Bass Technique Secrets w/Megadeth’s David Ellefson

[@sullyb23511]

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.

[@obiwanLDK]

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...

[@Metalbass1979]

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.

[@LageYouTube]

i have bad news for you

[@Metalbass1979]

@@LageKZbin Yeah. I just read that he got caught playing a solo on the D string. 😖

[@Slayerrrrrr]

@@Metalbass1979 More like A minor

[@Metalbass1979]

@@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. 😔

[@santiagomartinez5500]

@@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 🤘

[@aragusea]

What a cool guy.

[@alexgeorgescu2781]

I agree

[@firebeardnc6012]

We wanna see you upload a video of your music one day Adam!

[@peterpetrov7073]

What a pleasant surprise! (insert a cutting board joke)

[@dbag96]

Woah!

[@GunnerHove]

Why I restring my amp, NOT my guitar

[@Slayerrrrrr]

2:08 lol he definitely showed us his quick and efficient hand movements

[@UltraBluesRocker]

definitely, he is still in good form ))

[@alfonsorivera8408]

Indeed he did show his his right hand technique

[@MoveitorLoseit2]

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

[@blacknessfallsmusic969]

2:09 “Quick and efficient hand movement” That’s what she said

[@gabrielegazzotti5582]

You can recognize a Megadeth song among milions of other songs because of the sound of its bass...a Legend, and of course a real musician...yeah!!!

[@SkyFire2112]

Man, Dave is such a bad ass bass player. 100% he is the reason I play bass.

[@biorythmicshifter]

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...

[@vicrattlehead6386]

Should includes Killing is my business and Countdown aswell.

[@WatchingMamut]

(Laughter in Rex Brown)

[@biorythmicshifter]

@@WatchingMamut It’s really is hilarious you think Rex is even in the same league…

[@paveantelic7876]

Naah. Geezer.

[@iamgribs]

He is a master

[@michaelroche4559]

Thanks, Scott. I know your personal tastes are more jazz and funk, so I think it’s cool that you’ve got a metal bassist on your channel.

[@MrHSkywalker]

Started to play bass because of Megadeth, what a dream seeing him on SBL

[@pragyanbarua3830]

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!

[@sidhartaiw]

This man has a great tone

[@BRO77TX]

Dave and Steve Harris have the most absolute killer tones in Metal!! Love the BTO shirt btw!!!

[@christopherkowalski9971]

I would add Justin Chancellor to that list

[@Markus-cx8ij]

Geezer?

[@BRO77TX]

@@christopherkowalski9971 Prog Metal...but he is good!!

[@BRO77TX]

@@Markus-cx8ij definitely a legendary sound as well!! Dave and Steve were just the first two that popped in my head!!

[@rollewestbom]

@@BRO77TX maybe you did that because Megadeth and Maiden are huge bands known outside the metal world

[@pmdinaz]

Admired his style and tone since I first heard in 1989

[@ErixSamson]

you can feel he has good internal tempo

[@caddelworth]

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!

[@elpeluca7780]

​@@caddelworth sloppy metal sounds better tbh

[@BrentODell]

I'm not even that big of a Megadeth fan, but I really like hearing Ellefson talk about his technique.

[@masacron]

Back in 90's Dave was my greatest inspiration in terms of sound.

[@LordMarlle]

Badass metal musician or not, he'd make a great teacher

[@KeithCollyer]

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

[@Gregbaltzer]

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.

[@elpeluca7780]

​@@Gregbaltzer cause they don't actually go out of their way to listen to it

[@restojon1]

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.

[@SigmaStoicGemini]

Thanks for the vid Scott, Dave is definitely one of my biggest influences as a player, as well as Duff McKagan and Eddie Jackson of Queensryche.

[@strivingx67]

Loving that 12-0 11-0, etc. Pull off riff. So cool!

[@JoeTraxx]

Tone is crazy!

[@souvikchatterjee7400]

Love his technique and approach to the bass

[@bradami1234]

This guy is one of the reasons I played based 30 years ago and just picked it up again 3 days ago.. legend

[@juggalo7718]

Hell ya !!!!! David Ellefson one of my top five inspirations. The others being Cliff Burton , Geezer Butler , Flea , and Bootsy .

[@academyofbass]

Never really seem someone that's been on my radar, but I've got to say he seems like a great guy and he's got a cast iron command of the bass.

[@faamecanic1970]

Dave is one of the most down to earth metal bassist out there. You all should read Dave Mustaine’s book....hilarious how the two Dave’s met...

[@ryanlogan35]

Buy me cigs..no...well then buy me beer..now you’re talking

[@kryptonian5539]

It’s all the wrists… too soon?!!?

[@bassmasta9117]

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

[@fieldspec]

has anyone noticed his outstanding level of English? Such a great guy at all levels

[@kayvan671]

He's an American Dude... Of course he speaks good English.

[@errollbrantley]

@Green Alchemist not especially, but ok. He’s an intelligent, well traveled man.

[@randysnell9218]

Thank you, David, and Scott.

[@jdssurf]

He is truly a great musician, love his tone from day one, hope he gets through this bs now.

[@mfdiogo_]

Played with Soulfly in one of their records. Great guy!

[@ianstrickland5280]

met him a couple months ago in his solo bands show, seen him in that band twice, great guy

[@LageYouTube]

Have you heard of the news

[@ianstrickland5280]

@@LageKZbin yes, turns out it was fake, someone made it seem way worse, it was nothing

[@punman5392]

Dave is a no frills player. He locks down the low end and is one of the tightest players out there. He does his job and does it well

[@Duvstep910]

I just got my first 5 string bass last week 😁

[@licccio2133]

What did you buy?

[@restojon1]

I bought a 5 string many years ago... most expensive thumbrest I ever bought 😂

[@shawnbruce6934]

David is a Legend.

[@chrisoberg6888]

I'm in freshman year guitar class again! We learned all of this and I applied it to bass and it's so similar! \m/

[@Hispanicwoman]

Cool, thanks for posting. 😀

[@smashallpots1428]

seeing playing techniques is cool but id also like to see something like this but with tone shaping tips from various bassists

[@Jo-si3ot]

Ellefson’s a Beast!

[@mavenfrankeus7287]

I have never held a bass in my life but this was interesting.

[@eldiablo3794]

When he was playing that vulture song at first I thought he was about to start playing rise above by Black Flag lol

[@johndoderino2609]

Great guy, always been such a tasteful player with a killer tone that punches through in the mix

[@sb5838]

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.

[@smegulate9826]

Neat to see how comfortable his plucking technique is even though he pretty much never uses it in Megadeth

[@horrifyinggelatinousblob]

Dave is so cool. Love watching him play live with megadeth. Hopefully soon

[@KreeptOut]

Underrated...

[@Abudzin]

Oh yeah Dave, teach me the secrets of your right hand technique

[@rocketsurgeon11]

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. :(

[@guilhermearantes8694]

Same thing here, love the sound of a pick but can't get used to using one. Using fingers feels better and more fluid.

[@danzemacabre8899]

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

[@restojon1]

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.

[@shawnhuff3920]

Awesome thanks for sharing this video

[@MrSolfreeman2]

Awesome video. Such a consistent technique. Thanks

[@creepymcpeepers]

I actually been going back and looking at picking technique and doing little excerxises like this

[@DoomOfConviction]

I had problems playing metal bass but since I play everything on the E and A string it’s ok.

[@ErixSamson]

this notion of consistency is key (and difficult)

[@fortheorlingas7354]

Jackson David Ellefson Signature 🤍🖤

[@dennisperin2989]

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

[@seanmorgan2257]

that was an awesome video with some slick technique

[@HawkMcDork]

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

[@LageYouTube]

Mustaine wrote the bass riff

[@HawkMcDork]

@@LageKZbin ah man Well never mind my comment then ha ha

[@M2Mil7er]

@@LageKZbin "a testament to the universal appeal of David Ellefson's _PLAYING_ "

[@LageYouTube]

@@M2Mil7er Yes, he edited the comment after I corrected him.

[@geyjune1551]

Thank you! That one string technique is cool!

[@StagnantExistance]

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.

[@LordEradicus]

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.

[@shanecabbage2187]

Excellent lesson. Thank you gentlemen for putting this together. God bless.

[@justanothernoobe]

I think you meant to say "we have Dave Ellefson in THE SHED" :)

[@caddelworth]

I suspect Dave may have been in an _American_ shed, not _the_ shed! :D

[@NikkieRoxxx]

Chapeau!!! on of my fav bass players, even though he uses a 35'' scale!! Useful tips, as always!

[@bullfrogboss8008]

Omg that tone

[@normg2242]

One guy referred to it as "dengle"... lol

[@maximummatt73]

The Owen Wilson of metal.

[@bobwright4945]

Gotta love Dave such a gent

[@kylernottingham8787]

that tone is killer what kind of pick ups are those?? they look like emgs but cant make it out

[@bthonk]

haha this was 9 months ago and yes, they 100% are emgs

[@PaVloRocker]

What is the song that plays when the video starts?

[@stumaster9514]

Am I the only one motivated to play bass after watching David

[@8981USMC]

Great video!

[@gregoryherson2095]

Great lesson. Thx SBL

[@paulkieffer4536]

Great, concise tutorial on technique

[@Jonny71]

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

[@NikkieRoxxx]

Furlanetto?

[@shonblackwell860]

BTO Shirt!! Hell Yeah!!

[@cacadordorio]

0:54 black flag rise above

[@tonyking6914]

Love the BTO t-shirt!

[@desi_anarch]

Soon to be Ex-Megadeth

[@Insill]

It only took a week after your comment.

[@davekat4680]

One of my favorites thx 👍

[@losdelbufalo81]

such a great metal tone

[@ridenar1456]

2:09 is errr what got him kicked out of Megadeth.

[@marcoflores4146]

Awesome !!🤘

[@blowith]

Dudes so damn solid, great vid

[@iamgribs]

Metal bass master. He is a robot.

[@danzemacabre8899]

I absolutely love dave ellefson and his playing but there are players who can pick just as aggressively with their fingers and much more than his example there, ive seen ive heard it ive done it so this isnt an opinion but fact , with that said Dave is an absolute master of his craft and nothing but complete respect and love for one of my heroes

[@EhsanOmidi]

Awesome 👏🏼👏🏼

[@wickeduploads]

thank you for your videos

[@kcarmical]

Amazing player

[@Spaghetti_policy]

That was gooood right there.... (Best Southern accent.)

[@lutbec4814]

Was waiting for the secrets. Thats basic stuff. But cool guy and great player.

[@vladv5126]

He made a separate video with the secret techniques, went viral awhile back

[@markdeguzman3692]

Thanks 👍

[@davidgoode7416]

Excellent!

[@kayvan671]

I hope you do a Justin Chancellor video too.

[@randymcginnis9228]

David is a great bass player hell be in another band soon

[@victorcurtis6400]

Wow Scott great get! I may resign-up.

[@clockworkmansion1855]

Boy howdy I love Megadeth

[@willmarcarias6777]

Still haven't seen the video but I can only imagine that palm muting is gonna be here. Lol

[@mmmetalwolf]

Does anyone know his amp settings?

[@joinrocknation9618]

you called him Dave Elephant, hes gonna tie you in a knot