You up to much musically these days?
Bad Religion are a bunch of hateful, bigoted twats. They SUCK!
Hey man. Love the channel. Any possibility of doing a video on dream theaters John myung
Hey Bryan, glad to have you watching, thanks for the comment. John has been suggested quite a few times so no doubt he will make an appearance!
could you do rob trujillo, les claypool, and geddy lee
Hey Drago, all three have been requested, stay tuned and watch this space!
Oh fuck i thought this video was way older for some reason. I know what i want for Christmas now.
Well Done...Thank You
Thank you for watching Tony.
Um abraço!
De Sapucaia do Sul RS Brasil.
There is a another P-bass he used quite often in the early days, it appears to be a late 60s 3 Tone SB- with the large post CBS logo most associated with the early 70s. But is has the short lived "lollipop" tuners (very unusual on a P bass- those were mostly used on J basses and tele basses) and is seen in the 1970 Paris concert and the german beat club videos for "Iron Man" and "Paraniod" Guessing between the logo and the tuners I am assuming its like a '68
I saw them on the Black and Blue tour, and he was playing a BC Rich Mockingbird bass. How long did he play that? I see no mention of it.
Check out part 3, it's all there.
Live in Paris 1970 Shows Geezer with a Fender Precision Bass Sunburst, no mentioned of that one in this video pretty sure that was his main bass you see him with in alot of the early 70's
Well it's mentioned towards the end but what album did he ever use it on if he did?
He's the reason I play bass.
I think he also had a BC Rich bass during their 85 Live Aid performance.
Loving the Ack Bat shirt
A classic for any Ack Bat fan for sure.
Sure I read somewhere that the Rickenbacker was lent to him by Glenn Hughes? Probs been mentioned before but I cant be arsed searching...
Very nice young man, would love to see one on Percy Jones if you get a chance.
Thank you.
Thank for the comment Fender J. I've put Percy on the list and see what I can do. Watch this space!
i think geezer butler uses a long distance between the pickups and the strings and this gives a more vintage sound
take that into account :)
Would be interesting videos on Jean Jacque Burnel , Norman watt Roy, and Mick Karn, three great British bass players that seem to always slip under the radar.
Great suggestions Pat. Let me see what I can do.
Beautiful and interesting video, but as for the bass john birch with the words enjoy cocaine, I exchanged 4 words with geezer himself years ago and he told me that the white john birch used it in the album master of reality (except in sweet leaf and children of the grave where he used the old precision) and throughout the album Vol. 4 ... Anyway great job 🤟🏻
Hi! Would you ever consider adding pedal/amps to these kinds of videos? It really helps get the sound down how our favorite players used to.
Hey Memevarg of course! I always do! It's been a while since I covered Geezer but Parts 2 and 3 will have more of his effects pedals where applicable 😁
The best there is simply amazing.
Vol4 came out in 1972, otherwise great video! Keep up the good work!
Glad to see someone was paying attention! Thanks Attila.
Been using my Laney TI15 for my base amp, well, for all my amp needs lately. Should I be looking for a different amp even though the Iommi sig amp is technically a bass amp in build? I don't play pro or even out actually and two amps in the living room would be a tad awkward. I'd have to build a metal stand to hold them both rather than the wood one I use to hold just the one. I mostly play guitar but the bass seems pretty good nonetheless through it, would it be that much better?
I think it depends on what your needs are. If you're playing at home for recreation then there isn't really a need to buy a bigger amp. That and I think Tony's amp was 60 or 100 watts? That's going to be loud in a living room.
I haven't looked at Tony's signature amp for a while so correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think he built it to be a bass amp. It was supposed to be a vintage guitar tube amp.
If your heart is really set on the amp I would say if you play clean stuff, get Tony's amp. If you like a grindy sound go for Geezers.
@@WhichBass The Laney TI15 is what Tony warms up with back stage. I've only used the .75 watt input jack and that's plenty loud for my small living room. If I want to crank up the crunchiness, I turn the Dynamics knob or toss in a pedal or two. It was my understanding that he always played a bass amp until he had his designed. I'm sure there's been plenty of changes along the way, nobody could possibly play 50 years without mixing it up some. I think I'll just stick with it for now. I can hardly justify each new guitar, much less starting an amp collection. Thanks for the suggestions though. Great vid btw.
I have a Lakland Skyline 44-AJ, and it has the fastest neck and best build quality of anything I've ever played. Also sounds really, really great, especially with a heavy attack.
Awesome bass. I love Lakland. That's a keeper for sure.
He was my neighbor for a while growing up in St. Louis. He was one of the only houses that gave out full size snickers at Halloween. That tells a lot about his character;)
Nice! What a guy :D
I would like to know wich basses Geezer played in his (and Ozzy's) solo career.
I know he played a spector live with Ozzy. But the one he used on "Back on earth" is a mistery to me.
Throughout the 90s Geezer used Vigier basses. The Passion 5, Arpege and Excess. These can be seen in the reunion tour from 1999 "The Last Supper" too.
Very good, but I miss the gear he used in reunion tour '98.
Thanks Osias, I think that's covered in part 3.
Well done with the exception for a few minor inaccuracies , here are a few notes and additional info :
1.The Fender precision was only used on the first 3 Sabbath albums (Black Sabbath , Paranoid & Master Of Reality) , the precision neck was indeed damaged by the Canadian customs back then during the 'Master Of Reality' tour back in 1971 , Geezer still own that bass though and had the neck replaced with a vintage Fender neck (71 if I can remember well).
2.Geezer used the Dan Armstrong to record the 'Vol.4' album and which he considers as his worst tone on any Sabbath album to date (Vol.4 gate sleeves shows the band pictured at Birmingham's town hall Jan 1972 , you can clearly see a picture of Geezer with his Dan Armstrong , Vol.4 was recorded later in June 1972)
3.Geezer had a couple of John Birch custom guitars , the one seen on Cal.Jam actually had the 'Enjoy Cocaine' sticker prior to 1974 and could be seen on various pictures from 1973 tours on wards , so its either the same JB bass with the sticker removed later on the Cal.Jam or he simply had a couple of the same design and model , as mentioned Geezer switched to JB custom guitars for a couple of reasons , 'Master Of Reality' was the first album that witnessed the band experimenting with C# tuning and that went on with 'Vol.4' and 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' , Geezer mentioned on various interviews that one of his main issues with Fender bass guitars was that they were temperamental , JB's short scale custom bass helped to keep his instruments more solid and in tune specially on the road.
4.The Ricken Backer bass was brought from Glenn Hughes.
5. I know the B.C basses are mentioned in the article but I thought they should have been mentioned on the video here ! Geezer Butler used custom made B.C Rich eagle series basses (made by for him by Bernie Rico himself) extensively from 1980 till around 1983 (Heaven & Hell / Mob Rules albums and tours) , those basses came with EMG pickups and which later inspired EMG to collaborate with Geezer to develop the GZR-P and GZR-PJ signature bass pickup sets in 2013. On the 'Born Again' tour he was back to different Jaydee custom models.
6.Apart from his Nash bass guitars , Geezer used some of his vintage Fender bass guitars on the '13' recording sessions , as mentioned before , he never uses any of his Fender models on the road cause they're too temperamental.
A great summary Mohammed, thank you.
For points 1 & 2 it was looking this way but I couldn't find sources that confirmed this which was a shame (and err on the side of caution!) If that picture of the Birmingham Town hall gig predates the recording of Vol 4 then awesome, I'll take it as proof!
As far as I know for the Birch basses, in a tour program for 1974 it lists the gear used. A JB in white wired in stereo, JB 8 string in sunburst and JB custom in black. So it's likely the same bass as far as I can tell.
Point 5, I have more to come on pickups in part 2.
If there's more interest in Heaven and Hell era I may just do a video. As you said, there's BC riches and Yamaha BB's that Geezer isn't known for.
Thanks for info!
You will find numerous proofs for the Dan Armstrong being used on Vol.4 ! " The only reasonable bass they had was the Dan Armstrong. That’s what I used on Vol. 4, which probably has the worst bass sound of any Sabbath record. On the next tour, that bass was stolen. That’s when I started having custom Jaydee and John Birch basses." - Geezer Butler on Bass Player Magazine , 2013
Good point on the JB bass , its the same one indeed , the sticker got removed later on the 1974 tour ! Also note that the JD custom basses came post to 'Sabotage', he definitely used JB basses on that record , the 8 string in particular was used on the recording of 'Megalomania'.
The custom Yamaha was ONLY used for a few numbers on RJD's tribute show by Heaven & Hell at High Voltage Festival back in 2010 , Geezer used it for a few numbers before switching to his regular Lakland basses used extensively on those H&H reunion tours from 2007-2010 , but the BC Riches are quite important and were used much more extensively in the early 80's.
Also nice to see my own pictures used on the main article as well ! (Not that I want any credit for them !) , keep on the good work! :)
Ah, christ, now I gotta replace my PJ pickups with GZR-P and GZR-PJ pups. I could have just bought another bass since I just own just the one, being mostly a guitar player. At least I'm okay knowing I bought a short scale since I'm just noodling so maybe the next one will be a Squire since I'll have to replace those pups too... The pain of playing guitars never seems to end :-( At least as far as the wallet is concerned.
yes but that's not what they say they say that base was bought on the volume 4 tour
because if that was true then someone's not telling the truth because guizar says that the Armstrong base was stolen after the tour
Geez played on Kirshner's Rock consert 1975 a sunburst, black outlined.. Birch bass?
75 John Birch guitars custom bass guitar
What bass did he use on Bloody Sabbath?
One slight addition. Geezer was playing Vigier basses in the later 90s, as seen in the footage from the 1997 reunion tour.
That's right but as I mentioned I purposely skipped the reunion tours in 1997. I did however mention the Vigers in part 3 if you're interested ua-cam.com/video/ItnAS-7fvdM/v-deo.html
Just want to add more trivia, that same Rickenbacker was previously owned by Glenn Hughes.
What it's worth, I was at the guitar center on the strip in l.a. and there was a dan Armstrong/ampeg acrylic bass in a glass protected case with a metal tag claiming it was Geezer's, but it could have been a different one.
That's awesome, he always said he hated that bass so it's not hard to believe he gave it away.
I like to call your channel...”And justice for BASS”
Bass at 1:03 was owned by the bassist from the Clash, Paul Simonon. Was not Geezer's. I had a Dan Armstrong bass but it was heavy and hard to intonate.