Spaz91

Eeh by gum, seems like I'm doing all the work around here

I present to you: Geezer Butler, of Black Sabbath.



Note: Any ass-kissing in this thread is due to my love of this man. He is what drove me to bass and to this day remains my favourite.

Even by bassist standards, Geezer Butler is a very underrated and undercredited bassists. Similar to John Entwistle, he was somewhat of an innovator using styles and equipment to bring the bass guitar into the spotlight, rather than next to the drummer. He was one of the first bassists to use drop C# tuning and used distortion and wah pedals. To begin with he was a rhythm guitarist but Tony Iommi refused to play with another guitarist so Geezer moved to bass.
Another thing that he is to be credited with is being one of the key founders of metal, not neccessarily in playing style (I hold the view that before Dio Black Sabbath were NOT metal) but in lyrical style and tone. He's fascinated in the occult and a massive hippy so a large proportion of the songs he wrote or co wrote were about war and death etc. The opening track to their debut album is one of the most br00t4l tracks I have heard, even 40 years after it was written.



Equipment and Tone. Geezer has a very agressive style of playing (if you've seen videos of him it looks like he's trying to snap them sometimes) and this coupled with his choice of bass and amp with a hell of a lot of mids makes a very punchy tone that cuts through even Iommi's ego powerful guitar playing. He also play at the neck, hitting the strings on the fretboard and during some recordings you can definately here the Heavy Metal 'clank' that we're all so used to today. He has used a variety of basses over the years, starting with Fender Precisions in first half of the 70s, moving onto basses such as the Dan Armstrong Plexiglass bass when his Precision was lost in customs, custom made John Birch and Jaydee basses, and occasionally Rickenbackers. He kept the same springy, mids heavy tone throughout. He used Laney amps and 4x12 speakers and various custom made amps which I can't find any info on (feel free to contribute )



Nowadays he uses Lakland basses (Joe Osborne and Bob Glaub sigs) and Ampeg amps (SVT-2PRO , SVT-810E) and his tone as just got better and better, look for his work with Heaven and Hell (essentially Black Sabbath still).

Geezer has mainly played with Black Sabbath however he does have a solo career which is incredibly hard to get hold of (at reasonable price) and he worked for Ozzy's solo career on a couple of albums. In my opinion, the Sabbath albums where he was absent are not worth listening to at all.

All info has been gotten from various sites, some reputable, some not. If you think I've got something wrong don't hesitate to tell me.

Edits:1. I can't find a reliable resource on this but I believe he uses flats, hence his tone staying noticeably similar over the years. 2. If you want to argue about my views on Sabbath as metal, PM me. Do not call me out in this thread please

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xHellbound

I shook Geezer's hand! It was amazing.

G/Z/R - Ohmwork

G/Z/R - Plastic Planet

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The world is full of Kings and Queens
Who blind your eyes and steal your dreams

† Black Sabbath Covers †

Tool | Black Sabbath | Grim Reaper | Teräsbetoni

saw7988

You're an idiot, Sabbath was way more metal before Dio ruined the band.

fleajr_1412

Nice work.

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Trust and fear not.

MY BAND

Don Broco

Lower Than Atlantis

Jimbleton

saw heaven and hell on saturday, truly amazing,

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^ i did something good!!



^ to something i said!

☭UG Socialist Party ☭

Spaz91

I've had this argument a billion times before, I'm not doing it again.

Let's just settle this by saying... reported?

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saw7988

Why report that, I think this would be an interesting conversation

Antonio23

geezer buttler is amazing! the first time i heard him was on "the devil you know" cd. so many powerfull bass lines, and incredible fills! he´s one of the few bass players that make me pay attention to the rythm instead of the lead in a song.

Deliriumbassist

It could be. But calling him an idiot for his troubles isn't on. Warned.

Thread stickied too.

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the humanity

I do like me a good Sabbath tune. solid guy, that Geezer. why do they call him Geezer?

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Warwick Fortress>>Acoustic AB50

http://www.myspace.com/rustingbloom

NearDissent

This guy is amazing, anyone that has ever heard NIB would probably agree. Not just for his skill, but the fact that he is one of metals first guitarists.

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Gear I Want:
-Boss GEB-7
-Boss LMB-3
-Boss CEB-3
-Korg Pitchblack
-Boss ODB-3
-Fender Road Worn 50s Precision Bass

Gear I Have:
-Peavey Millennium BXP =]
SWR WorkingPro 2x10C =D

Spaz91

I've spent hours looking for them! They were on youtube all along? I just facepalmed so hard I think I'm bleeding.

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TheTortured

His tone on Heaven and Hell's new album has to be the single greatest ****ing bass tone I've ever heard.

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My Rig:
Yamaha RBX 375 bass
Peavey Millenium BXP bass (won at Summer Slaughter 2010, signed by all the bands)
Eden Nemesis NC410 320w combo amp

Check out Tyrannicide, my death/thrash metal band:
http://www.myspace.com/tyrannicidemetal

anarkee

The story I have always heard is that when he was a young lad, he went about calling everyone "Geezer" ergo the nickname.

Sabbath along with the Who and Zeppelin played a large part of my formative teenage listening years. Love me some Electric Funeral bass line!

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"I have suffered for my music and now it's your turn." Neil Innes

Black Ox

Geezer is the best. When I heard is sound in Sabbath,it pretty much inspired me to want to play bass. Also,probably my largest influence when making my own basslines. Great BPOTM.

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xHellbound

Haha. When I first heard about his solo band, that's the first place I checked. Well, better late then never, eh?

__________________
The world is full of Kings and Queens
Who blind your eyes and steal your dreams

† Black Sabbath Covers †

Tool | Black Sabbath | Grim Reaper | Teräsbetoni

ThatGuy177

Geezer Butler is the reason I play bass.

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Who was Metallica's best bassist?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnxz...feature=related

83lespaulstudio

excellent! thank you Spaz. i'm moving your desk to the front row.
Geezer was a major influence on my love for the bass. the song Sweet Leaf from the Masters Of Reality album changed my entire outlook on bass. he is on my top 5 of all time list. thanks again.

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http://groups.ultimate-guitar.com/drumforumrebellion/

Solus_Luna

I don't think he is very remarkable playing-wise.

But god damn he is a badass.