Billy is an amazing musician and the ultimate gentleman...We opened for his band Tallas back in the day and then he called to invite us to join on the '89 tour w/Mr. Big and Winger. Thanks for all the great memories Billy!
I'm a six-stringer and got to meet Billy after a concert he did with Steve Vai ... Steve was all like "I'm too cool for school", so while most flocked around him whilst he looked down on them, I went and chatted to Billy who even poured me a glass of wine. Without a doubt, THE nicest guy in rock ... and needless to say, his playing is phenomenal. As I told him, he did $h1t I didn't think was even possible on a bass guitar ... RESPECT!
Excellent story and thanks for sharing. I met Steve many moons ago at Turtle's Records in Little 5 Points in Atlanta. Seemed to be a nice guy but you could seemed to be a nice guy. Always heard he could definitely present an air of being better than though or as I would say a "Pinky Drinker" or someone that frowned upon the plebian masses that flocked to see him. (Pinky Drinker= using proper tea drinking etiquette to hold one's smallest digit of their hand, rigidly outward away from the cup, as said individual partook in the tasty beverage and scowling upon the crowds that gathered below them.)
Billy is freaking awesome. Took me a long time to appreciate his playing and tone, but now I really dig his stuff. And he seems like a genuine good guy too.
+theycallmejpj I met him at a trade show back in the early 90's when he was endorsing Ampeg. As I moved closer in the waiting line, he kept looking back my way and smiling and nodding. When I got up to the front of the line, he jumps up, comes around the table and gives me a huge bear hug, all the while talking about the awesome jam we had the night before. I smile, thank him, and then proceed to tell him it wasn't me. He thought I was joking, so he asked his friend, and his friend also swore it was me. He turned a million shades of red and apologized profusely. I told him no apology necessary because he just gave me a killer story to tell. Class act all around.
I admit to never really liking Billy Sheehan going way back to the 80s because of the misconception that I had about him. Thankfully now with UA-cam, we get to see more of the person than MTV used to show us and I owe him a personal apology and a virtual bro hug because he seems like THE absolute nicest guy. he seems like he's a pleasure to know and work with.
@Decedo He -politely- stated in another video how there were "some quality control issues that he witnessed first-hand that bothered him".... so he switched to Hartke. Ampeg got bought out back in 07 and they shipped over to Vietnam... They don't make stuff like they did in the USA. It's crap now compared to their old stuff. Alot of guys switched to other companies because of that. He said he's a firm believer in a company's quality control if he's going to endorse and put his name with them.
The heads with the high mid range are just for the p bass pickup. He splits the pickups into separate heads, the p pickup for mids/highs, and the neck pickup for the lows. So basically he uses heads to focus on certain frequencies and will adjust each of their output levels to get the levels of each frequency range how he wants them. I asked him about it at a bass clinic he did for hartke.
Here is the most beautiful thing about all of this...We all love playing the bass & we all strive for that sound that makes our own ears ring with that sweet tone that gets peoples heads a rocking !! Love playing my bass... One Happy Bass Player ... :)
Wow.... Billy's using the Line 6 Relay G50... I was looking at the G90... If he's using the G50 which costs almost 300 less than the one I was looking at and he's taking it on world tours without hassle... I think he just sold me on the G50... This man never fails to motivate and inspire me...
Got to meet Billy here in the Philippines 2017 during their defying gravity tour, he's a very humble and friendly fellow who plays great music. Through him I learned that music isnt just technique, the bass has to complement the drummer all the time
This is really interesting. So the core of Billy's sound is the Pearce BC1 preamp, which he was using in the 80s, rather than the Hartkes. I worked for the Ampeg distributer in 94/95 and ran some clinics with Billy. He used an SVT Classic head for that, with a Boss guitar compression pedal hidden in the back. Great video - Thanks.
Notice the shape of his graphic EQ? I wish more bass players would figure this out. Boosted mid range gives you a fat and warmer bass tone. "scooped" mid = shit tone.
craigdamage. Sure it sounds ok during solo/ show peices that he plays on his own but say in the context of a rock band. No. You completely dissapear. I play rock and have eq'd my bass amp this way as an experiment and with a mid heavy guitsrist you just dissapear. Bass should be exactly that. You should be able to FEEL it
I tried explaining that to my OLD bass player. She complained she couldnt hear herself with scooped mids. I boosted the mids.....and she cut them again n continued complaining
you gotta balance it out some way. if your guitarist play mid heavy you need to scoop your tone and find a high frequency that make others hear you but does not interfere with the others instruments. i suggest a stereo rig with 2 amps to really be accurate if your guitarist play a fender style amp with lot of low mids and crystal clear highs you need to have a midrangy sounds without too much low end nor treble. a good old 1x15 cab should do the trick maybe some smooth overdrive with a bump in a the mids
That man's a professor of bass in my opinion and a monster on it as well; seems like a nice guy too.......saw him back around '94 when Mr. Big opened for Rush, it was an awesome performance; I can still remember him using the drill too LOL
In terms of tension on the neck, the heavier the gauge, the more strength the neck needs. by reducing the G, you can give the E some leeway so there's less adjusting involved. I've tried them, they're sounds really great, but I've moved onto DR's since then.
I think that at least in the World of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal a good deal of Bassists cut their mids because they have 1 or 2 Guitarists doing the same thing, so that at least they're not "competing" for the same frequencies. By boosting Bass & Treble they're using frequencies otherwise not in direct competition... at least in Standard Tuning & not Downtuning. And as a former Peavey TNT 150 user, it certainly *IS* a very woolly 15" speaker Moving to 2x10"/2x12" cabs was a revelation for me...
It's clear Billy is a "student of the sport" so to speak. He knows his chain inside and out and can articulate it perfectly. Many of these rig rundowns you get a sense they have no idea, and have been influenced by, or relinquished their chain over to a Tech.
Of course it's about what EQ settings everybody else in the band uses. Your sound depends on the whole band's sound and you will sound bad if everybody sounds bad. The amp must be EQed with other band members in mind. Yeah, and that 15 inch speaker in TNT130... I have to cut almost all of the bass and some low mids to get rid of the boominess (or all of the low mids so I can have the bass knob a bit higher).
Every time someone uses something else than a mono rig, people go: “wow, that looks complicated” It’s not complicated it’s just different and a bit more complex because of some extra parts. JEEZ!!!
I see he connected the pre amp to the passive input. Is it ok to connect your active bass and/or with a pre amp to the passive input?, I just feel there is too much volume lost when you connect it to the active input.
Premier Guitar, you really need to lose the handheld mike for these interviews and use a clip on lapel mike instead. It's noticeably awkward for both interviewer and interviewed to carry on a smooth conversation, as well as it is difficult for viewers to hear complete audio. Otherwise, keep these videos coming! Thanks.
so the bass sounds great because of the way the sap has crystalized in the wood? what kind of sonic attributes does the piece of paper under the G string bring to the instruments tone?
EtcEtcAndEtc It will only matter on the zero fret, or open string. I wasted a lot of money on changing out nuts to brass or graphite until I realized it only affected the tone on an unfretted string, and then perhaps then only barely perceptibly.
i saw a Hartke head there. I got one (400B) from the last order made in canada. In 30yrs, not a single problem. Sold it to a girl whose Peavey blew up. Her mom texted me to say thx. good karma
Well, at least you will cut through the mix if you crank the mids. I think Lemmy from Motörhead uses same kind of EQ settings. I don't know why everybody wants to scoop their mids. Also everybody seems to crank their bass. It just makes you sound boomy. I have to cut the bass (maybe it's due to the bad speaker on the amp I'm playing through, Peavey TNT 130) not to get too boomy. OK, I'm pretty sure it's due to the speaker. But I really don't try to crank anything.
Good to hear Billy is doing good, But Some where between Talas and David Lee Roth, and I'm sure it was a low point in his life a young kid skipped study hall and helped the band (Talas) setup at the School (South Park High). I seen him unplugged thumping away on Bass on a cabinet, So I say " I play guitar and hope to get some where some day" and His reply was a sneer with a resounding " Yeah Right! " I'm over it but at the time was heart breaking to a young kid. Went on to DLR, Mr. Big etc.
that's one hell of a complicated rig... even my brand new setup I'll be getting fir a shade under £1000 ain't gonna be that crazily overdone, just a Hartke HA3500 semi-valvestate amp (350W), a Hartke 400W 4X10 Hartke cab (means I don't blow the drivers... then again... they're Hartke, doubt I could pop the 350W 1X15" on a HA3500 amp), a Yamaha RBX170EW in tobacco burst (absolutely gorgeous bass!!!), new case and a vox wah pedal... all to be picked up within the week I posted this message :3... hope I remember to get a flight case at some point!!!
The greatest rock bass player Billy Sheehan my rock mentor Billy Sheehan is to rock bass like Mark l adams to funk bass those two no body is than them says me the four string wyzard
The greatest rock bass player Billy Sheehan my rock mentor Billy is to rock bass is what Mark l adams is to funk bass no one's better than them says me the four string wyzard
Billy is an amazing musician and the ultimate gentleman...We opened for his band Tallas back in the day and then he called to invite us to join on the '89 tour w/Mr. Big and Winger. Thanks for all the great memories Billy!
I'm a six-stringer and got to meet Billy after a concert he did with Steve Vai ... Steve was all like "I'm too cool for school", so while most flocked around him whilst he looked down on them, I went and chatted to Billy who even poured me a glass of wine. Without a doubt, THE nicest guy in rock ... and needless to say, his playing is phenomenal. As I told him, he did $h1t I didn't think was even possible on a bass guitar ... RESPECT!
Excellent story and thanks for sharing. I met Steve many moons ago at Turtle's Records in Little 5 Points in Atlanta. Seemed to be a nice guy but you could seemed to be a nice guy. Always heard he could definitely present an air of being better than though or as I would say a "Pinky Drinker" or someone that frowned upon the plebian masses that flocked to see him. (Pinky Drinker= using proper tea drinking etiquette to hold one's smallest digit of their hand, rigidly outward away from the cup, as said individual partook in the tasty beverage and scowling upon the crowds that gathered below them.)
Billy is as classy as they come. A true gentleman.
Billy is freaking awesome. Took me a long time to appreciate his playing and tone, but now I really dig his stuff. And he seems like a genuine good guy too.
Billy seems to always be "jacked up"! Gotta love the enthusiasm!
not a fan of his music, but every time i see this guy in interview he always comes across like a complete class act =)
theycallmejpj Also, no roadie either. Billy is his own roadie most of the time.
theycallmejpj My feeling exactly!
+theycallmejpj I met him at a trade show back in the early 90's when he was endorsing Ampeg. As I moved closer in the waiting line, he kept looking back my way and smiling and nodding. When I got up to the front of the line, he jumps up, comes around the table and gives me a huge bear hug, all the while talking about the awesome jam we had the night before. I smile, thank him, and then proceed to tell him it wasn't me. He thought I was joking, so he asked his friend, and his friend also swore it was me. He turned a million shades of red and apologized profusely. I told him no apology necessary because he just gave me a killer story to tell. Class act all around.
Why don't you like his music?
I admit to never really liking Billy Sheehan going way back to the 80s because of the misconception that I had about him. Thankfully now with UA-cam, we get to see more of the person than MTV used to show us and I owe him a personal apology and a virtual bro hug because he seems like THE absolute nicest guy. he seems like he's a pleasure to know and work with.
I usually don't like listening to the musician ramble on and on but I enjoy listening to Billy talk. Very knowledgeable.
His playing on Eat em and smile was nothing short of brilliant. Monster player, seems like a great dude,
Gotta love when the artist themselves give you their rig rundown.
Gotta respect Billy...
Great player, no BS, straight talkin' practical guy.
One of the best rig rundowns yet!
@Decedo He -politely- stated in another video how there were "some quality control issues that he witnessed first-hand that bothered him".... so he switched to Hartke. Ampeg got bought out back in 07 and they shipped over to Vietnam... They don't make stuff like they did in the USA. It's crap now compared to their old stuff. Alot of guys switched to other companies because of that. He said he's a firm believer in a company's quality control if he's going to endorse and put his name with them.
Billy's a fine fellow, met him a couple of times years ago & he was a gent.
He can also play like f**k.
The heads with the high mid range are just for the p bass pickup. He splits the pickups into separate heads, the p pickup for mids/highs, and the neck pickup for the lows. So basically he uses heads to focus on certain frequencies and will adjust each of their output levels to get the levels of each frequency range how he wants them. I asked him about it at a bass clinic he did for hartke.
A beautiful human being who changed the face of Rock n Roll! Thanks Billy!
Here is the most beautiful thing about all of this...We all love playing the bass & we all strive for that sound that makes our own ears ring with that sweet tone that gets peoples heads a rocking !! Love playing my bass... One Happy Bass Player ... :)
if ever they remake the movie back to the future and they need a hyper replacement for loyd. here is your man
*It’s your MIDS, Marty! Somethings gotta be done about your MIDS!!!”
"...so whenever the shenanigans are going on we're doing ok..." Love Billy, everything he plays, his sound, and his Western NY accent.
Can i use hartke 1000 for music system
Yes he is the man,I met him at BIT.He was so down to earth. He is Hands down the greatest bassist out there.
Awesome vid, I love hearing from guys who have been around, know their shit and tell you what works and what doesn't for them.
Billy Sheehan and Paul Gilbert are the two most lovable geeks anyone can ever ask to be bandmates with lol.
Wow.... Billy's using the Line 6 Relay G50... I was looking at the G90... If he's using the G50 which costs almost 300 less than the one I was looking at and he's taking it on world tours without hassle... I think he just sold me on the G50... This man never fails to motivate and inspire me...
Got to meet Billy here in the Philippines 2017 during their defying gravity tour, he's a very humble and friendly fellow who plays great music. Through him I learned that music isnt just technique, the bass has to complement the drummer all the time
This is really interesting. So the core of Billy's sound is the Pearce BC1 preamp, which he was using in the 80s, rather than the Hartkes.
I worked for the Ampeg distributer in 94/95 and ran some clinics with Billy. He used an SVT Classic head for that, with a Boss guitar compression pedal hidden in the back.
Great video - Thanks.
What a genuine guy.
this guy is an AMAZING bassist. and wow he sounds like such a cool guy..
saw a clinic of his in Montgomery AL. Awesome guy.
Billy is a great guy. Real pro with no ego.
Notice the shape of his graphic EQ? I wish more bass players would figure this out. Boosted mid range gives you a fat and warmer bass tone. "scooped" mid = shit tone.
craigdamage. Sure it sounds ok during solo/ show peices that he plays on his own but say in the context of a rock band. No. You completely dissapear. I play rock and have eq'd my bass amp this way as an experiment and with a mid heavy guitsrist you just dissapear. Bass should be exactly that. You should be able to FEEL it
Everything Adam it deserves to be heard as well as felt. Especially when you’re playing with just one guitarist
I tried explaining that to my OLD bass player. She complained she couldnt hear herself with scooped mids. I boosted the mids.....and she cut them again n continued complaining
you gotta balance it out some way.
if your guitarist play mid heavy you need to scoop your tone and find a high frequency that make others hear you but does not interfere with the others instruments. i suggest a stereo rig with 2 amps to really be accurate
if your guitarist play a fender style amp with lot of low mids and crystal clear highs you need to have a midrangy sounds without too much low end nor treble. a good old 1x15 cab should do the trick
maybe some smooth overdrive with a bump in a the mids
@@eveythingthatsadam Exactly right. Ask Robert Trujillo with his Warwicks and godawful mix nowadays.
Billy's passion jumps through the screen and makes me want to go and play my bass.
Billy is a gem in a mountain of rocks
I could listen to Billy talk forever.
Sheehan Excellent . . . Stay Frosty All .
thank you premiere guitar for the RIG RUNDOWN series.
That man's a professor of bass in my opinion and a monster on it as well; seems like a nice guy too.......saw him back around '94 when Mr. Big opened for Rush, it was an awesome performance; I can still remember him using the drill too LOL
@ibanez350mdx Montgomery is about an hour away from where i live. I wish i had known he was in Montgomery at the time.
Billy is THE man!
In terms of tension on the neck, the heavier the gauge, the more strength the neck needs. by reducing the G, you can give the E some leeway so there's less adjusting involved. I've tried them, they're sounds really great, but I've moved onto DR's since then.
Nice EQ curve on the Hartke amps. Reverse smiles sound great
Algún día llegaré a eso 💪
Yes, they do that also. But... Have you noticed that the Yamaha logo that they still use is basically 3 tuning forks? ;-)
Billy is Technical love he's playing . . . Frosty F******yes .
for some reason i feel seasick! and i'am missing the windows xp shutdown sound out of Jason's head @ 5:59 ...would be nice!! :)
Probably my favorite bassist, right next to Geezer Butler.
Billy Sheehan 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
I wonder how much that Pearce Pre-amp makes his sound, because going from Ampeg to Hartke I wouldn't know the difference. :P
I think that at least in the World of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal a good deal of Bassists cut their mids because they have 1 or 2 Guitarists doing the same thing, so that at least they're not "competing" for the same frequencies. By boosting Bass & Treble they're using frequencies otherwise not in direct competition... at least in Standard Tuning & not Downtuning. And as a former Peavey TNT 150 user, it certainly *IS* a very woolly 15" speaker Moving to 2x10"/2x12" cabs was a revelation for me...
It's clear Billy is a "student of the sport" so to speak. He knows his chain inside and out and can articulate it perfectly. Many of these rig rundowns you get a sense they have no idea, and have been influenced by, or relinquished their chain over to a Tech.
A fella I was in a band with, has one... Yes it does.
Billy shreds his mouth like he shred the bass
Of course it's about what EQ settings everybody else in the band uses. Your sound depends on the whole band's sound and you will sound bad if everybody sounds bad. The amp must be EQed with other band members in mind.
Yeah, and that 15 inch speaker in TNT130... I have to cut almost all of the bass and some low mids to get rid of the boominess (or all of the low mids so I can have the bass knob a bit higher).
all you need is the attitude and your ready to go!
é o melhor !!!!!!
Every time someone uses something else than a mono rig, people go: “wow, that looks complicated”
It’s not complicated it’s just different and a bit more complex because of some extra parts. JEEZ!!!
It seems you've never heard him in Niacin or his solo projects...
Any idea what brand is that midi trigger pedalboard
I see he connected the pre amp to the passive input. Is it ok to connect your active bass and/or with a pre amp to the passive input?, I just feel there is too much volume lost when you connect it to the active input.
This guy is HYPER, but he is a great bassist. Waaayyy too underrated.
Dr Sheehan.
Professor Sheehan
he is so fucking cool. I play bass and he is a pioneer.
Premier Guitar, you really need to lose the handheld mike for these interviews and use a clip on lapel mike instead. It's noticeably awkward for both interviewer and interviewed to carry on a smooth conversation, as well as it is difficult for viewers to hear complete audio. Otherwise, keep these videos coming! Thanks.
so the bass sounds great because of the way the sap has crystalized in the wood?
what kind of sonic attributes does the piece of paper under the G string bring to the instruments tone?
EtcEtcAndEtc It will only matter on the zero fret, or open string. I wasted a lot of money on changing out nuts to brass or graphite until I realized it only affected the tone on an unfretted string, and then perhaps then only barely perceptibly.
Billy Sheehan and Paul gilbert really knows theirs stuffs. °_0
i saw a Hartke head there. I got one (400B) from the last order made in canada. In 30yrs, not
a single problem. Sold it to a girl whose Peavey blew up. Her mom texted me to say thx. good karma
Also, are those AK410's?
how can i reach billy's sound?
Well, at least you will cut through the mix if you crank the mids. I think Lemmy from Motörhead uses same kind of EQ settings. I don't know why everybody wants to scoop their mids. Also everybody seems to crank their bass. It just makes you sound boomy. I have to cut the bass (maybe it's due to the bad speaker on the amp I'm playing through, Peavey TNT 130) not to get too boomy. OK, I'm pretty sure it's due to the speaker. But I really don't try to crank anything.
I wish they asked him about his speaker configuration
Idk why but I like the way he says pickup lol "bickup"
I just got an Associate degree in electronics listening to this.
🤘🤘🤘🤘🎸🎸🎸
🎸🤘🤘🤘🤘
🤘🤘🤘🤘
I love those Yamaha basses; they really should make his signature model left handed.
Billy - "I DONT NEED ANY ASSISTANT! I AM THE ONE MAN SHOW!"
The tensions of all the strings isn't equal to begin with, the E is floppier and the G is more tense on a normal 105-45 set
How do you keep your low end going with the frowny face on your EQ?
They are for the high frequencies only. The Lows come from the LH 1000. Split Signal.
Billy Sheehan BASS GOD. Enough said.
Mr. Doc Brown ?
Good to hear Billy is doing good, But Some where between Talas and David Lee Roth, and I'm sure it was a low point in his life a young kid skipped study hall and helped the band (Talas) setup at the School (South Park High). I seen him unplugged thumping away on Bass on a cabinet, So I say " I play guitar and hope to get some where some day" and His reply was a sneer with a resounding " Yeah Right! " I'm over it but at the time was heart breaking to a young kid. Went on to DLR, Mr. Big etc.
@coche9009 this is the best comment i've seen on youtube yet! Hahahhaa! great job!
he knows his shit though right
ive always liked his playing,, but MY GOD!! enough MID RANGE YOU THINK???
anybody has the Pearce BC1 preamp ? can it nail the Sheehan sound ??
Do I smell a Paul Gilbert Rig Rundown on it's way?!?!?
sad face amps xD,
Wow, wonder why Billy left ampeg?
Billy did not have that much time, as Paul took so long... Great guys, both of them, BTW!
that's one hell of a complicated rig... even my brand new setup I'll be getting fir a shade under £1000 ain't gonna be that crazily overdone, just a Hartke HA3500 semi-valvestate amp (350W), a Hartke 400W 4X10 Hartke cab (means I don't blow the drivers... then again... they're Hartke, doubt I could pop the 350W 1X15" on a HA3500 amp), a Yamaha RBX170EW in tobacco burst (absolutely gorgeous bass!!!), new case and a vox wah pedal... all to be picked up within the week I posted this message :3... hope I remember to get a flight case at some point!!!
Only rig rundown where the guitars or basses review didn't take up 90% of the video.
The HA3500 head is way too quiet
The greatest rock bass player Billy Sheehan my rock mentor Billy Sheehan is to rock bass like Mark l adams to funk bass those two no body is than them says me the four string wyzard
Billy's tech must know his shit to keep up with billy lol
Nope, he always uses the house tech just to watch stuff/emergency type stuff.
But otherwise does EVERYTHING himself, set up, rack mantainance etc :D
Nicest guy in the world :D
Yamaha.... "Bends to a B and doesn't break"
All of this is in his stomp box now... I have one and I low it.
WHERES REBECCA?
Own a helluva cash and buy all of what he just said in the video =P
WTF happened to less variables ???
Fewer.
The greatest rock bass player Billy Sheehan my rock mentor Billy is to rock bass is what Mark l adams is to funk bass no one's better than them says me the four string wyzard
Important Rig Rundown question: What kind of speed was he on?
Billy Sheehan knows what he's doing. Your cameraman, however...
Come on where is Rebecca and her fine self ?