Jason Newsted's bass strings: the Metallica + Voivod + Newsted rig, sourced
Documented bass-string gauges, brands, and tunings Jason Newsted has used across Metallica (1986-2001), Voivod, and Newsted. D'Addario artist roster, Spector + Sadowsky basses, four-string + five-string contexts. With citations.
Metallica (1986-2001) / Voivod / Newsted · reviewed by the Change Your Strings editorial team ·
Jason Curtis Newsted was Metallica's bassist 1986-2001, replacing Cliff Burton after Burton's September 1986 death and recording …And Justice for All (1988), the Black Album (1991), Load (1996), Reload (1997), and the S&M live album (1999). Documented D'Addario artist on the manufacturer's roster. Post-Metallica career: Voivod (2002-2008), the Newsted band (2012-2014), Echobrain, plus session work. Earlier credits with Flotsam and Jetsam (1981-1986). Spector + Sadowsky basses across the documented eras. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Metallica (2009).
Who Jason Newsted is
Jason Curtis Newsted, born March 4, 1963, in Battle Creek, Michigan, was Metallica's bassist 1986-2001, replacing Cliff Burton after Burton's September 1986 bus-accident death. He recorded …And Justice for All (1988), the Black Album (1991), Load (1996), Reload (1997), and the S&M live album with the San Francisco Symphony (1999) before leaving the band in January 2001.
Post-Metallica: Voivod (2002-2008, replacing the late Denis "Snake" Bélanger's bassist Jean-Yves "Blacky" Thériault on bass), the Newsted band (2012-2014), Echobrain, Rock Star Supernova (2006-2007), plus session work.
Documented D'Addario artist on the manufacturer's roster.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Metallica (2009).
Style signatures
Three things across his Metallica + Voivod + Newsted catalogs you can identify as Newsted's:
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Pick-driven thrash-metal pocket. Newsted's right-hand pick attack defined Metallica's bass tone across the …And Justice for All through Reload era; the technique anchored the band's faster catalog.
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Backing vocal contributions. Newsted contributed extensive backing vocals across Metallica's catalog (notable on the Black Album, Load, Reload), an unusual role for a thrash-metal bassist.
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Cross-genre flexibility. Voivod's prog-thrash demanded different rhythmic vocabulary than Metallica's; the Newsted band's straight heavy-metal demanded yet another approach. Newsted's playing adapts to band context cleanly across the three eras.
Related
Documented strings. D'Addario EPS170 ProSteels Bass Light (.045-.100) as the recommended-fit set. The specific D'Addario line attribution takes a current rig-rundown citation to confirm; brand-level relationship is documented on D'Addario's artist roster.
Bassist hub. Bassists index. Metal-bass canon parallel: Robert Trujillo (his Metallica successor), Cliff Burton (his Metallica predecessor), Steve Harris (Iron Maiden), Frank Bello (Anthrax, also on D'Addario).