Dave is an obviously talented musician, but his skill as a teacher should also be praised. His instruction is clear and concise. I don't wonder what I'm learning, or why. Well done.
This man is one of the reasons that I became a bass player. I had the pleasure of meeting him in 1994 when I was 15 years old. Such a huge inspiration to my playing style.
@@Slayerrrrrr I'm hoping not or that line in Captive Honor may become a little more real. 'Boy, your soul better belong to Jesus. Mmmmmhmmmmm..... 'cuz your @ss belongs to me.' I really hope not. 😔
@@Metalbass1979 He is innocent, the girl who was involving with Junior said it was consensual and there's no grooming at all. Besides, Junior put a lot of evidence to prove his innocence to the police, as it should be 🤘
Dave is a true Metal legend, he created so much Iconic Bass parts. One of the greatest like Geezer Butler, Steve Harris, Cliff Burton, Steve DiGorgio, Justin Chancellor...
LoL omg. I clicked your time stamp. David literally says "Quick and efficient hand movement is uhh a little bit of an art uhh..." I immediately thought: "I bet it is David" LoL
The cleanest bass player in metal! I still can't comprehend how can he play such complex basslines in such a clean, precise and defined manner. Also, people tend to think playing bass with a pick is easier, trust me it's not, it's not at all easier when you play ellefson's basslines which actually is the real deal. To me David ellefson is the greatest bassist!
Megadeth’s Peace Sells and Rust in Peace are possibly the greatest bass performances in all of heavy metal music in the history of mankind. Absolutely world class playing...
LOL kind of a given for bass players, but I know what you mean. :) Especially important in the metal style, where there are a _lot_ of semiquavers and even demisemiquavers on occasion (or for viewers outside the UK: sixteenth and thirty-second notes). Fail to be 100% on point and in the pocket with those bad boys, and the whole band will sound sloppy!
I have to confess I'd always thought of thrash as little more than speed for the sake of it, David Ellefson, with his openness and sheer musicality, has really opened my eyes (ears?) to the genre
Thrash metal isn't even all that fast compared to a lot of stuff like even more extreme genres of metal and punk, and even some classical music, especially violin. It's no faster than a lot of banjo music too. Go listen to Edward Greig's In the Hall of the Mountain King. I just don't get why everyone acts like Thrash is the fastest music around.
Hi Keith, I'm so glad that you got something from this. Thrash has always been my first love in music but I've diversified my playing over the years to improve amd expand myself and, in some cases, to pay the bills. There are some really interesting nuances and other musical ideas in Thrash metal. It can teach us a lot about playing by ear rather than sticking with the construction of music theory which can sometimes be a constraint to creativity. Equally, when you take the ideas of thrash and combine them with solid theory you can really build some gigantic theme tunes greater than the sum of their parts. Please keep delving into thrash and perhaps even some prog metal because there's some real gems to be had from a musical perspective.
I'm refinishing my wood grain Fender P bass because the clear acrylic coating started cracking and breaking off so I'm going to put Dave's signature strings on it when it's done :D
I love the sound of a pick on bass in this type of music, but I don't like playing with one. The only way I can get close is with aggressive string slap by really beating the hell out of the strings with my fingers, but I don't have the stamina to keep it up. :(
You may already have tried this but I kinda developed my own style (not invented I'm not delusional lol) but try holding your hand flat with a relaxed wrist and tap with the index and third. Lower your action also. It's not easy but practice daily and you will build the stamina accuracy and cleanliness. Peace bro
I used to play solely with fingers until I sustained a spinal cord injury in my neck and then had reduced sensation and use of my ring and little fingers. I experimented with a few different two finger techniques (some of which I still use in certain songs) but I went over to trying a pick. At first, it felt unusual but I tried lots of different styles of picks and found a few that really seem to suit me and my playing style. For me, the Dunlop Big Stubby range are great, the red one, can't recall the thickness now and I also found an old Pickboy 1.0mm textured grip worked too. I hold mine with thumb and two fingertips and as the Big Stubby has a thumb indentation it sits really comfortably. I use standard 45 - 105 or 40 - 90 strings depending on which instrument I'm playing. For the sake of a few quid/dollars I'd give the Big Stubby set a go.
Anyone else notice most if not all the old school guys KNEW the instrument, can talk the notes on the neck, the philosophy behind and music theories? Well done, David.
peace sells was such a cool bass riff that MTV used it in their news segment.... they didn't pay royalties unfortunately, but a testament to the universal appeal of David Ellefson's playing
Only finger pickers can really play bass right? Please! Dave E is a bad boy on that instrument. If he fingered the bass you would never hear him in that thrash metal band. Love Dave Ellefson. ( he is fingering in this tutorial) but trust me he uses a pick on stage- Dawn Patrol 4 Lf
OMG, I so needed to see this vid. With the exception of when I was doing slap & pop, I pretty much played exclusively on the E-string and used the other strings just as accents. I liked the raw sound, but I kept thinking it was wrong and eventually moved away from that. I might have a better technique now, but I missed that "British punk rock" sound I started off with.
I did some experimenting with palm muting recently. It adds a certain character to the sound. Can't say that it is always useful, but it does work well to accentuate certain parts of songs. As for playing the riff on one string as opposed to using multiple strings, in my experience it depends on the instrument and the desired effect. I play in D standard and some of the instruments sound really bad when D or G string is played in the range of 9th to 12th fret. I re-calculated the fingering so that the instrument would stay in the best sounding range, so to say. For example on my current bass C and F strings sound brighter and louder than D and G and for certain riffs it is beneficial. Not as much low end and grittiness as in case with D and G strings, but it cuts through the mix better.
This is a question for Scott. Do you play any for Ferlnetto ( or an F-Bass as they are commonly referred to ) bases. They're based out of Hamilton Ontario Canada
