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Geezer Butler, bassist
Photo: Stefan Brending (2eight), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Geezer Butler's bass strings: the Black Sabbath rig, sourced

Documented bass-string gauges, brands, and tunings Geezer Butler used with Black Sabbath (1968-2017) and across his solo + Heaven & Hell catalog. Endorses DR Strings (Black Beauties) + a Lakland Geezer Butler signature bass, defining doom + heavy-metal bass voice. With citations.

Black Sabbath · reviewed by the Change Your Strings editorial team ·

Terence Michael Joseph 'Geezer' Butler (born July 17, 1949, Birmingham, England) was Black Sabbath's bassist + co-founding member from 1968 until the band's final tour ended in 2017. Defined doom-metal + heavy-metal bass through downtuned + heavily-distorted Rotosound stainless tone on a fleet of Fender + Vigier basses across Black Sabbath's catalog (Black Sabbath, 1970, through 13, 2013). Heaven & Hell (2006-2010) reunited him with Tony Iommi + Ronnie James Dio for the project's final record + tour before Dio's 2010 death. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Black Sabbath (2006). Currently endorses DR Strings (Black Beauties) + plays a Lakland Geezer Butler signature bass. The defining metal-bass voice.

Heavy metalMetalDoom metalHard rockRockEb Standard (4-string)bass-c-sharp-standardbass-c-standardDrop D (4-string)E Standard (4-string)
Sourcing4 citations · reviewed 2026-04-29· by Change Your Strings editorial team

Who Geezer Butler is

Terence Michael Joseph 'Geezer' Butler, born July 17, 1949, in Birmingham, England, was Black Sabbath's bassist + co-founding member from 1968 until the band's final 2017 tour. He co-founded the band with Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, and Ozzy Osbourne in Birmingham's Aston + Lozells districts; the band's self-titled debut Black Sabbath (1970) is widely cited as the first heavy-metal record.

Butler is also Sabbath's primary lyricist + a major songwriting voice across the band's catalog. Heaven & Hell (2006-2010) extended his collaboration with Tony Iommi + Ronnie James Dio until Dio's 2010 death.

Currently endorses DR Strings (Black Beauties) + plays a Lakland Geezer Butler signature bass.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Black Sabbath (2006).

Style signatures

Three things across the Black Sabbath catalog you can identify as Butler's:

  1. Downtuned + heavily-distorted bass tone. Doubles Tony Iommi's guitar at the bass-frequency range; the wall of low-end is what makes Sabbath sound like Sabbath.

  2. Counter-melodic + lead-bass passages. 'N.I.B.,' 'Bassically' (instrumental solo), 'Hand of Doom,' and many others; the lead-bass tradition in metal partly inherits from Butler.

  3. Composition-aware bass parts. Butler is a primary songwriter + lyricist; the bass parts function as compositional voices, not just rhythm-section foundation.

Related

Documented strings. Currently DR Strings (Black Beauties). Historically Rotosound Swing Bass 66 (.045-.105) across the Sabbath 1970s catalog.

Related locations. Birmingham, England (Sabbath's birthplace + Butler's origin).

Bassist hub. Bassists index. Heavy-metal bass canon parallel: Lemmy Kilmister (Motörhead, contemporary peer), Cliff Burton (Metallica, Sabbath was Burton's stated primary influence), Steve Harris (Iron Maiden).

2026 news. Guest bass solo on Mastodon's Marrow Deep, track "The Vanishing."