The most unique P bass in history? Probably. (Bass Tales Ep.2)
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- Опубліковано 28 сер 2020
- Billy Sheehan has played packed out stadiums, made platinum albums and is quite possibly the most gifted bass guitarist on the planet. Any bass geek, who, like me has followed his career through shred-heavy albums with Talas, Steve Vai, Mr Big and Dave Lee Roth will know exactly what I’m talking about.
For this week’s video Billy invited us to his house in Nashville to check out his awesome bass collection, including the Fender P Bass that was his main axe with Talas and later served as the springboard for his signature Yamaha Attitude Bass.
Seriously, this bass is unbelievable..
In this video you’re going to learn:
- All about the ’70s Fender Billy calls “The Wife”
- Why he’d always wanted a Höfner Beatles Bass.
- And an Epiphone Rivoli in honour of Paul Samwell-Smith.
- You’ll also see his first Yamaha double neck.
- AND his all-new limited Edition Attitude Bass.
- Plus much, much more..
As always, see you in the shed…
Scott :)
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Les Claypool. I would love to hear the history of his basses.
I agree, go find Les
Hell yes.
Yes. Please.
Please we all need it!
Please, yes! Claypool introduced me to the wonders of slap and showed me where I could take the instrument if I wasn't afraid to get weird. I'd love to hear his stories.
I'm not really into Mr. Big, but how on Earth you wouldn't love to hear this guy talking about bass all day long?
His enthusiasm makes me want to grab my bass and start playing right away.
I was thinking the same exact thing. His knowledge and enthusiasm are motivating. The part towards the end where he talks about using 2 seperste amps and plugging into them using a Y cable... works like a charm both in stereo and mono (stereo for my 4001 bass).
Once you go two amps... with overdrive used on one.... there is no going back
Exactly, what a nice fella.
He played with several other bands too. David Lee Roth, Steve Vai, Winery Dogs, Talas are the ones I know about.
He's a a reason I play with 3 fingers and push myself. Not because I love his bands but because he is an influential bassist
Winery dogs bruh
"Still learnin"......that is one humble, wise, smart man. Class act
Just catching this. Jesus christ his tone in that intro isn't just fat, it's morbidly obese. Jaw-dropping.
I also love the tone of that blue Attitude bass when he's demoing its long sustain :-) I had tried out his Signature RotoSounds many years ago, however they weren't for me.
His tone is morbidly obese running 100 mph
@@mightyV444 I used Roto's only,, the standard gage long scale for over 50 years. I changed strings for every gig,, then I'd save up a dozen sets or so and boil them for about an hour. That would bring back the clank and get rid of the skin cells, split beer, and other shit that I can't mention.
If you were able to get Steve Harris from Iron Maiden, that would be absolutely incredible
I just wanted to write Steve Harris & I saw your comment
I wanna tell both of you and anyone else something that I learned about Steve Harris and his playing. He is great because he is amazing at what he does. And primarily he is the songwriter and bass player for maiden one of the best bands of all time. Especially with how much they toured they got their own dam plane. But I wanna say that if you are trying to make a career unless your drummer plans on galloping alot or something the technique isnt that versatile. And you will also most likely sound heavily influenced by maiden which isnt but bad sometimes pushes against your popularity as a band or artist because people feel like your a lower version ripoff. I actually know because I studied Steve Harris cuz I wanted to play like him at one point. I also read in an interview he claims to not know any scales so I assume he just writes using melodies. You can all read it look it up. He is very gifted but I just wanted to give you some insight because the man is like against the rules of music theory or just doesnt care because he doesnt need it.😂 I honestly cant imagine him even accepting an offer to be on SBL but it's possible of course. I would love to see him on here tho you all take care o and he also plays with a higher custom gauge of flatwound rotosounds. Have a great day✌
I'd be awesome because, other than a brief period when Lado had Steve and Adrian endorse them for a couple of years, he's had that same P-Bass since the late 70s...just refinished a few...dozen times.
@@strawhousepig He has the Guild acoustic, too! =D
That would be amazing
Billy always seems like such a genuinely great person.
Gotta see his interview in Thomann's channel, you will enjoy it!
Yes!
He is an amazing person. For a guy with the kind of fame he has, he is absolutely modest as all get out.
My hero and one of my mentors.
a real gentleman
I love how concerned he is with not devaluing the instrument by making changes to it. "Its not the original pick guard on this which means it's worth $500 less than original but Billy Sheehan once owned it so its worth 5K more," LOL
The older I get the less and less I find myself wanting to know about my heroes. THANK GOODNESS that Billy seems like such an awesome guy. Totally down to Earth without "celebrity" attitude. This has really made my day. Stat awesome Billy.
He seems an absolutely awesome guy indeed Travis, and humble with it also. He would be an amazing hang. Even without talking music OR bass. Just simply to hang out with him. Sending blessings from Ireland🤘☘🤘
Pino Palladino and Geddy Lee will be great !!!
Perfect choices.
Absolutely
Outstanding choices 👍
Yeah, Geddy doesn't have much else to do these days ;)
Palladino would be great, he basically had two "signature" instruments.
Geddy Lee! IIRC he is somewhat of a collector of classic basses.
Geddy would need his own sub-series here 😆
Great suggestion!
He'd even released a book a while ago about his collection, called 'Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book Of Bass' :-)
I wonder if he would show the "Tear" Precision he has. Completely modified the Precision he used on the first Rush album. :)
@@brentheathersimons7042 - I was surprised it didn't pop up in the Q&A videos around his book launch I was watching some time ago! He *did* say his first proper bass was that Fender but he didn't mention the modifications. Part of his collection can be seen in some of those videos also: ua-cam.com/video/8qthDEig-EQ/v-deo.html :-)
Man, Billy Sheehan. On or off the stage, that guy is always a good time.
It's obviously not just his raw talent that got him his accolades... his disposition is just so magnetic and friendly. Must be a joy to work with, play with, tour with, and hang out with. Salt of the earth. Dave Grohl is like that too. No wonder Billy is still working and so respected - among musicians and fans alike.
I too was going to add Steve Harris but regarding Billy Sheehan, I got to meet him a few years back and I have to tell you, he is THE NICEST guy you would ever meet. There were people lining up to meet and talk to him and he wasn't rushed about it, He was there talking to each person and that was "You and him" time. The world needs more people like him. Very down to earth.
Doug Wimbish with his customized Spector
Victor Wooten, and Steve Bailey both have cool bass collections
Les Claypool with his... everything
You could do a whole show on his two pedal boards
Also Geddy Lee. Dude has an incredible collection
Steve Bailey has a very COOL Bass!! Not only a good friend & mentor, he’s a laidback Sweetheart!!
That little "IM Still learning" was awesome! Beginners you need to pay attention to that,Billy is one of the best bass players out there,been playing for 40+ years and is still learning,the bass is really just coming in to its own as an instrument,it's only 60years old,compared to say a piano which has been around since time began.(not really,lol) even a bass master like Billy knows there ALWAYS more to be discovered with this AWESONE BEAST WE CALL THE BASS!
Ravi Shankar, the old Sitar Master, once was asked, how long it takes to learn the Sitar.
"Oh, I'm playing 50 years now, and I feel like I am a quite decent player now".
I am a bassplayer for 46 years, and still I learn something every day. It never gets old.
I am just hoping to reach the level of satisfaction Mr. Shankar feels, when I reach 50 years of playing.
Btw, Billy Sheehan was and is a big Inspiration for me.
@@kongandbasses8732 I'm on 20 years,I can do a lot ,I'm told I'm good but I don't think I am,probably because I compare myself to the greats like Billy,Geezer,Tony Franklin,now them boys are good. No matter how many techniques I know,kicks I've played,I know they can always be played better,more technique to my technique,while keeping it all in good taste be to serve the music as it's base( which I think it should be spelled so egotistical guitar players have an easier time understanding,lol) I've never heard of the sitar guy but I'm about to ,keep grooving bro🤟🤟🤟
I'm "lyrical", so I started playing with really basic notions about Music. A little after I started, I believe I received one of my first lessons, and it came out of Billy's column in Bass Player Magazine, which was about technical aspects: This beginner guy asked what was the "right" way to place the thumb in the back of the fretboard, in sum, Billy's advice was: "What 'right way'? There's no such thing. Play as you feel comfortable!".
It may seem obvious or very simple, and I really don't know if every bassist goes through the same, but starting straight to bass (I mean, even McCartney himself took on bass because the guitar was already taken by Harrison and Lennon), I always felt like I was playing "the easiest instrument". That was until I listened to my own guitar player friend, and other guitarists picking on a bass, which always makes me joke about them playing like they have mittens on.
My point is, there is so much potential for the bass, ever developing, and as Billy says, we never stop learning, we're always doing it!
@@BlackJackLopez hell yea, the electric bass is only like 65/70 years old, in instrument age it's in it's prime,just coming into its own maturity,the days if the "failed guitarists become bass players " is long gone,I'm pretty sure it was billy in another interview that said "guitar is easy you just play a lot of notes in the same rythm, BASS IS HARD, you can't just play a lot of notes ,you ARE THE FOUNDATION, and a house on a shoddy foundation won't stay standing" words if wisdom those words are
Man how the hell did y'all get up to Mt Olympus to visit the absolute God Billy Sheehan. The first time I heard him I thought to myself someday I'll not be able to do what he's doing lol.Now 37 years later I still can't do it but I have improved by leaps and bounds.Thank you for getting Billy to do this interview ,very cool.
Mr. Sheehan had my complete attention during this entire video. A great bassist and a great story teller. Thanks for bringing this to us Scott.
My Nashville neighbor!!!! Billy is an awesome person. So gracious and approachable. The most down to earth dude there is. Thanks for having him and thank you Billy!
It is unbelievable how amazingly humble Mr. Sheehan is. Like "hey, I'm just a bass player like you."
You can tell how passionate about music Billy is every time he speaks. Gotta love the guy
I roadied for Billy back in Spring of '06, on the first leg of the inaugural BX3 tour (also with Stu Hamm and Jeff Berlin). He's the real deal...hell of a player, obviously, but one of the most humble guys you could ever meet in the biz. The last show, at Ram's Head in Annapolis, Billy and I were casually talking backstage about our girlfriends at the time, and Jeff was wondering what we were going on and on about. Billy said, "Ah, just talkin' about our girls, ya know, guy talk." Little moments like that are ones that I'll never forget.
Billy was married at the time. You just busted him.
You gotta give it up for Sheehan..if you’re from that era he was of the “superheroes” and one half of DLR’s “two-headed monster” with Steve Vai..Great music Great memories🍻
I was fortunate enough to witness the two-headed monster when it toured. If you didn't see them, yes, it was every bit as insane as you might imagine and more. Was difficult at times choosing which side of the stage to watch.
Anyone who's been following Billy for years, or even just remembers his classic instructional vid with Wolf Marshall (complete with hideous sweaters and heat damaged hair) will have heard these anecdotes; but Mr Sheehan never tires of telling his stories, and with that, the world of bass a better place than without them. Thanks Scott, Thanks Billy!
EH?
I've got that VHS tape around somewhere!
So true! I've heard some of these stories many times before, but I never get tired of him talking about them.
Billy talks just like he plays bass. Eloquent, smooth, fun! Thumbs up! Another great musician I feel this way is Bill Bruford.
We opened up for Talas back in the mid 80s. After the gig we're all sitting around drinking and chatting and Billy mentioned the time he helped deliver a stillborn calf on the farm. It was gross but we all sat enthralled.
A True "Rock Star" without the attitude.
The only "attitude" Billy Sheehan seems to have is his many Attitude basses.s
The one thing I really appreciate about Sheehan is that when he puts a second pickup on a bass, he puts it at the neck where it belongs.
Billy is a great guy & great musician. My husband lived down the street from him for years Billy would stop & say hello always humble. After he left Talas my husband did some shows with Dave & Paul from Talas. He was thrilled but nervous about doin the Talas originals.
...and that's Billy's story; awesome and true! An early inspiration he was for me, along with Paul and Geddy. Thank you, Scott!!!
Billy buys a bass in the 90's and says, "pretty much the original strings..." and Scott died inside.
@Toxic Potato you're about to trigger alot of people...
For certain types of music, you don't want a fresh set of strings sound. I've had the same flats on one of my basses for nearly 20 years, and it sounds great. Sorry Scott.
@@badnoodlez, lol. My first bass is a Mosrite (currently in "restoration", more like "repairs"), and yes, I kept the same strings for around 10 years (no boiling, but not much rust on them anyways). When I changed them I was SO surprised how it sounded!
@Toxic Potato we do understand that for some sick puppies appreciating the beauty of bass is .. YES ! beyond them ::((
@Toxic Potato That depends on what your definition of "shit" is. I'm not a fan of Billy's tone. But his chops, taste and groove are stellar. It's all about discovery, and being original.
Scott you have go go and interview Mr Mark King and Marcus Miller
yes please
@@vensilenced Agree! Especially Mark King!
What a humble ,but legendary man.Thanks Scott
What a sweet humble man. Every time I watch a Billy Sheehan interview, I like him even more.
There is a lot of female bassplayers out there. Starting with the incredible Carol Kaye. At the age of 85, she has a lot to share.
I'd love to see Tal Wilkenfeld as well
Carol is a bit persnickety. She is fabulous if you’re paying her for her time.
@@MuscleDad420 Perhaps that comes from a whole bunch of time where she was not paid adequately for HER time, nor credited properly for creating some of the funkiest basslines ever made. So i'm cool with her gettin' paid her dues.
Yes she's great but she's not always very loyal to the truth kind of like our current president.
@@G8GT364CI Please refrain from the political rhetoric. Every four years we collectively have to deal with an acute case of Electile Dysfunction and this is one of the few sanctuaries from the BS currently being shoveled from both sides of the aisle.
Geezer Butler or John Paul Jones would’ve been amazing!
What a thoroughly entertaining dude, I could listen to him all day.
Billy is such a class act!! Love his bass playing
What a thoroughly likeable chap.
You gotta get the legendary Jack Casady from Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna.
Yes yes yes
Yes! Jack Casady is always so cool in his interviews
One more vote for Jack Casady!
Yes! Jack Casady!!
yes, Jack is my biggest influence !
So positive, so knowledgeable and so humble! I could listen to this man forever!
Just watching this again after 4 months and I still can't believe, how much of that 'signature Billy Sheehan tone' is just coming from his unique playing style/technique right out of his fingers and NOT from the gear only. That neck pickup makes a huge difference, though, just as Billy said. I totally agree. But he sounds amazing on almost any instrument, even if he only plays simple 8ths.
Always knew he was a great bassist, but refreshing to see that he is a pretty laid back guy who seemed delighted to talk gear and bass playing with folks on the internet. The part at the end where he says he watches Scott's videos and is still always learning was inspiring. The great ones always seem to push their limits every chance they get.
Yes, that's a great wish list!!
What I really don't like about Billy Sheehan videos is ... that they end. I could listen to him for hours, days, weeks. Love it! Thank you both for making it happen!!
There’s something about this guy that’s missing in so many folks. And that would be humility. Rock on bro!
I greatly enjoy that man.
He’s a legendary player, and so warm and interesting to listen to.
I really appreciate how humble and down to earth Billy is. Obviously also quite an intelligent man. Good stuff
Scott you are the Man! Thank you for this one because Billy Sheehan next to my Dad is the reason why I play bass. This was great!
AWESOME!!! Thank you Billy, and Scott!!!
God I loved this one. His energy always makes me feel excited.
I love hearing This man talk. A teacher's spirit!
Sting and his telecaster bass!!!
I’ve been searching for a lefty telecaster bass with the neck humbucker. I wish they’d reissue it!
It's a Precision bass. The first Tele basses were made in '68.
What an amazing guy!
genuine, approachable, humble, talented, and a great storyteller.
Thanks for the inspiration
I was never a metal fan but Billy is such a classy, well spoken guy. I like him.
Brilliant! One of my bass heroes who I've followed for in excess of 30 years. Thank you for posting✌🏼
So great to hears his passion, I learnt so much from the Billiy Sheehan on bass video. Thanks Scott.
Thanks Scott. I couldn’t take my eyes or ears off this video. Great content!
Sheehan !!! Always a class act !! thank you !!!!
Man, this was supremely entertaining to watch. Billy is an absolutely amazing and legendary player and even nicer person. I love hearing grizzled veterans talk about their instruments and all the stories surrounding them. Please keep producing content like this, Scott!
Literally one of the baddest dude to walk the face of this planet. We need an entire podcast full of Billy just spieling off stories!
What a genuinely nice person (in addition to being a fantastic musician)...it was a joy to watch this.
Thank you, Scott, and thank you, Billy!
Sincerely,
~Clinton
This is great! Thank you Scott's Bass Lessons for going to the trouble to create this post and thank you Mr. Sheehan for your participating. It is always interesting and fun to listen to a person who really loves his craft.
Bravo! I’ve seen Billy in clinic twice over the years. He always makes time to say hello to everyone and always shows you how he does it - with the caveat that if he can figure it out so can you. No gimmicks with him, just putting in the time and playing! Thanks so much for this episode Billy and Scott!
Thanks for this, Billy is a class act in terms of humility, maybe the most easygoing down to earth person in the music industry despite his incommensurate talent and skills, it is always a joy to hear him!
I will never, EVER get tired of this video. I love listening to Billy tell stories, not to mention his bass playing
Yes, love the " Bass Tales" series! Please do more. I do hope that George is feeling better. Take care over there!
One of the classiest guys in the industry.
When Billy says “still learnin”, I believe him. What a humble, talented guy!
Wasn’t a fan of the music growing up, but his genuine love for the bass, his idols and overall cool demeanor makes me want to check out his catalogue. Thanks for sharing, SBL!
Enjoyed the video very much! Thanks Billy Sheehan.
Billy Sheehan is one of few bassplayer where you can hear it's him every single time.
Billy Cox, Stanley Clarke, Michael Henderson, Victor Bailey, Tal Wilkenfeld, Bunny Brunel, Jonas Hellborg, Paul Jackson, Freddie Washington, Bill Laswell
Victor bailey died four years ago, unfortunately
Amazing, no coincidence that there are no new bass legends . I mean , I started bass in 1992 and all these names were legends then . Even Joe Dart isn't there .... yet
Great! I love Billy! Thank you for sharing!
That video is a amazing experience. Thank you man!!!✌️
I'm flabbergasted by the rudeness of so many commenters. Billy was gracious enough to do this segment for Scott and ultimately us viewers and the only comments you bother to post are about which other bassists YOU want to see. What a bunch of inconsiderate, selfish a-holes. So thank you Billy and thank you Scott for this wonderful and informative video! Looking forward to more.
Flabbergasted. Haha. Fun word.
Thanks Scott!! Great episode
Suggestion: John Paul Jones
He's in the U.K., same as you should be possible to arrange.
that would be awsome too....
It's cool to see Sheehan decades later a little more mellow but still fun talking about his basses! I remember being in middle school and hearing him on the Eat 'em and Smile album and just losing my mind.
What an awesome video! Billy is an amazing bass player...so many stories! Thanks for sharing with us!
Great Interview Scott - More like this please!
Is that way of playing at 15:35 his own version of the double thumb technique?! 😍
This guy is amazing...
Billy Sheehan, you are one cool dude. And a legit monster-legend of the bass. So nice to hear you hanging out and talking bass. For your listeners/readers, I am not you and you are not me, but that's what makes the world go 'round! There's a good lesson in there for today's environment. Much respect!
Very well spent 15 minutes and 45 seconds. Thank You.
Geddy Geddy Geddy Geddy Geddy! Seriously though, what a wonderful guy Billy Sheehan is. Get McCartney too, when you can! Learn so much about technique and tone watching this, let alone about the basses themselves. Right. Need to work on "Rain" ...
Billy is a class act!
Thank you, thank you and thank you for making this video Scott..
That was a ton of fun to watch. He is one straight ahead unpretentious dude. What a delight to watch and listen to!
It's impressive that when you hear him talk, there's a level of intelligence, practicality, patience, & even humility detected.
Plus, he's an absolute terror on bass, after all these years! 😃🤘
Billy is not just an amazing bass player, but always seems a great human being :)
That was awesome. I could watch this series all day
What a nice guy Billy is. Probably one of the funnest (and most informative) guys to hang out with.
Just stumbled on this video. Billy is my hero
🧡🧡🧡
Billy Sheehan has said himself, on record, that his tone was all from John Wetton (King Crimson, Roxy Music, Uriah Heep, UK, Wishbone Ash, Asia).... the overdriven P-Bass tone he got was an unashamed copy of the mighty JW. Naturally, Sheehan went on to do amazing things and became a true vurtuoso of the bass guitar and is a THOROUGHLY nice guy, (huge fan here...) - But a nod to John Wetton and his SNARLING tone and incredible lead bass chops, please. He's overlooked by channels like this, who just seem to chase and revere the mainstream popular named musos (taking nothing away from Sheehan, of course.) Billy, you rock! Scott - great channel, man. Your content is premier stuff.
I wish I could hit 'like' on this more than once. JW was a hero of mine. shook his hand once at a VH-1 thing.... this thing, in fact-
ua-cam.com/video/FYPNbZEWi6g/v-deo.html
John Wetton fans... I've found my people
@AS YT sadly it's not on yt any more- I grabbed a download a few years ago, fearing this would happen, because I used to work for Mtv/VH-1 & know a bit about 'rights'.... anyway, there is a beat club performance by roxy music of 'out of the blue', with wetton & jobson both outstanding. the perfect rhythm section too, with paul thompson on cracking form. I wish it was still on here. :-/ here's a not-quite-as-electrifying but still magnificent version: ua-cam.com/video/oHj3QCu-itg/v-deo.html
Wetton was not only a monster player, he was also a great singer.
Much love and respect to you Billy!
What a great down to earth guy Billy is!
Rudy Sarzo who has played in about every hard rock / metal band would be of interest to many folks , to finally see him in this fabulous type of presentation alone with his Bass guitars
Wow, was lookin for this comment not thinkin id find it, i often have conversations about bass playing with Rudy on instagram. Great dude
Geezer Butler or Steve Harris would be awesome, and I know it probably won´t happen but it wouldn´t hurt to try Les Claypool to do one of these. With Sheehan, these 4 are easily my biggest influences for playing bass.
Yeah, I was thinking Geezer Butler too!!
Ya, getting Geezer to this detail would be incredible to see !
Man.. What a great human being. Needless to say, he is the most innovative and fastest player I have ever seen . Very open and humble to demo his technique. Thanks
Thanks Billy and Scott !!
Yamaha is a great bass, however I'll go with that tone of the Precision any day of the week.
There is just something about a Fender Precision that sets itself apart from the pack..
I don't know how Leo did it.
The body shape, the pickup placement, I don't know.
The most recorded electric bass in music..
Wow, you couldn't ask for a more enthusiastic, charming, devoted bass player. And we all know about his chops. Thank you Scott! And thanks, Billy, for entertaining us all these years. We ARE listening!
This video is like a str8 history lesson. So much I didn't know before revealed in great detail. Thanks for posting.
Thank you so much, this was great! One of my favorite rock bassist!!!