Rig Rundown - ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons

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www.premierguitar.com PG's Rebecca Dirks caught up with guitar tech Elwood Francis who gives us a look at ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons' array of guitars, including the famous fur guitar, and lets us in on how Billy has everything set up for their tour. For more Rig Rundown videos, or to view Premier Guitar's completely FREE digital edition magazine, be sure to visit www.premierguit...

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24 авг 2024

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Комментарии : 845

@christopherjamesblackwell 3 года назад

Legend has it someone is still checking the snare to this day.

@ELEVATETHESKY 8 месяцев назад

The legend is true. I still hear him checking the snare faintly in the background no matter where I go.

@joeurbanowski321 5 месяцев назад

😂.. I HATED drum sound check on gigs..!! Also vocalists who can’t think of something more creative to say during their sound checks..!😳.. “Check…. Check…Check…Check…Check 1..2…Check..” AAGGGHHHHHHHH

@PutItAway101 10 лет назад

OK, I think the snare is working...

@ChrisFeener 10 лет назад

There's generally more to a sound check than making sure everything "works". ;)

@redbeanfactory7562 9 лет назад

Obviously someone's never done a sound check

@ChrisFeener 9 лет назад

Red Bean Factory Is that in reference to PutItAway101 or myself?

@redbeanfactory7562 9 лет назад

PutItAway101

@PutItAway101 9 лет назад

Red Bean Factory Obviously someone's never heard of a joke

@elongatedmusket7430 10 лет назад

Years and years ago I met Elwood when he was tech for a friend's band on tour. Dude knew a LOT and had work ethic & a great ear. Was fantastic. Glad to see he works with the big dogs! Deserves it.

@44eelz 10 лет назад

"its not perfect science, its guitar player science. so, it 'sorta' works." epic line.

@Emlizardo 10 лет назад

15:35 “We have a way, it’s . . . it’s really weird how . . . you know, it’s almost - it’s non-verbal now.”

@chopperdeath Год назад

EQ curve trick is a great idea.

@Tim8tei 9 лет назад

I really liked this interview, Elwood being as relaxed and talkative as possible. Cool guy.

@chopperdeath 3 года назад

That spectrum analyzer trick works.

@thomasjohnson7735 2 года назад

Now carrying on the bottom for the Zz Top.

@VictoireBuffet 8 лет назад

" Heavier string for Billy, a gauge of 8's ! " ahahaha

@shaqeelzainalabdeen231 3 года назад

Ikrrrrr

@MAP448 Год назад

Wow to see how Elwood has aged in the last 12 years alone is so cool. It's even cooler that Billy chose Elwood to play bass with him after Dusty passed. Just Wow!

@danielktdoranie 10 месяцев назад

Dusty choose Elwood Francis, it was Dusty’s wish

@srcastic8764 Месяц назад

Elwood doesn’t really play though. Go see them live and you’ll see what I mean. I was very disappointed. I watched him closely and it was clear most of the base was just a tape. It was playing without him touching his instrument, then every once in a while he would pouch a string or two and you could hear what he actually played in addition to the tape track. So I was incredibly disappointed to find he wasn’t actually playing base, but pulling a Milli Vanilli bullshit deception. I still thoroughly enjoyed the show though because I was really there to watch a true guitar hero perform while he still could and was glad to have been able to. Billy still has it for sure. He doesn’t miss a beat!!

@rlm4471 Месяц назад

@@srcastic8764 Billy doesn't sing live on a lot of tracks either. So lame. I wish Billy would just focus on his solo career and leave ZZ behind.

@kimrunic5874 8 лет назад

7:14 ha - a Prince Albert tobacco tin. In case anyone doesn't know, that's how the dealers would measure out weed back n the day. They would fill up the can to the indentation of where the lid would snap on, hence a 'lid' of weed. Pretty cool having your wireless pack in one -

@jacobsteenkarlsen495 4 года назад

Hehehe

@tarasbulba3190 3 года назад

That's where Billy keeps his weed.

@nightwing1823 8 лет назад

so no one is gonna say this guy sounds like dr evil. well he does

@KidShirayukiYoshiroCharaUchiha 7 лет назад

shh its a secrete

@Roundtrip23 7 лет назад

HaaaaaaaaHaaaaaaaa

@toonzboss 7 лет назад

Yes he does! LOL! "number 2"?

@BufordT-ji6zg 6 лет назад

Sharks with frickin Lazer beams attached to their heads. 😂

@allee6096 6 лет назад

the frickin' headstock is changed to Lucky Mo.. Jo?.. bwahahaha

@thereignofdando 10 лет назад

Elwood Francis is hilarious! [On the Bigsby] "Its just there to insure that it wont be in tune"

@adriandavidpayne 10 лет назад

Man, that Snare sounds Good!

@mrpbody44 12 лет назад

Elwood has worked with Billy a long time. Totally professional guy and great guitar player in his own right. He knows his stuff about guitars and music.

@Peter-zw8yn 2 года назад

My all time favourite guitarist, was brought up listening to zz top as a young lad and never grew out of them, I was lucky enough to see them play around 15 years ago here in the UK, what a night. R.I.P. Dusty 💙

@rebeccadirks 11 лет назад

I know! We had so little time, we were doing the Skynyrd videos at this same show... sometimes, you just have to work with what you've got.

@RockyH. 3 года назад

I think you did great, but then again you always do Becca! 1 more thing you are in a live atmosphere what does people expect a mime playing ZZ TOP!!!!???? Haaa

@mickdestiny6542 5 лет назад

Huge respect to Rebecca. Always great thorough and on the money reports. It's a shame Rebecca isn't around..

@nattyboyo2404 3 года назад

Here we now have ZZTop's new bottom end 😥 Best of luck Elwood 👍🏻

@Stevewatson3 3 года назад

Billy's always been in my top 5 influences he's the most famous underrated guitarist "don't be affraid to pick with your fingers"

@ericwalters5382 Месяц назад

Billy Gibbons underrated?!!! You're out of your mind.

@Stevewatson3 Месяц назад

@@ericwalters5382 have a Diet Coke man👍

@usaflagraybans 9 лет назад

Awesome rundown. After about three seconds of the snare, I didn't even notice it. Elwood seems like a really cool guy, too.

@biggoofybastard 8 лет назад

3:05 "It's just there to ensure that it won't be in tune" lol

@BigJackGameplays 3 года назад

It looks like he says "It's just there to ensure that it won't be in tunes".

@morgancross5481 8 лет назад

To all you guys bitching about the drums, spend some time in the studio. You don't just hit a drum twice and give a thumbs up "Yup, it's working!" unless it is amateur hour. You have to spend time balancing mics, setting compression ratios/attack/release, choosing and mixing the correct reverbs, EQing to remove resonances from both the drum and room, etc etc etc. And that is assuming that everything is working perfectly, let alone if there are any technical issues. ZZ Top is not going to tour with some amateur FOH guy, hes going to tell the drum tech/stage hand to hit the drum until he says stop.

@MrArchonta 8 лет назад

Very well said.

@psudomystic 6 лет назад

Just to be a troll, bull shit. After I tune up the kit. I can pretty much throw any Mic on it an it'll sound awesome. If you have to hit the snare more than ten times, either the snare suck or it's tuning or both.

@Vaughn6886 4 года назад

At 11:45 you can hear the bass soundcheck playing What’s Your Name, then Workin for MCA, then I Aint the One, then Simple Man in the background 😃👍

@TheMysticlaw 12 лет назад

these guys are doing something right because zztop sounds awesome live

@MsLilyhorse 12 лет назад

When I saw ZZ Top in Central Park in 1975, Gibbons was plugged straight into his amp. And he sounded awesome. Good old days.

@BigTyronie 3 года назад

He was aggressive in the old days. Heavy playing too....

@arthurblackhistoric 11 лет назад

7-gauge strings?? Holy shit! I'd break them taking the guitar out of the case! That fact alone makes it all the more amazing that Billy can get the tone he gets. That'd feel like playing with human hair and rubber bands on the guitar. One thing I do like is his JMP-1 settings, I use similar myself and play a lot of ZZ Top songs. It's a revelation to see his settings are similar.

@ironpirites 10 лет назад

Too bad they are putting in the pilings for the new bridge in the back round.

@austinartist0608 Год назад

Enjoyable interview. Tks! The guitar that SRV plays in his video for cold shot that has Stevie Ray Vaughan written on the fret board was given to him by Billy. I saw Billy on Thanksgiving night in 2019 at the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Tx. I'm from Austin and only saw ZZTop play once. The Eliminator tour 1983 at the Drum in Austin. The headlights of the old 30's coupe behind Frank lit up brightly.

@MKULTRAism 13 лет назад

Billy Gibbons is a guitar player's guitar player. Not only has he been a gearhead from day one, he still gets that low down snarlin' tone, whatever amp/guitar set up he uses. I've been a fan since Rio Grand Mud. They are like America's version of Cream.

@Eventual420 9 лет назад

He has a great sense of humor. I laughed over and over at his sarcasm, but she missed most of them. She laughs at weird times; and when he's pranking her it's deer in the headlights. For a second I thought she was the receptionist at Shenanigan's...

@rhllnm 3 года назад

"We don't want you to be able to tell that he's playing a Telecaster"

@rhllnm 3 года назад

It's just a giant modeling amp!

@grizmit 13 лет назад

Just saw them Sun night in MD (nearly 30 years after the first time I saw them). Still incredible! Billy is such an effortless player and you can just tell he's still having a great time playing for us all. You gotta see them live if you get the chance - you will have witnessed a true American legend.

@jeauxl4051 10 лет назад

Love the sound of that Mojave Scorpion on the older (clean - ya right!) stuff. And it ain't a Hiwatt style amp. It's a '69 plexi circuit with the inputs wired together internally so it's just a 4 holer with only two holes. Also, an extra preamp tube is added so the two input stages can each have two sections of the AX7s in parallel. The power dampening is just a 50K pot between the phase inverter cathodes and the bias resistor. A 100 watt plexi repro transformer wired to reflect the right impedance when using EL34s puts the last bit of spice into the secret sauce!

@Mistertbones Год назад

Elwood is now the bassist for ZZ Top after Dusty passed away.

@seasonedtoker 12 лет назад

love this tech, you can see him on the texas live dvd :) what I like about guitar tech like eddie is that he's not just a cable and string boy, he's a skilled luthiers/repairmen. that bench looks like two guitar went through a fret surgery just before the interview started. :)

@TonyWhelanSLIDES 12 лет назад

I met this Elwood Francis twice a zz shows and he is a class act.... just like billy.

@raymondroberts8709 2 года назад

Now Elwood has gotten a promotion....👍👍👍

@MrBobinAZ 11 лет назад

I love the negative comments from "nobody knows who the Hell I am and never will". You guys crack me up.

@dolde 3 года назад

Gonna see this dude play the bass with ZZ Top on Sunday. :)

@lzftiz 10 лет назад

She knows her stuff.

@mrnicholasgray 9 лет назад

You guys need to do a new Billy Gibbons rig rundown, his rig is always changing and this is one of the best!

@ryuujinmajutsu7772 9 лет назад

Thanks for making this happen Rebecca! I know conditions for filming weren't optimal but you did a great job! I've watched this video MANY times since it was posted and I've always found something useful and enjoyable. :)

@jamescassidy3995 Год назад

Little could Elwood imagine years later he’d be onstage rockin’ the beard & bass in the band.

@lukeololol 11 лет назад

Nice. I found it really interesting hearing about how light his string gauge is!

@russpalmer1282 9 лет назад

I use 8 gauge strings on my Strat. Bend 'em like crazy. Haven't broken any strings either.

@Phoenix_cataclysm_in_2040 5 лет назад

Bought 7s, wonder what they will fill like after 9s.

@keithsa41 12 лет назад

Billy has secured a great Guitar Tech!!! has kept him since 1995.

@WarriorMigs24 8 лет назад

Classic ZZ Top

@aussiegooner 13 лет назад

@Liamyyz My understanding is that they do it to set the guitars so they're all at the same volume as Pearly Gates, not duplicate the entire frequency.

@pschierhorn 12 лет назад

If you're used to it... I play 009s in D tuning on guitar and .045-.105 in Drop C on bass, and it works. Very low string tension, but as I said, it's not a problem if you're comfortable with it. Now the sound might be better with thicker strings, but for me it's a compromise - I always sound better on an instrument I'm comfortable with than on one that sounds awesome but that I can't play well.

@stevencirone8927 8 лет назад

After a bit I got into the drums and bass, which is really what the clip is all about by accident.

@luigichurch6262 11 лет назад

oh dude, that drums are killing my thoughts

@jeffrozak2435 11 лет назад

Awesome insight into the mind of the reverend. :) PS: I love that soundcheck was playing some Joe Walsh at one point too. haha

@uncleledbetter5680 Год назад

11 years later and rumor has it they're still checking that snare.

@jimsteele2072 11 лет назад

That would be a wild episode.... Guitar Hoarders. I like that.

@DavidLee07 11 лет назад

As a Gretsch G5120 player, I can say that loud volume makes a hollowbody guitar (which just about all of Billy's guitars are) sustain more--it's great when you're not quite feeding back but keeping a note or chord going for a looong time. Given the number of speakers cabinets he usually has going, I'd guess that's where the sustain comes from.

@12askerr 3 года назад

What an awesome tech!!

@jackl-g6181 8 лет назад

12:30 Skynyrd bass riffs in the background. :)

@Stangil1 6 лет назад

Workin for the MCA :)

@EventHorizonPrdctns 10 лет назад

It's just not as awesome when you guys do these and the actual artist isn't doing the talking. It's not just about the gear, just like music isn't just about the notes as they'd appear on paper. Hearing the guitarist's side-thoughts, reasons and evolution for gear choice, history, factoids, personal opinions on approach and tone - these are the reasons we want to watch "Billy Gibbons Rig Rundown"

@TheSammyreynolds 10 лет назад

Billy has other things to do besides talking to a person about his gear.

@TheDannyGrause 10 лет назад

I guarantee you this guy knows more about Billy's sound than Billy does.

@EventHorizonPrdctns 10 лет назад

Toxic Potato sometimes it takes a while, but eventually someone else states the completely obvious for me to rebut the stupid remarks other people leave. Big thanks.

@ecollins92 10 лет назад

dude theres two gear videos in the side bar with gibbons himself in it.

@ZiddersRooFurry 9 лет назад

Maybe because Billy's rig doesn't need the band? It's pretty simple.

@Neomalysys 12 лет назад

People say I use thin strings because I have an 8 gauge set on my strat copy and yet here we've got Billy playing 7's on a Les.

@0Heavy0Metal0 11 лет назад

Thirteenth Floor Guitars. It reminds me of Mitch Hedberg when he said "hotels never have a thirteenth floor because of superstition, but you people on the fourteenth floor, you know what floor your really on". Brilliant humor. RIP Mitch.

@TrashMojo 13 лет назад

i love the songs in the background. all great songs

@Hawkifyed 11 лет назад

I have two Les Pauls, on brand new 2012 straigth from the shop and a 2000 model that i've played and it's kind of worn. I LOVE my worn guitar it's so much more "personal" and it feels like it's mine.

@sword649 11 лет назад

Luv the new Billy Bo's with stop tails & 13 floor elevators paint/artworks designs! I'd like to take that ride!

@alphasxsignal 12 лет назад

Got to have a light touch for those 7's strings. I might have to try them some time just for the fun of it. Im going to pick one of his new Billy Bo Jupiter.

@davidbrucemusicvideo 4 года назад

I’m very glad that they conducted this interview while the guy just kept hitting the snare drum for the sound check. 🤷🏻‍♂️

@shango02005 13 лет назад

This was my favorite Rig Rundown to date!! Great job, PG!!! :)

@johno7617 2 года назад

How have i not see this episode?? Zz top is rad

@TheFruitMugger 6 лет назад

6:46 Rocky Mountain Way!

@buzzcrushtrendkill 11 лет назад

"..bass all the way up. Gain all the way up. There's like no treble, all mids.." Very important step in getting that Gibbons tone.

@TheBrucelog 12 лет назад

450 guitars! That would be cool to have a tour of those! Saw a video of Billy giving a guitar to Ron Wood once, and Ron was bowing down to Billy as soon as he walked into the room with the guitar! Hilarious!

@Instramark 11 лет назад

Billy Gibbons, great player, songwriter as well. Saw him play in Richmond VA. in the '70's when a biker threw a cherry bomb on stage. He was pissed and you could here it explode, which is something because ZZ Top is so loud! NObody plays Richmond anymore unless they have to.

@jettramel 10 лет назад

Those iso cabs are great you get that real distortion from just the type of speaker, put in a 25 watt green back and get a nice tone, I am playing through and old silvertone and I get some great natural distortion from the amp itself and the low watt paper speaker.

@ppoonjr 3 года назад

I seen Elwood jam with Billy and he can keep up with Billy… great guitarist in his own right.

@Hammy651 2 года назад

He said a "huge f##king" something and it bleeped it out and i immediately read "pg" on the mic and was like "makes sense though"..lol. im stoned

@NICKHAM16 12 лет назад

I actually like the guy. Billy doesn't seem like a guy who gives a shit either, and this guy has been working as Billy Gibbons' tech since 1995. Honestly, he's handling the guitars just fine. I don't see why you don't like him

@againstxautomation 10 лет назад

Jesus, that snare.

@hunterlpdc94 12 лет назад

He oils those fretboards really well. Look at how shiny they are!

@DJBuglip 3 года назад

I'm over here dyin'. I like your tech, Mr. Gibbons.

@mnorm001 12 лет назад

I learn something new every day.

@KyleJChamberlain 13 лет назад

Great questions Dirks! I love the "on-the-fly" production with sound check and fan questions from the phone. Content is key. I plan to check out more vids!

@SombraPiloto 8 лет назад

Chambered neck?

@ehcmier 12 лет назад

@impala327 The weight, action, feel, and the tuning are also important. It's about muscle memory and the expressiveness required for the particular song, among other things. It's a lot more than the tone itself, but how it fits as an extension of the player's hands.

@wkunderwood2003 12 лет назад

if guys love the thick strings....more power to them....but billy proves you can get tone for days with thin strings...he has had some of the best(if not the best) heavy tone in all of rock...

@eduardoprieto5267 3 года назад

Thanks, Rebecca (Tierita preciosa) God bless n more rocking tips wanted.

@hr2186 7 лет назад

Your local cover band plugs an off the shelf guitar into an amp and more often than not...kill it. Cheers to you.

@arthurblackhistoric 11 лет назад

Me too. I do have a couple of guitars strung with 9-gauge strings for when I've been gigging for days in a row and my fingers are real sore. The 9s are so light by comparison that no matter how sore my fingers are I still can't even feel them. I find it much easier to pull out those "squealers" on heavy strings. The pinched harmonics are harder on 9s. For me, getting squealers on 7s would be mission impossible! And the sustain Billy gets . . all the more amazing if it's done on 7s.

@toddhobbs6483 Год назад

And now...he is fillin some big shoes...Good job Elwood...

@Guitar4blues 11 лет назад

He's always been a light string guy. Albert King also played ultra light strings. Stevie Ray really revived the heavy gauge movement.

@Djarra 12 лет назад

@Avalanche1368 It's not the diameter but the weight that counts. Take a set of Billy's strings cut three inches out of them and pop them on a jewelers scale and they probably weigh more that some larger diameter strings. Billys strings are based on Dunlop's Jazz stings which are compression wound so sound heavier. As for Page back in the day he made up sets with an 8 Banjo string.

@mrbambam326 12 лет назад

blues letterman , you are exact . i was playing a bar , went to take my 69 lp custom off ,strap overhead and hit a light rig that was way too low and knocked a small piece of bindeing off the head stock , small piece but big enough to make me sick . but its my main ax . comes with the territory

@brayant152h 12 лет назад

OMG I FUCKEN CRACKED UP WHEN HE SAID HE LIKES THE GAIN UP.

@mamadoumbaye3214 9 лет назад

Reporter: "How much did this guitar cost? Elwood: "One million dollars!!"

@KozmykJ 11 лет назад

Not a fault but a feature mate. I love the SG too. Instead of going out of tune when whammied, the necks flex. A feature first shown to me in the 70's

@MrRaijinsama 12 лет назад

The tech said it was the pearly gates prototype. Just a normal Les Paul tailored to what Gibbons original burst was/is.

@JDPri77 Год назад

Billy adds a new John Bolin custom guitar a year and sometimes two. In a recent video with Sammy Hagar, Billy has a custom SG that has a sculptured body in a cherry color. I am thinking of getting John to do that guitar in black for me. But he has over two years of orders before he will get to it.