Master Of Puppets Metallica Cover Bass Tabs

Master of puppets (metallica cover) — Primus

Tabbed by Dante' Primo

AIM — XbrilliantfoolX

Standard tuning on a 4 string bass — EADG

———————————————————————

Ok, if you know of primus' connection to Metallica than you should know why Primus randomly 
plays Metallica songs... well, 

they play them in a very Primus way. This is basically just primus' take on metallica's 
song "master of puppet's", a kick ass 

song as is. The whole thing lasts for just over a minute, it's just a cover of the intro... 
But it's still pretty sweet ;—)

As far as tone goes you'll want a generous amount of treble, but not much mid, your looking 
for a snappy, dry tone. Also, 

make sure to keep your bass at a minimum; you want to rumble, but you don't want your amp 
to start farting seeing as you will 

need be play this H—A—R—D, especially if you want the last notes to sound halfway decent. 
As far as timing goes, the bass 

part to this song is almost identical to the guitar intro in the actual song, so just listen 
to that, or get the video/audio 

file off of kazaa... I highly recommend getting the video.

As with most primus songs, you should have good slap and pop technique before you try 
playing this, you'll also need quite a 

bit of dexterity and slapping speed to be able to play this song accurately. Enjoy.

———————————————————————

Key

~ — Vibrato.

S — Slap.

P — Pluck.

h — hammer—on.

p — pulloff.

^ — Flamenco pick. (you only use downstrokes in this song).

X — Muted note.

/ — Slide up.

 — Slide down.

* — Special technique, read directions under the bar.

———————————————————————

Riff A

      
G|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
D|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
A|———————————12*/15X———————————————————————————————————————
E|—h7/12~~~——12*/15X———————————————————————————————————————

  
(for the above * what you do is hit the two top strings with your index finger just hard 
enough to sound a note, than quickly 

slide up to 15th fret and down to near the 7th fret and mute the note, if you have the video 
you'll easily be able to see 

what i'm saying.)

————

Riff B

                        ^ ^ ^
G|——————————————————————7—6—5———————————————————————————————
D|——————————————————————7—6—5———————————————————————————————
A|—————7p0—————6p0——————5—4—3——————2p0—————1p0—————0————————
E|*X—X—————X—X—————X—X—————————X—X—————X—X—————X—X———3—2/12—
   S S P   S S P   S S         S S P   S S P   S S P S S

                            
(Just plop your thumb down on the E string to mute every note like this one)

————

Riff C

G|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
D|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
A|—————2p0—————3p0—————4p0—————3p0—————2—2——————————————————
E|—X—X—————X—X—————X—X—————X—X—————X—X——————————————————————
   S S P   S S P   S S P   S S P   S S P S

G|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
D|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
A|—————2p0—————3p0——————————————————————————————————————————
E|—X—X—————X—X—————3p2p0—3p2p0—3p2——————————————————————————
   S S P   S S P   S     S     S

————

Riff D 

G|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
D|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
A|—————2p0—————3p0—————4p0—————3p0—————2p0——————————————————
E|—X—X—————X—X—————X—X—————X—X—————X—X——————————————————————
   S S P   S S P   S S P   S S P   S S P

                                       ^
G|—————————————————————————————————————4————————————————————
D|—————————————————————————————————————4————————————————————
A|—————2p0—————3p0—————4p0—————3p0—————2————————————————————
E|—X—X—————X—X—————X—X—————X—X—————X—X——————————————————————
   S S P   S S P   S S P   S S P   S S  

G|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
D|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
A|—————2p0—————3p0—————4p0—————3p0—————2—2——————————————————
E|—X—X—————X—X—————X—X—————X—X—————X—X——————————————————————
   S S P   S S P   S S P   S S P   S S S P


G|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
D|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
A|—————2p0—————3p0——————————————————————————————————————————     
E|—X—X—————X—X—————3p2p0—3p2p0—3p2——————————————————————————
   S S P   S S P   S     S     S

————

Riff E


G|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
D|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
A|—————2p0—————3p0—————4p0—————3p0—————2p0——————————————————
E|—X—X—————X—X—————X—X—————X—X—————X—X——————————————————————
   S S P   S S P   S S P   S S P   S S P

                                       ^
G|—————————————————————————————————————4————————————————————
D|—————————————————————————————————————4————————————————————
A|—————2p0—————3p0—————4p0—————3p0—————2————————————————————
E|—X—X—————X—X—————X—X—————X—X—————X—X——————————————————————
   S S P   S S P   S S P   S S P   S S  

G|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
D|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
A|—————2p0—————3p0—————4p0—————3p0—————2—2——————————————————
E|—X—X—————X—X—————X—X—————X—X—————X—X——————————————————————
   S S P   S S P   S S P   S S P   S S S P


G|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
D|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
A|—————2p0—————3p0——————————————————————————————————————————     
E|—X—X—————X—X—————3p2p0—3p2p0—3p2—3p2p0—3p2p0—3p2——————————
   S S P   S S P   S     S     S   S     S     S


G|————————15———————15———————15———————15———————15————————————
D|——14—14————14—14————14—14————14—14————14—14———————————————
A|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————  
E|———————————————————————————————————————————————10

How to Read Bass Tabs

Bass tablature (tabs) is an easy way to learn songs without needing to read traditional sheet music. Here’s a quick guide to understanding the symbols and techniques commonly found in tabs:

1. The Basics

Strings and Frets:
Each line in a tab represents a string on your bass:
- The top line is the highest-pitched string (G on a 4-string bass).
- The bottom line is the lowest-pitched string (E on a 4-string bass).
Numbers on the lines indicate which fret to press. For example:
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------------------|
A|---3---------------|
E|-------------------|
            
```
This means you play the 3rd fret on the A string.

2. Common Techniques

Hammer-On (h):
Play the first note by picking it, then press down on a higher fret with another finger without picking again.
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------5h7---------|
            
```
Pull-Off (p):
Pluck a note and then "pull off" your finger to let a lower fret ring.
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------7p5---------|
            
```
Slide (/ or \):
Move your finger up (/) or down (\) the fretboard while maintaining pressure.
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------5/7---------|
            
```

3. Advanced Techniques

Bend (b): Push the string up or down to raise the pitch. Example: G|-------7b9---------|
Vibrato (~): Shake the string slightly after playing a note to create a vibrating sound. Example: G|-------7~----------|
Muted Notes (x): Rest your finger lightly on the string without pressing a fret and pluck for a percussive "click" sound.

4. Rhythm and Timing

Tabs don’t always indicate timing, so listen to the song while reading the tab. Wider spaces between numbers mean longer pauses, while closer numbers indicate quicker notes.

5. Slap and Pop

Slap (s): Strike the string with the side of your thumb for a percussive sound.
Pop (p): Pull the string away from the fretboard and let it snap back.

Practice Makes Perfect

Tabs are a great tool to learn songs, but mastering the techniques takes practice. Listen carefully to the original track and play along to lock in the rhythm. Don’t rush — smooth, accurate playing is more important than speed. Happy jamming! 🎸

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Primus — Master Of Puppets Metallica Cover bass tabs