Inside Geezer Butler’s Thunderous Bass Rig at Black Sabbath’s “Back to the Beginning”
Black Sabbath’s “Back to the Beginning” send-off festival was a monumental moment for metal history, the likes of which may never be seen again. It seemed like the entire world of heavy music gathered for one magical day in Birmingham to pay their respects and bear witness to the end of an era. The lineup included Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Lamb of God, Anthrax, and more. There were also some pretty unbelievable super groups put together. (Rudy Sarzo was killing it!)
Now, as fans bask in the glory of Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath’s final performance, we get to analyze all the parts of the historic day. One of the exciting things for us bassists is getting to see Geezer Butler‘s epic bass rig for the day, which he had been teasing on his Facebook page leading up to the event. Now, Ashdown Engineering has released an interview and a rundown of Butler’s bass gear for “Back to the Beginning.”
Butler’s mammoth 2,400-watt setup was masterminded by his tech, Terry Welty, and Ashdown’s Dan Gooday. The wall of sound includes four 2×15″ cabinets wired in 16 ohms as well as four 2×12″ cabinets with variable horns. Gooday called it “thunderous on every level,” while Welty added that they had even more headroom than they needed. The amps were a set of Butler’s signature Head of Doom units, two of which were used to run the 2x12s and two that were used to run the 2x15s.
The rig looked as good as it sounded, too, with purple and black coloring paying tribute to the Master of Reality album cover. They also got into Butler’s Lakland basses (which were also made specially for the gig), his wah, and his wireless units.
While Sabbath seems to be done entirely, Geezer’s days of playing may not be. He was in top form for the concert, charging through “Bassically” ahead of “N.I.B.” and locking in with drummer Bill Ward. When asked if he had plans for his other project, Deadland Ritual, he said, “I didn’t even know this was going to happen until like a few months ago… when you think you’ve completely retired… something comes up.”
Get the full rundown of Geezer’s gear and a few words from the man himself.
In his time with No Treble, Kevin has met hundreds of amazing bassists and interviewed icons like Jack Casady, Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, Marcus Miller, and more. He's a gigging bassist performing jazz in Northern Virginia and bluegrass with The Plate Scrapers up and down the East Coast. Kevin appreciates all genres of music, from R&B to metal and everything in between. Connect with Kevin on Facebook and check his performance schedule on his website.
“four 2×15″ cabinets wired in 16 ohms”
I don’t understand.
That don’t add up . You say 4 2×15 cabs and 2 2×12 cabs each driven that’s 6 cabs each cabs driven by a hand of doom ashdown for a total of 4 amps. Please clarify!
“four 2×15″ cabinets wired in 16 ohms as well as four 2×12″ cabinets with variable horns”
Each 2×15 cab is 16 ohms and two in parallel would be 8 ohms. Two amps, each running into an 8 ohm load.
For the 2×12 cabs; they are likely 8 ohm cabs, so two in parallel would be 4 ohms. Each of the two amps running the 2×12 cabinets are likely connected to two of the 2x12s, which means each of those amps would be connected to a 4 ohm load.