David Ellefson Plays His Top Five Megadeth Bass Lines

Megadeth bassist David Ellefson recently stopped by the Guitar World studio in New York City to discuss—and play—his five favorite Megadeth bass riffs.

It's safe to say some of his choices will surprise you. Check it out below!

And while we're on the topic, SIT Strings has teamed up with Megadeth to create a fun contest for all the bassists in the house.

All you have to do is shoot a quick video of yourself playing one or all of Ellefson's licks from the video below, then send the link (with your full name somewhere in the email) to us at megadethbass@nbmedia.com.

Ellefson and the SIT crew will watch all the videos and select five winners, all of whom will receive a set of SIT David Ellefson Signature Bass Strings, a signed Ellefson poster and a special Virtual Reality version of Megadeth's new album, Dystopia.

The band headed into a Virtual Reality setup with director Blair Underwood and performed five songs from the album—“Fatal Illusion,” “Dystopia,” "The Threat Is Real,” “Poisonous Shadows” and “Post American World.” The band’s performance takes place within the fallen city of a dystopian world modeled after the world seen in Megadeth’s video for “The Threat Is Real.” Next Galaxy Corp. has created a dystopian universe surrounding the band; it allows fans to virtually enter, engage and explore this parallel world.

One last note: You can play the bass line (or lines) note for note or add your own creative spin to things. Just have fun with it—and remember to send us the video! The deadline is May 30.

For more about Ellefson's signature SIT strings, check out sitstrings.com. For more about the Virtual Reality version of Dystopia, head here.

And good luck!