Bassist4-stringroundwound

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 · 2026-04-29

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).

Heavy metal Metal Thrash metal Rock Hard rockE Standard (4-string)Eb Standard (4-string)Drop D (4-string)D Standard (4-string)

Strings Jason Newsted plays

Documented use · last verified 2026-04-29 · Affiliate links

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Jason's set

D'Addario

EPS230 ProSteels Bass Light (.045–.100)

.45 – .100

Price tier: $$

E Standard (4-string)Eb Standard (4-string)Rock

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At a glance

Role

Bassist

Active

1981–present

Based

Walnut Creek, California (later years); Niles, Michigan (origin)

Genres

Affiliations

Metallica (bassist, 1986–2001, replacing Cliff Burton)
Voivod (bassist, 2002–2008)
Newsted (bassist + bandleader, 2012–2014)
Flotsam and Jetsam (bassist, 1981–1986)
Echobrain (collaboration, 2000s)
Rock Star Supernova (bassist, 2006-2007)
D'Addario Strings (artist roster)
Spector basses (documented use, Metallica era)
Sadowsky basses (documented use, post-Metallica era)
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Metallica (2009)

Notable credits

Metallica, …And Justice for All (1988, his first Metallica record)
Metallica, Metallica (Black Album) (1991)
Metallica, Load (1996)
Metallica, Reload (1997)
Metallica, S&M (1999, live with San Francisco Symphony)
Voivod, Voivod (2003)
Voivod, Katorz (2006)
Newsted, Heavy Metal Music (2013)
Flotsam and Jetsam, Doomsday for the Deceiver (1986)

Sourcing5 citations · reviewed 2026-04-29· by Change Your Strings editorial team

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:

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.
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.
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.

Documented strings. D'Addario EPS230 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).

Frequently asked questions

What strings does Jason Newsted play?

Documented D'Addario artist on the manufacturer's roster. Specific D'Addario line (ProSteels EPS series stainless vs. XL Nickel Wound EXL series) attribution requires individual primary-source citation.

The lane-fit set is D'Addario EPS230 ProSteels (.045-.100 stainless-steel roundwound), which sits in the bright-and-articulate end of D'Addario's bass catalog where Metallica + Voivod + Newsted's metal-cut catalog lives. The specific D'Addario line he tracks takes a current rig-rundown citation to confirm.

Why did Newsted leave Metallica?

Personal + creative tensions. Newsted left Metallica in January 2001 after fifteen years, citing physical and emotional toll plus disagreement over the band's restrictions on his side projects (notably Echobrain). The departure is documented extensively in the Some Kind of Monster (2004) film + interviews from the period. Robert Trujillo replaced him in February 2003.

What was Newsted's first Metallica record?

…And Justice for All (1988). The bass mix on that record is famously buried (a long-standing topic in metal-press coverage), but Newsted's playing is documented in extensive primary-source interviews + remixed concert footage from the Justice tour. He had joined Metallica in October 1986, weeks after Cliff Burton's death.

What's Newsted's solo career?

Voivod (2002-2008, joining the Canadian prog-thrash band as bassist), Newsted (2012-2014, his own band with Heavy Metal Music in 2013 + extensive touring), Echobrain (collaboration, early 2000s), Rock Star Supernova (2006-2007, the supergroup formed via the CBS reality show with Tommy Lee + Gilby Clarke + Lukas Rossi). Plus session work + occasional collaborations across the metal + rock community.

What basses does Newsted play?

Spector basses during the Metallica era; Sadowsky basses + various boutique builders in his post-Metallica career. Specific configurations + signature relationships require individual primary-source citation; Dedicated Spector and Sadowsky reviews are pending; when they land they'll document Newsted's relationships with each.

What's the Flotsam and Jetsam connection?

Flotsam and Jetsam was Newsted's first major band. He joined in 1981, became the band's primary songwriter + bassist + sometimes-vocalist, and recorded Doomsday for the Deceiver (1986), the record that put him on Metallica's radar after Cliff Burton's death. Newsted left Flotsam in October 1986 to join Metallica; Flotsam continued + has released studio albums sporadically through 2024.