James Hetfield’s Danelectro Longhorn 6 String Bass

James used a Danelectro Longhorn six-string bass guitar to record the main riff on “Sad But True” from Metallica’s 1991 “Black Album”. According to James, the guitar belonged to Bob Rock.

I used a Jones Danolectro 6 String Bass copy for the main riff on ‘Sad But True.’ It sounded great, more chunkin’ than my regular guitar tuned down to D, and it’s really fun to play. I knew it needed a push in terms of heaviness-it was already an ugly riff, but it needed to get a little uglier. I did some sort of microtonal slide work on the chorus of that song, just eerie sliding around sounds. Kirk hated it-he said it sounds out of tune.

James Hetfield, Guitar Player, September 1991