The Grudge (Ver 2) Bass Tabs - Tool @ BigBassTabs.com

The Grudge
Lateralus
Tool
Bassist : Justin Chancellor


I completed this tab with the help of a computer program and a good friend with a sharp 
ear and a little help from the flow. As with all tool songs, this is drop D.  Also this is 
another example of how tool can't be cut into sections. Though some parts repeat (few 
at most) they always have accented notes, or small differences to keep us all entertained.

Just get the beat on the foot, follow these basic tabs, and you should get it.

 
The beginning bursts out of nowhere several times threw the song.  It has a delay effect 
(just a slight one), repeat it several times and then hold that last 14 note and kill the 
delay.

g—————————14————————12————————17—————————14—|
d——0h13p0————0h13p0————0h13p0—————0h13p0————|
a———————————————————————————————————————————|
d———————————————————————————————————————————|
 
Without Delay:

This first part repeats several times while the 
second part will repeat as well, flowing more as a connecting piece.
g————————7——————————
d——0h1p0———0h1p0—3——
a——————————————————— 
d———————————————————

g———————————
d——0h1p0—0——
a——————————— 
d———————————
 
Now go ahead and let that foot slide back onto the delay peddle.
Get back in the groove for another attack.

Delay on:

g—————————14————————12————————17—————————14—|
d——0h13p0————0h13p0————0h13p0—————0h13p0————|
a———————————————————————————————————————————|
d———————————————————————————————————————————|

Delay off

Feel the build up coming in the guitar and get ready for the loud part,
personally I throw on my "light" tool distortion for this, but It's so intense
i've never noticed if its right. Let me tell you it feels right.
 
g——7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7——————
d——7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7——————
a——5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5——————
d——0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0——
 
Now the piece that comes up is a very melodic groove, almost transient,
so slow down. Get your delay peddle on (distortion off) 

g————————14———————17——————————————
d———————————15—14——————————15—14——
a——17—15—————————————17—15———————— 
d—————————————————————————————————
 
Now kill the delay and learn this part slowly. As I mentioned earlier tool
is full of improv and randoms.  I won't cut this into many more sections
for that reason. So do what feels right for this part, because
it changes often, but the sound should stay the same.
 
g——————————————————————————————
d——————————————————————————————
a———5p3————8p7——————3h5————————
d————————0————————0——————3h5———
 
g——————————————————————————————————————————————————————
d——————————————————————————————————————————————————————
a————————————————————————————————————————————————17———— 
d——0—0—0—00——0—00——0—0——10—10—1010—10—10—/—15—15————0—
 
g——————————————————————————————————————————————————————
d——————————————————————————————————————————————————————
a———————————————————————————————————————————————5—————— 
d——0—0—0—00——0—00——0—0——10—10—1010—10—10———3—3————0————
 
g——————————————————————————————————————————————————————
d——————————————————————————————————————————3—3—————————
a———————————————————————————————————————————————5—5———— 
d——0—0—0—00——0—00——0—0——10—10—1010—10—10———————————————
 
 
g—————————————————————————————————————————————————
d—————————————————————————————————————————————————
a—————————————————————————————————————————————————
d——0—0—0—00——0—00——0—0——10—10—1010—10—10——3—3——0——
 
Now I know thats a lot to choke down, but like I said, slow and steady will
win this race. Now take a rest. You've earned it.
 
g—————————————————————
d—————————————————————
a————————8—————3——————  (repeats)
d——0—0—0———0—0———3h5——
 
g—————————————————————
d—————————————————————
a——5—————8—————3—————— (repeats)
d————0—0———0—0———3h5—— 


g————|——————————————————————|——————————————————————
d————|——————————————————————|——————————————————————
a——5—|—————3—————5———6———5——|—————3—————5———6———3——
d————|—0—0———0—0———0———0————|—0—0———0—0———0———0————
 
 
g————————————————————
d————————————————————
a———————————————————— (repeats with random accents following Danny on drums)
d——0——0—00—0———00—0——
 
g——————————————————————————————————
d——————————————————————————————————
a——3—————5————————————————————————— (repeats)
d————5p0————3p0———00—0——00—0——0—0——
 
This part gets confusing. He's quick on the fingers, I got a computer program to get 
this part so it should be dead on.
(if you trust the machines) 
 
g———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
d———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
a—3—————5——————————————————————3—————5————————————————————3—————5—————————————————8—————3— (repeats with occasional muted notes)
d————5p0————3p0———00—0———10—10————5p0————3p0—00—0————5—5—————5p0————3p0——00—0————8—————3————
 
 
Now flick on flange (if available) otherwise you best play hard to compensate.
                                     
g————————————————————|————————————————————————————|——————————————————————————————————————————
d————————————————————|————————————————————————————|——————————————————————————————————————————
a————————————————————|—3—————5————————————————————|—3—————5———3—————5———————————————————————— (repeats)
d——0——0——0——0——3——5——|———5p0————3p0———0——0——3——5——|———5p0———————5p0————3p0——00—0——00—0——0—0——
 
Kill the flange, feel the flow and change it up to this:
 
g——————————————————————————————————
d——————————————————————————————————
a——3—————5————————————————————————— (repeats)
d————5p0————3p0———00—0——00—0——0—0——
 
g————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
d—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
a——3—————5——————————————————————————3—————5———————————————————————3—————5—————————————————8—————3—
d————5p0————3p0———00—0——————10—10————5p0————3p0—00—0——————5—5——————5p0————3p0——00—0————8—————3———

The next part flows in with chorus on:
 
g——7——10——5———5—4—/—9——7——10——5——
d—————————————3—2—————————————3——
a———————————————————————————————— (repeats)
d————————————————————————————————
 
Kill the corus and get back to Section
 
g——————————————————————————————
d——————————————————————————————
a———5p3————8p7——————3h5———————— (repeats)
d————————0————————0——————3h5———
 
 
g——————————————————————————
d——————————————————————————
a—————————————————————————— (repeats with variations following Danny again)
d——0—00—0—0—00—0—000—0—0———
 
 
g——7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7——————
d——7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7——————
a——5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5——————
d——0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0——
 
Now your coming round full circle so bust out the delay:

Delay on:

g—————————14————————12————————17—————————14—|
d——0h13p0————0h13p0————0h13p0—————0h13p0————|
a———————————————————————————————————————————|(repeating)
d———————————————————————————————————————————|

Delay off

This part will repeat just like before. 
g————————7——————————
d——0h1p0———0h1p0—3——
a——————————————————— 
d———————————————————

g———————————
d——0h1p0—0——
a——————————— 
d———————————
 
Now after this ends it flows into this. Again
similar but different:

g——————————————————————|—————————————————————————
d——————————————————————|—————————————————————————
a—————————5————————————|—————————5———————————————(repeats)
d——0h1p0————0h1p0——3———|——0h1p0————0h1p0——3p0—3——
 
g—————|——————
d—————|——————
a—————|—————— (repeats)
d—0—0—|—0—0——
 
You can hear this part kick in when the strange background noises
start kicking in as well. Again if your following the flow this should
be no trouble.
 
g——————7———
d——————0———
a—————————— (repeats)
d——0—0—————
 
Flow back into it:

g—————|——————
d—————|——————
a—————|—————— (repeats)
d—0—0—|—0—0——
 
This next part plays threw just once, quick attack, so let the fingers (or pic...sigh)
fly.

g——————————————————————
d——7—7——7—7——7—7——7—7——
a——5—5——5—5——5—5——5—5——
d——0—0—0—0——0—0——0—0——
 
g——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
d——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
a——5——5—5—5——5—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
d—0—0—0—0——0————1—0——1—0————10——10—10—10——10——/—12—/—15—15—15——————
 
g——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
d——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
a—5——5—5—5——5——————————————10——10—10—10—10—10—————————————
d——0——0—0—0——0——1—0——1—0—————————————————————————0—3———————
 
Now to finish, choke up on that neck once more.

g—————————————————
d—————————————————
a————————————————— (repeats)
d——0h1p0—0—0h1—0——
 
g———————————
d———————————
a——————————— (repeats)
d——0h1p0—0——

I'd like to thank the flow for granting me patience. The rest of Lateralus will be tabbed 
out shortly enough. No mistakes, easy on the cuts.

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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Tool — The Grudge (ver 2) bass tabs