“We used to boil all our strings, so all the crap would come off them, and they’d sound almost new again”: Geezer Butler shares how Black Sabbath used to save money
Black Sabbath may be the reigning kings of heavy metal now, but like many young bands, they, too, faced their share of financial woes in the beginning.
In a recent interview, Geezer Butler reveals how the members would resort to boiling guitar strings to extend their lifespan and save money early on.
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The anecdote Butler shares in his new memoir Into the Void took place during the band’s formative years when they were still known by the name Earth. “In those days, I couldn’t afford a set of strings, so I’d play the same strings for about six months until they were completely worn out,” says the bassist on Matt Pinfield’s New & Improved.
“And then, what we used to do is boil all our strings, so all the crap would come off them, and they’d sound almost new again. And that was the way we did it because we couldn’t afford to buy new strings.”
With so little cash to spare, Sabbath had to record their 1970 eponymous debut album on a really tight budget as well: “We had two days in the studio because you only had £500 to make the album, which is like $700,” Butler recalls.
“And so, the only way we could do it is just to play live. It was recorded straight away as a live album on day one. And then, the next day, we did some vocal overdubs, and Tony did some guitar overdubs, fixed a few things, and that was it.”
“We’d never been in the studio before, so we didn’t know [much about studio work]. The way we played it at that particular moment was the way it was recorded, and that was the way the album was put out.”
The post “We used to boil all our strings, so all the crap would come off them, and they’d sound almost new again”: Geezer Butler shares how Black Sabbath used to save money appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
