Song Information
Title: Badlands
Artist: AC/DC
Album: Flick of the Switch
Bassist: Cliff Williams
Difficulty: Beginner
Tuning: Standard Tuning
Key: G Major
Tempo: 106
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Bass Diary Entry
“Badlands” is one of those tracks that came about purely because someone asked for it — and I’m glad they did. This one started life as a request on the Ultimate Guitar requests section, where a couple of simplified guitar and bass tabs already existed. They did the job… just about. But they were rough, incomplete, and crucially, there was no full Guitar Pro version with drums available at the time.
So naturally, I decided to start again from scratch.
What followed was a full rebuild of the song — guitars, bass, and drums — created entirely by ear for this deep cut from Flick of the Switch. AC/DC might look simple on paper, but anyone who’s tried to transcribe them properly knows how deceptive that simplicity is. The feel, the timing, and the push-and-pull of the groove all have to be right, otherwise it just doesn’t sound like AC/DC.
The bassline in “Badlands” does exactly what it should: it locks in tightly with the drums, reinforces the groove, and lets the guitars do the talking. There’s no unnecessary movement — just solid, purposeful playing that drives the song forward with authority. It’s a great reminder that restraint and consistency are often what make a bassline truly work.
This was one of those projects where the aim wasn’t just to “get the notes down”, but to create a proper, usable transcription — something that actually feels right to play along to. From a rough request to a complete, fully-arranged Guitar Pro file, this one was a lot of fun to put together.
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Ultimate Guitar Tab Links:
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Note: Official Sheet Music may contain newer tweaks and improvements that these older tabs do not have, but these still give you a pretty good idea either way.
