• macg1
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Topic: Billy Gibbons Rig Rundown!

Premier Guitar rig rundown for the good Reverend!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6Drxfrb … ture=feedu

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  • From: Was NY now FL/GA line
  • Registered: 2007-12-16
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Re: Billy Gibbons Rig Rundown!

First time I've ever seen a near total honest run down on The Rev's rig. Very cool to see. Gotta watch it a couple more times.

  • macg1
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Re: Billy Gibbons Rig Rundown!

Spider wrote:

First time I've ever seen a near total honest run down on The Rev's rig. Very cool to see. Gotta watch it a couple more times.

Yeah I was thinking the same thing.  I have watched it 4 times.  I just cannot believe how light the strings and the guitars are... hollowed out necks? sheesh.  well I do love his old as well as his modern tones, so whatever works.  One thing that does surprise me is that the old "rumor" about them pitch correcting all guitars is actually true.

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  • From: N.Wales, UK
  • Registered: 2009-03-06
  • Posts: 2,183

Re: Billy Gibbons Rig Rundown!

BFG is BFG...that is for damn sure.

  • From: Was NY now FL/GA line
  • Registered: 2007-12-16
  • Posts: 2,857

Re: Billy Gibbons Rig Rundown!

Pitch correcting I believe. Hollowed necks? Nope.

  • From: York, PA
  • Registered: 2010-08-27
  • Posts: 1,749

Re: Billy Gibbons Rig Rundown!

Thank you for posting.  I haven't watched it yet..  I'm letting the suspense build.  -S

  • Registered: 2009-10-27
  • Posts: 250

Re: Billy Gibbons Rig Rundown!

I did miss rundown on effect pedals?

  • Registered: 2011-05-28
  • Posts: 28

Re: Billy Gibbons Rig Rundown!

I cought this vid earlier on my subscriptions on youtube.. very indepth tour of the rig for PG, I do enjoy watching the JB one from time to time too!

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  • macg1
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Re: Billy Gibbons Rig Rundown!

t92780 wrote:

I did miss rundown on effect pedals?

they skipped over the pedals.  looks like beside the peterson tuner and the midi mouse there is something else back there.  I am pretty certain that BG's use of pedals live was purely decorative, at least since the Rhythmeen era.

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  • Registered: 2011-05-19
  • Posts: 113

Re: Billy Gibbons Rig Rundown!

Great interview by rebecca. She knows her stuff.

  • Registered: 2010-11-16
  • Posts: 366

Re: Billy Gibbons Rig Rundown!

macg1 wrote:

Premier Guitar rig rundown for the good Reverend!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6Drxfrb … ture=feedu

I watched that yesterday; what a great rig rundown.  Very open and honest.

I'm amazed at how light some of those guitars are that the tech was discussing.  Hollowed out necks??!?!?  Who hollows out a neck?

It's just incredibly cool information.

conorb

  • Registered: 2011-04-01
  • Posts: 216

Re: Billy Gibbons Rig Rundown!

Lotta mystery,myth and speculation surrounding the ZZTop live setup....many think they have a second and hidden guitarist for some of the tracks. I love them whatever they do. Caught them in the mid 80's here in the UK and they were awesome, no one did a stage set like they did back then.
Hollow necks? I guess you could channel out something but they still need a truss rod....great to disprove all those tone-heads who say big strings, heavy guitar equals big tone!!
Thanks for posting.

Nice to see JB carries more guitars on the road than the Rev B G !!

  • From: Scotland
  • Registered: 2009-02-11
  • Posts: 453

Re: Billy Gibbons Rig Rundown!

telesquire wrote:

Lotta mystery,myth and speculation surrounding the ZZTop live setup....many think they have a second and hidden guitarist for some of the tracks. I love them whatever they do. Caught them in the mid 80's here in the UK and they were awesome, no one did a stage set like they did back then.
Hollow necks? I guess you could channel out something but they still need a truss rod....great to disprove all those tone-heads who say big strings, heavy guitar equals big tone!!
Thanks for posting.

Nice to see JB carries more guitars on the road than the Rev B G !!

I agree with the heavy strings equals big sound clearly being bull now that I know the rev uses gauge 7. Have been thinkinng about putting 10's on my PRS, the 11's are just to stiff. Def gonna do it now.

  • macg1
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Re: Billy Gibbons Rig Rundown!

telesquire wrote:

Lotta mystery,myth and speculation surrounding the ZZTop live setup....many think they have a second and hidden guitarist for some of the tracks. I love them whatever they do. Caught them in the mid 80's here in the UK and they were awesome, no one did a stage set like they did back then.
Hollow necks? I guess you could channel out something but they still need a truss rod....great to disprove all those tone-heads who say big strings, heavy guitar equals big tone!!
Thanks for posting.

Nice to see JB carries more guitars on the road than the Rev B G !!

Yeah, there are a lot of tone misconceptions.  Like the whole "tone is in the hands".  Well, of course it starts there, but I tried snapping my fingers and nobody listens.  Tone is a complex combination of parameters, and there are no universal rights and wrongs.  At the very least tone is in the hands, guitar, and amp.  There are the things that work for each player and that is about it.  Players like SRV who used "ropes" for strings did so to achieve a certain effect.  Could he have done the same with thinner strings and more EQ?  Maybe, but who cares?  Lets just rock it out!

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  • Registered: 2009-10-27
  • Posts: 250

Re: Billy Gibbons Rig Rundown!

Well lighter strings will help prevent injury and many have hurt themselves trying to use 11-13's because they heard SRV used cables for strings.  One need to find their guage - I found .10's to be perfect for me for bending strings to pitch.

I think .07's defintely will sound thinner than .10's as example, but whe you have all that EQ going on in a rig, you can compensate and who knows how he's fattening up tone with OD, Distortion pedals, etc.  I felt that hurt that rig rundown by not showing pedal(s), but maybe tech mentioned before camera rolled not to ask, as she seems to always review in rig.

16 Reply by wharris (edited by wharris 2011-06-10 21:59:30)

  • From: Ridgeland, MS
  • Registered: 2009-08-12
  • Posts: 1,248

Re: Billy Gibbons Rig Rundown!

Tone/sound IS in the hands. It is also intuitive that, to a point, heavier strings do sound different due to the way that they vibrate the wood of the instrument. On the flip side, in addition to The Rev, Jimmy Page was another light gauge string user. Not to take anything away from BG, but that rig rundown shows them using a huge amount of processing/EQ to shape the guitar sound.

  • From: York, PA
  • Registered: 2010-08-27
  • Posts: 1,749

Re: Billy Gibbons Rig Rundown!

wharris wrote:

Tone/sound IS in the hands. It is also intuitive that, to a point, heavier strings do sound different due to the way that they vibrate the wood of the instrument. On the flip side, in addition to The Rev, Jimmy Page was another light gauge string user. Not to take anything away from BG, but that rig rundown shown them using a huge amount of processing/EQ to shape the guitar sound.

Agreed.  Those guitars would definitely sound different without all that processing and run individually into an amp.  Anybody who thinks they are going to get that power house sound with a hollowed out guitar strung with .07's into any old amp will be massively disappointed.

I do like his tone, and I like how he uses that gear to achieve consistent tone with any guitar.  It's what works for HIM.

  • macg1
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Re: Billy Gibbons Rig Rundown!

Agree to disagree.  Tone begins with hands and sound concepts, but without the tools, IMHO the buck stops there.  If JB was using a Peavey Bandit and playing through a Lotus strat, none of us would be interested in his tone.  Whether it is tons of EQ and processing,  or a 4 amp setup AND pedals.  Gilmour used a bunch of stuff and he is still one of the great tones.  I LOVE Kim Simmonds' tone, but he is a guitar into amp guy.  This will be the age old discussion about where tone comes from.  Matter of fact is, does it really matter as long as it inspires the player who then can inspire the audience and aspiring musicians?

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