Editing ...And Justice for All (album) (section)

===Mixing===
''...And Justice for All''  is noted for its "dry, sterile" production.<ref name="Allmusic" /> Rasmussen said that was not his intention, as he tried for an ambient sound similar to the previous two albums. He was not present during the album's mixing, for which [[Steve Thompson (musician)|Steve Thompson]] and Michael Barbiero had been hired beforehand. Rasmussen assumed that, in his absence from the mixing process, Thompson and Barbiero used only the [[close-mic placement|close microphones]] on the mix and none of the room microphones, causing the "clicking", thin drum sound.<ref name="sos" /> The bass guitar is nearly inaudible, while the guitars sound "strangled mechanistic".<ref name="500 Albums" /> He saw the "synthetic" percussion as another reason for the compressed sound.<ref>{{cite book |last=Popoff |first=Martin |title=The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time |publisher=ECW Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-55022-530-3 |page=183}}</ref>

At the instruction of Hetfield and Ulrich, Newsted's bass guitar was made almost inaudible.<ref name="sos" /><ref name="Sound Mixer: Ulrich to Blame for 'And Justice For All' Bass">{{cite web |last=Zadrozny |first=Anya |date=March 24, 2015 |title=Sound Mixer on Metallica's '...And Justice For All' Blames Lars Ulrich for Thin Bass Sound |url=http://loudwire.com/sound-mixer-metallica-and-justice-for-all-blames-lars-ulrich-thin-bass-sound/ |access-date=April 25, 2015 |work=[[Loudwire]] |archive-date=April 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426062147/http://loudwire.com/sound-mixer-metallica-and-justice-for-all-blames-lars-ulrich-thin-bass-sound/ |url-status=live }}</ref> According to Rasmussen: "After Lars and James heard their initial mixes the first thing they said was, 'Take the bass down so you can just hear it, and then once you've done that, take it down a further three [[decibel|dB]]s.' I have no idea why they wanted that, but it was totally out of my hands."<ref name="sos" /> In 2009, Hetfield said that the bass was obscured as the basslines often doubled his rhythm guitar, making the instruments indiscernible, and because the low frequencies were competing with his "[[Smiley face curve|scooped]]" guitar sound.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Bienstock |first=Richard |date=December 2008 |title=Metallica: Talkin' Thrash |url=http://www.guitarworld.com/metallica-talkin-thrash?page=0,6 |url-status=dead |journal=[[Guitar World]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012091204/http://www.guitarworld.com/metallica-talkin-thrash?page=0,6 |archive-date=October 12, 2013 |access-date=June 14, 2013}}</ref>

Newsted was not satisfied with the final mix and was unhappy that the bass was inaudible.<ref name="sos" /> Thompson was also unhappy, and blamed Ulrich for the decision; he tried to quit the project, but was blocked by management.<ref name="Sound Mixer: Ulrich to Blame for 'And Justice For All' Bass" /> Rasmussen said in 2018: "I'm probably one of the only people in the world, including Jason and Toby Wright, the assistant engineer, who ''heard'' the bass tracks on ''And Justice for All'', and they are fucking brilliant."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Grow |first=Kory |date=17 March 2016 |title=Metallica's 'And Justice for All': What Happened to the Bass? |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/metallica-producer-jason-newsteds-justice-bass-was-f-king-brilliant-234318/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=September 18, 2019 |archive-date=December 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219003727/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/metallica-producer-jason-newsteds-justice-bass-was-f-king-brilliant-234318/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2019, Hetfield and Ulrich said they had mixed the bass low not to belittle Newsted, but because their hearing was "shot" following heavy touring and so they "basically kept turning everything else up until the bass disappeared".<ref>{{Cite web |title=James Hetfield Explains Why Metallica's ...And Justice For All Has No Bass |url=https://www.kerrang.com/the-news/james-hetfield-explains-why-metallicas-and-justice-for-all-has-no-bass/ |access-date=2019-09-18 |website=Kerrang! |archive-date=August 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819131439/https://www.kerrang.com/the-news/james-hetfield-explains-why-metallicas-and-justice-for-all-has-no-bass/ |url-status=live }}</ref> They decided not to adjust the mix for the remastered 2018 reissue, saying: "These records are a product of a certain time in life; they're snapshots of history and they're part of our story ''... And Justice for All'' could use a little more low end and ''[[St. Anger]]'' could use a little less tin snare drum, but those things are what make those records part of our history."<ref>{{Cite web |first=Christopher |last=Scapelliti |date=February 21, 2017 |title=James Hetfield Tells Why He's Against Fixing the Bass on '...And Justice for All' |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/james-hetfield-tells-why-hes-against-fixing-bass-and-justice-all |access-date=2019-09-18 |website=guitarworld |language=en |archive-date=March 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200302033534/https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/james-hetfield-tells-why-hes-against-fixing-bass-and-justice-all |url-status=live }}</ref>