RSSCategory: Billy Gibbons

Best Wood: New ZZ vs Aero vs KISS

Best Wood: New ZZ vs Aero vs KISS

Not sure whether classic-type rock is dead or what, but doesn’t seem to be much of it lately. Maybe laptops and Pro Tools killed the ability to record great woody tones – with frickin’ air around it, not every nano-slot of the sound spectrum filled up! – but I don’t think that’s it. So when […]

December 28, 2012 | By | 6 Replies More
What the Fuzz Did BFG Use?

What the Fuzz Did BFG Use?

I’ve been obsessin’ over the 1980 Rockpalast footage of that little ol’ band from Texas. The boys were a lot more fiery back then, and the Rev. Willy G sounds AWESOME. yeah, some of it’s the style, the hands, all that, but some of it fo sho is that Lester paul through…what? First give this […]

November 16, 2011 | By | 20 Replies More
What to Learn from Gibbons Rig Rundown

What to Learn from Gibbons Rig Rundown

If you haven’t heard or seen it yet, Premier Guitar recently put up a 17.5-minute Billy Gibbons rig rundown via Billy’s tech, Elwood Francis. This is a seminal event because Billy has kept his rig deets pretty tight…but honestly, there’s not much new stuff in it. Really wish PG had read the most popular WoodyTone […]

June 17, 2011 | By | 2 Replies More
BFG’s Afterburner Gear and Tidbits

BFG’s Afterburner Gear and Tidbits

(Part 3 of 3 on the ’80s BFG) So can we say that the Scholz Rockman was NOT used on Eliminator, and instead Billy used a Legend amp? I’m in that camp – for now. That leaves us what he used on Afterburner, which to my ears has a noticeably “less” woody/meaty guitar tone. To […]

October 5, 2010 | By | Reply More
Engineer: Billy Gibbons’ Eliminator Gear

Engineer: Billy Gibbons’ Eliminator Gear

(Part 2 of 3 on the ’80s BFG) I don’t know about you, but from the vids in part 1, I hear the Rockman more so on Afterburner than Eliminator. His Eliminator tone doesn’t sound all that woody, but it also doesn’t have that hollow, distinct Rockman tone. So maybe we should listen to the […]

September 30, 2010 | By | 1 Reply More
Gibbons, Eliminator/Afterburner: The Rockman

Gibbons, Eliminator/Afterburner: The Rockman

(Part 1 of 3 on the ’80s BFG) There’s a “rumor” that goes around sometimes that Billy Gibbons used a Scholz Rockman on the Eliminator album. It sure sounds like it, and some swear he said it (see below!). On the other hand, Eliminator engineer Terry Manning says in an oft-quoted forum post that: THERE […]

September 28, 2010 | By | Reply More
New Gov’t Mule! BFG on ‘Broke Down…’

New Gov’t Mule! BFG on ‘Broke Down…’

Yeah! Gov’t Mule’s first studio release in 3 years is out now, called By a Thread. I’m stoked. I mean, not only is it Warren and Mule, Les Pauls and big amps, it’s new music – and, if that wasn’t enough, the first tune has Billy Gibbons on it. The only way this could be […]

October 29, 2009 | By | 1 Reply More
The Last Word on Billy Gibbons’ Live Rig?

The Last Word on Billy Gibbons’ Live Rig?

ZZen and the Kung Fu Masters of Rock Dang! I was lucky enough to catch that little ol’ band from Texas at New York City’s Beacon Theatre a couple weeks ago, and wow, what a show. The guys were just…cool, and the sound – I hope the sound guy got a case of beer that […]

October 5, 2009 | By | 6 Replies More
ZZ Top Storytellers and the ZT Lunchbox Amp

ZZ Top Storytellers and the ZT Lunchbox Amp

Plus Short Interview With ZT Lunchbox Inventor As any ZZ Top fan will know, the band recently had a “Storytellers” special on U.S. cable channel VH1 (a sister channel to MTV). The format of Storytellers is that a band plays a few tunes before a small crowd, and tells stories in the form of answering […]

September 2, 2009 | By | Reply More
Jimmy Page’s Heartbreaker Tone Details

Jimmy Page’s Heartbreaker Tone Details

Solid-State Amp; Heartbreaker Guitar Audio Below! Jimmy Page: Les Paul and Marshall plexi. Live, yes – mostly. Studio, no. And for Heartbreaker? Heck no, apparently.

July 21, 2009 | By | 5 Replies More
Specs on, Pics of the Pearly Gates Replica

Specs on, Pics of the Pearly Gates Replica

Lots of websites have been jumping on the recently issued, and “lovingly crafted,” Gibson Pearly Gates replica, but haven’t mentioned the most important stuff: specs and pics! So here they are. But first, the MSRPs of the three versions of this bad-boy:

July 20, 2009 | By | Reply More
Tapping: Don’t Forget Ace!

Tapping: Don’t Forget Ace!

(Note: Check out Ace’s redone website! Sweet!) Just like every other guitar player playing covers in the 1970s, Eddie Van Halen was familiar with the KISS catalog and thus Ace Frehley’s stuff. So whenever the topic of “did Ed right-hand tap first?” comes up – in my opinion a pointless debate (Ed took all previous […]

July 13, 2009 | By | 2 Replies More
More Confirmation: Gibbons First Famous Guy To ‘Tap’

More Confirmation: Gibbons First Famous Guy To ‘Tap’

If you’re a regular, or semi-regular, reader of WoodyTone.com, you will have seen the post (here) that postulates that Edward Van Halen may have learned “tapping” (right-handed hammer-ons) from Brian May, who said he learned it from someone who saw Billy Gibbons do it. However, Eddie has said he got it from watching Jimmy Page […]

July 9, 2009 | By | 2 Replies More
Gibbons: New Details on Pesos, 7s and…Amps?

Gibbons: New Details on Pesos, 7s and…Amps?

Uses Marshall Valvestates on Tour?! Yes, that’s right, Marshall Valvestates – if you can believe it. That’s what the Rev. BFG said (sort of…more below), among other things, in a recent audio interview on MusicRadar.com. Highlights of that interview are below. Hats off to Joe Bosso, who conducted the interview, for asking a few gear-related […]

July 6, 2009 | By | 4 Replies More
Rickey Medlocke: More on Blackfoot and Skynyrd

Rickey Medlocke: More on Blackfoot and Skynyrd

Part 2: Blackfoot and Skynyrd History Tidbits No tone details in what follows, but as a lifelong Blackfoot and Lynyrd Skynyrd fan, I didn’t know a bunch of what follows here, and figured you might not either. Interesting stuff. The sources for this info are listed in part 1 of this article. And again, unless […]

May 25, 2009 | By | 3 Replies More