BassDistortedDistorted90% confidence
(Anesthesia)—Pulling Teeth Bass Tone Settings — Metallica
Metallica · 1980s (early 1980s) · Thrash metal / heavy metal
Original Recording
Bass
Rickenbacker 4001 (modified with Gibson EB 'mudbucker' neck pickup, Seymour Duncan Stacked Jazz Bass bridge pickup, and a third Seymour Duncan Strat pickup)
Pickups
Gibson EB humbucker (neck), Seymour Duncan Stacked Jazz Bass (bridge), Seymour Duncan Strat (third, under foam mute)
Amp
Mesa/Boogie D‑180 heads (split clean and effects), paired with Mesa cabinets (4×12 and 1×15)
Pickup Position
both
Cliff recorded alone in an empty room, using heavy distortion and wah‑wah (Morley Power Wah Boost), Big Muff; signal likely split between clean and dirty chains
Amp Settings
Mids8
Bass4
Gain8
Treble7
Presence7.5
compression5
Tone Matcher
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Tone Character
- heavy distortion
- wah‑wah filtering
- bright, mid‑snarly lead bass tone
- classical‑inspired arpeggios transitioning into aggressive finale
Playing Technique
- fingerstyle
Notes & Caveats
- Settings derived from 75% AI knowledge and 25% web research. Cliff Burton's tone on '(Anesthesia)—Pulling Teeth' is heavily distorted with a strong midrange presence to cut through the mix, typical of his style and the metal genre. The bass is slightly reduced for tightness, while treble and presence are boosted for clarity and aggression.