The Mystery Of Billy Gibbons' Guitar Sound 

For me, the single most important thing about ZZ Top over the years is that they never fail to put a smile on my face. Keep on rockin guys.

Main things powering Billy’s tone are a truckload of talent and a bus load of attitude! :)

Elwood Francis, who was explaining the rig setups, is the guy who replaced Dusty Hill playing bass for the band after Dusty died. I expect everyone watching this knows that, but just in case....

From “La Grange” to “Asleep in the desert”, and all points in between, the good reverend just delivers. No one like him.

His tone comes from his soul, his heart, his brain, his hands and from his AMAZING talent. I only wish I could do the same. Excellent Video. Thank you.

Searching for Billy Gibbons gear advice is only for people who can appreciate the art of an inoffensive well told Texas gentleman's tall tale.

He just gets his cool swagger through the speaker. He is a pro that’s been at it for a long time. The human input is what makes guitar better than piano. For me, it’s fun to try, but I never expect it to sound like Billy, it will never happen.

I always see people say Elwood is replacing dusty or like he’s the right person to replace dusty. In my eyes he’s not replacing dusty. He’s doing him a solid. He was their bass tech for like 40. Dusty wanted to him to play bass so the band could continue

Saw him live 2 decades ago and I have never heard a "bigger" more amazing tone since. However he does it, its beyond cool. Something to experience, soak in and just accept its masterclass on all levels.

I read somewhere that Mark Knopfler called Gibbons to ask him about the hardware he uses for his distinct sound. Knopfler’s intro to Money For Nothing was the result.

Billy used to backline USA Crate V50-5212 VFX EL34 Crate 2x12 combos back in the day! I used to one one. Fantastic sleeper amp that can be had for cheap!

Great breakdown. About the only way to be 100% sure would be to see him perform in-person and then immediately check his setup. All that high-tech equipment aside he will always have his signature playing style. We are fortunate in that we are alive here and now to experience his music.

I remember reading in Guitar Player magazine that on the Eliminator album Billy said he had a circle of amps and setups he used to record. He said he was switching between amps a lot but one constant was he had a Scholz Rockman going to one track of the tape in every song.

Great video, thanks. Love your passion.

saw them live in Brazil some years ago. It was the most fantastic sound of guitar I ever heard in my life.

I was at the Blue Note in Honolulu gig. He had a Marshall amp with a 410 cab and a gibson les paul. He sounded like well, Billy. I'm going with the tone is in the hands. That night was the best because he was in a small room and he just killed it. I will never forget seeing my guitar hero so up close.

They have used a lot of amps. He uses nothing but Magnatones currently for his onstage amps. what goes to the house is a whole different thing. He always uses hand wired valve amps. They have so many cool tools today to curve to as Elwood said. these guys are pros. It's whole different world now though than it was in during Eliminator and recycler tour. there were tracks used on a lot of those shows for rhythm guitar and keyboards and even sax. I worked at quite a few venues when they were playing and I was every where nibbing.

Great video Steven and I agree , that guitar tone is second to none. Absolutely epic. Living Rock legends !

Saw them live. Yeah, their sound was huge!

Billy uses 7-38 strings and it has to be a part of the magic. As an old dog learning in the late 70’s we all went down the 08 and 07 gauge rabbit hole. Billy stuck with 07’s. Put a set of 07-38 on your Lester and your touch has to instantly change. Very dynamic with such a light touch. And the tone gets somehow beefier! Listen with your ears.

Always amazing learning how its all set up.

It's coming from his fingertips. It's crazy how iconic guitarists can pick up any guitar plug it into an amp, and with just the onboard reverb and the tone and volume controls on the guitar, create their unique sound. I'd say 80% is the player at that level of talent... maybe more.

Always sounds like ZZ Top! Been loving this band since hearing them on France Inter (French long wave radio station) in 1968 underneath the sheets in my bedroom in Nottinghamshire, England. Blew me away then....blow me away now...rock on baby!!!

I bought a Fender Blues Deville amp from a friend of mine. I picked it up on my way to go jamming with some friends. He'd been demo-ing the amp for me before I had to get going to be on time, so I paid him for it, and we put it in my car and I took it with me. I didn't change anything as far as the settings went, and when I plugged my Gibson ES-355 into it, there was Billy's guitar sound, as heard on ZZ Top's First Album!! How lucky was that?!! It was just there waiting for me! For those who own such an amp, it was on the lowest gain setting on the overdrive channel. Bass and Mid on 7.5, Treble on 4. Presence on 5. I had the Master Volume quite low, as it is a very loud amp for just 40 watts. Reverb on about 2.5. I had the gain on 8 out of 12.

Great video..! I've called Billy "The Tone Master" since 1978...I was only 13 and just started playing guitar...

Billy's guitar tone is easy enough to figure out. What's difficult to figure out is how Billy makes his guitar tone sound just like his voice! Eh how how how...eh how how how!

Of course, but there is the other variable which I suggested also. You could be correct that there is a distortion pedal involved squaring the wave, but pick-ups can square them also to a degree with the right attack.

Magnatone might be one of the best amps nobody ever talks about. I got one of Billy’s signature Magnatone amps and it is unreal, and the Magnatone Panoramic Stereo amp is also incredible.

I saw them a few years back. Billy and Dusty were both using Magnatone amp's. Billy had about 8 of them stacked on top of each other and Dusty's set up looked identical,but I would imagine they had 15' speakers.

Thanks for doing this video on Billy's tone. Plus, who misses Rebecca Dirks from Rig Rundown?

My son and I just saw ZZ Top a couple of weeks ago is Salt Lake City and the stage was all Magnatone heads and cabs, not sure what was making the juice but Billy's tone was incredible! The whole band sounded amazing!

there's a video somewhere on YT - from a street busker in Helsinki, Finland. guy was playing a strat with a backing track of The Thrill Is Gone. up walks Billy Gibbons who was on vacation in Finland, and out shopping with his wife. guy hands Billy his strat, and Billy starts playing along to The Thrill Is Gone backing track. sounded like Billy Gibbons. he played for about a minute, then handed the guy back his guitar. its a good video if you can find it.

I saw a video from the time the band started. A sound engineer was somehow able to pull a tone out of his Billy's guitar notes and delay it a milisecond or so. So it gave it that fuller signature sound.

The Reverend Billy G is a genius and an artiste, visually and sonically. I mean the man dropped acid with Jimi and painted and played music with him. Billy treats everything he ;loves the most, (guitars, cars and women, not necessarily in that order) with the highest respect and is aware of how his world is seen in public. Just like the detail and class you see when he steps out of one of his cars with his lady, I am sure he would do the same with any performance of ZZTop, especially one for a DVD. That isolation box is probably not just for re-amping, but serves as a source to mix his sound to the House P.A. or stage or ear monitors. I guarantee you Billy can tell you all the steps his mojo travels from his fingers to your ears. That's why it sounds so good. He's convinced your brain to make that mojo into music in your head, and he laughs knowing it's really you that makes the music you hear. All he does is play the guitar. The only thing I would ever ask Billy is, Can you keep an armadillo as a pet in California?

My Amp tech in LA Bob Dixon of The Amp Hole told me he had done some work for Billy and he asked about the Fandango sound from the early records. Billy told him it was a Marshall Plexy... Like EVH it looks like they EQ the guitar with a mountain shape midrange & also like EVH I still like the sound of the early records best... An MXR 10 band EQ works well on my '73 Marshal plexy style Super Lead... The mountain shaped EQ curve really lets you sculpt that mid range sound like both of these great guitarists do.

I've seen ZZ TOP a dozen times live, once at the River Market in Kansas city I was up against the stage, it was phenomenal!

It's not a mystery. He's just a badass.

So glad I’ve seen them many..many times.. never disappointed..😜

The great thing is that you can play any ZZ song on any guitar & you will ROCK the house!!! 🎸 🎸 🎸 ✌️

Thanks for your post. I've been a tone chaser, and I went back to vintage tone (although I still have no talent). Many of these discussion end up back at "tone comes from the players fingers". IMHO. I've noticed that his pickups seem super hot, and blast harmonics with seemingly no effort.

I played a fender Cunetto no caster, it had anc neck with vintage 7.25 frets through ,a fender USA hot,rod deluxe , and I had his sound , no pedals at all .

Steven Anthony - nice video. Also - what a novel angle for a video - and a good one. Alas, I'll have to finish watching - but I will. Just a quick thought. I actually prefer his studio tone - by far. Especially the classic 70's sounds. As you know the mixing board can have a huge influence on tone! Best, Allan.

He uses or used the Marshal jmp1 for a long time, as his preamp.

Saw the band yesterday at Saratoga, NY. Billy is more than a guitarist…a magician. The three of them are turning the songs upside down and inside out just to land at the right place for 90 magical minutes…We owe it to Dusty, who blessed Elwood so the show goes on!

I remember in 2010 ZZ Top came to play in italy, I looked to the side of the stage and the guitar was connected to a 1x12 combo amp, miked of course, unfortunately I didn't see the brand of the amp

Saw him in late 2000's with the tower of expandoras!.... Just awesome sound that night There were no speakers on stage ... it all came through the PA

A plexi with a super thin set of strings is his time really. 7thru38 that’s where his sound comes from and his hands

Nice job, very informative but... I thought I was gonna learn the answer to the mystery lol? Guess it's still a mystery or just brilliance. Beautiful tribute to BG tho, very well done.

He runs Marshall JMP1

According to an interview with Gary Rossington when Lynyrd Skynyrd was on tour with them Billy was using magnatones and he actually gave one to Gary which Gary added to his Peavey set up.

Yes it’s the rack mount amp and the sound curve.

The Eliminator studio tone is a 50w 68 plexi Superlead and a Trainwreck Express in stereo, a tiny bit of slapback tape echo and a tad bit of treble boost into the Marshall, occasionally a Leslie speaker. All double tracked with Pearly and an original 50s Fender Esquire

You missed a crucial part: the very beginning of his signal chain - his strings; that were a .007 gauge(!)

They play Loud and I like that. They have it together and very good. They jelled together and last that long is unbelievable. The Beatles lasted 10 years and all hated each other after breakup.

I have seen them many times saw them in the early eighties cleanest loudest I ever heard live

Elwood said on the rig rundown that he plays with a death metal overdrive, and Billy just has a very light touch 😂

I think its just mostly him. I hear a lot of little variations over his career and you can tell he likes to experiment but its 90% in his hands and his cool ways he plays figures. plus you hear overdubs more in the albums. That begin said everytime ive seen him play in a small non zz top things in years and years he has a magnatone or two and always sounds perfect.

Great video. I am looking for a rack mount guitar processor to achieve the sounds he achieves on the Eliminator and Afterburner albums. Do you have any recommendations? Thank you. 🎸😮

I absolutely LOVE the Crate amp sounds of the VC5310, VC5212, VC5115 these are MONSTOROUS amplifiers (Mark Knopfler uses them too) Sadly they are not exactly reliable. CRATE ALL TUBE amps are very underrated. Save your pennies, get great tone! Your welcome. 😎

Hes used almost Everything over the years. He has been using Magnatone amps recently. 20 years ago he was playing through Crates.

He mentioned that Billy uses crate amplifier sometimes and that is a fact he does use the 52/12 VFX crates. I am a 45-year player and that's about all I will play through is the 52/12 VFX it's incredible if you've never heard one do yourself a favor and plug into the best amp sound you will ever hear period.. oh and PS ask Joe Walsh about them as well..

Billy used a Boss SE70 on some of his 80’s and 90’s recordings. I have one myself and it’s spot on. I have also used it live, but it has a terrible lag between patches.

The rig rundown I watched (the one with the obnoxious drum tech pounding away in the background) mentioned "we don't use any treble". Regardless of the amp he uses that's probably a good part of his tone.

Never thought of having a clean direct signal recorded. Smart..Later, just sitting down and picking and choosing all day till you get 'that' tone. Wow.

I own a Crate Vintage Club 60 that was very similar to the amps he used in the 90's. These were made in USA (St. Louis) and are fantastic sounding when they work. Unfortunately, the circuit board fell victim to overheating and became conductive so the amp is toast. But tone-wise I can see why he used them for a while. But the JMP-1 has been his "primary" guitar sound live for a long time. There is blending in the PA and likely the Magnatone is blended in but mostly what you hear is the rack Marshall on his settings. Bottom line is that Billy like homogeny. He wants his Tele's, Gretsch and other guitars to sound like his Pearly. He wants his amp tone to be a JMP Marshall tone with no treble. It's likely less complex and mysterious than you think.

I think he uses ultra light gauge strings, .007's, that produce a lot of harmonics, but are difficult to control and require a light touch. But these allow higher gain settings on amps to get the same gain.

I seen that....little band from Texas live with rat in in Florida ZZ blew the doors off of place.. 100% ass-kicking good time they're just absolutely isn't any other band like them gone but never forgotten 🇺🇸

Man, after watching the comparison between the German broadcast and the BluRay, the broadcast sounds night and day better. On the BluRay for whatever reason they decided to compress the holy hell out of the guitar in the mix, and sounds more like he is playing through a Kemper than a real amp.

King Tut! That guitar is so badass!

He's playing through a JBL processor of some type. He also uses a cabinet isolated small tube amp for the "classic" ZZ Top tunes.

He uses wacky thin strings also. Brightens up the tone.

I seen ZZtop back in 2014 and Gibbons was using Magnatone along with Jeff Beck at the same show. Tone for days

I think the secret is he has a trusted roadie who lights his cheroot being careful not to ignite his beard. He plays on without missing a beat, thoroughly enjoying both the smoke and the raunchy riff his fingers are churning.

He always SOUNDS AMAZING. You are correct.

It always makes me laugh when a guitarist says his sound is basic and simple, then he shows us his rig and everyone must be going: WTF? . . LOL. Invariably he's going into a refrigerator sized rack!

honkin Tele pickup/guitar into a Marshall or anything crunchy with whatever needed to make it loud enough. Semi distorted with a good bit of highs so those pinch harmonics jump out better. It's mostly the amp tho since most guitars sound very similar aside from if it's single or double coil. He's prob using .008 gauge strings too which people think can't sound thick and nice but obviously they are misinformed.

My understandingnis that Gibbons recorded mostly through small tweed and brown fenders and if you watch videos from the 70s-80s, there's usually a Brown or Tweed Deluxe on stage. Today they EQ everything to achieve the same amp tone. Then Gibbons plays thin strings which gives him more presence with the sharp top end bite. It allows him to play with his signature light touch.

Billy also uses a Mexican peso for a pick. They really make a difference.

Light strings, Marshalls, and a gift

I saw Z Z Pop when they had the old time hot rod and over 2 hours played in Atlanta. If I could play a tenth as good as Billy Gibbons I would be great. He should be in the top five greatest rock guitarist of all time.

Yup...it's called "break-up" you know when you max out and exceed the headroom. Even Twins will break at a high enough level. There is perhaps a delay and an eq, but mainly it's the pick-ups and him.

'59 LP through a 100w Marshall Plexi. Emulated in various ways with different guitars and more reliable rigs.

One thing to keep in mind when trying to get the Billy Gibbons tone...and Angus Young's tone as well....is to back off the gain. For some reason, people seem to think that it takes a lot of gain to get these guitar tones....when actually its the opposite...especially if you are playing some hot pickups. Keep the gain under 5 or 6...I set mine at 4 on a 40 watt tube combo and it gets pretty close.

Bill was using a harmonic generator blue trany overdrive. Rockman.

Cut some lows, cut loads of highs so you have a kind of cocked wah tone and a Marshallesque overdrive. Presto. Cigar-smoking optional.

One of those guitars looks akin to Mavis Mulecaster tele body. Sounds a little like a steel body too.

There's a vid of SRV playing a Squier strat through a Crate amp. Lo and behold, he sounded exactly like SRV.

A Marshall JMP is an awesome rack amp. Ace Frehley used them too. They are tight and you need that in big rooms

Billy Gibbons use really professional amplifiers and they are on the back stage. That is in ZZ Top gig. In Billy Gibbons' solo gig Billy use Megatone amplifiers

I started filing down and grinding down quarters and Pesos a couple of years ago. I also switched to Reverend Willy's strings...the lightest 1st string(E) I've ever used. How does that damned thing stay tuned as well as it does? You can bend that damn thing 2 1/2 steps...no prob. I think it is a combination of his amplification equipment, effects, distortion, Gain, that Peso pick, the strings...but mostly it is Billy, who he is, what he is, and where he got it. That is his sound and where it came from.

I will not mention any names but: In my youth I was a professional guitarist traveling around some pretty good circuits. Had several well known guitarist sit in every now and then. Always had a side setup for the occasion. A stock early 70s Twin Reverb and one of my guitars. Most often a 60s SG. With that basic setup these known guitarist would obtain their own unique style and sound. So the real answer her is: IT'S THEIR OWN PERSONAL TOUCH & ABILITIES!!!

So much gear with such a simple sound. 😀

Check out Billy Gibbons live at Daryl's house. He's playing a sg through a Magnatone combo.

Billy used Crate Vintage Club amps. They are all tube el84 based, made in St Louis, Missouri.

On my wish list… Billy… please just do one last actual show with Pearly Gates. Strip down to just guitar and amp. If they’re worried about the safety of Pearly then just make it a private event. I just want to see and hear that combo of the man and his favorite (and mine) axe. I consider that guitar an original member of ZZ but I can’t find a public sighting since 1982…if anyone have newer footage please share.

I use a 50 watt plexie that’s lightly moded with N.O. Tubes through a Marshall cab with celstion golds, i can cop his tone easily.

it is of course a very complicated modern rack system for a huge sound system, but if you heard billy thru a club amp he'd sound roughly the same.

2023 way too complicated for me. I saw ZZ Top in a small venue in November 1972. They were promoting the Rio Grande Mud album, and were superbly tight, hot and loud. BG was clean shaven, btw. He played (I think) Pearly Gates or a similar late 50s LP and no other guitar. 6 Marshall heads, 6 Marshall cabinets. Dusty had 4 and 4 and played a Fender bass. (as I recall) So, there you have it. Guitars and amps. Did they use 13 Pedals, 5 EQ, loops, gadgets, other razz ma tazz? -- don't really know but doubt it. Nothing could have been better. A wonderful song, Down Brownie is on Mud. Spectacular tone there. Hot licks. One of the newer songs "Just Got Paid" was probably 7 or 8 minutes of furious soaring jam time. Btw, I have played LPs, SGs and others for close to 50 yrs, but not superbly. Ha. . I have an idea where the hands and fingertips fit into tone. Related: J Bonamassa seems like a nice young man and a very good player, but I cannot listen to him play that song ( just got paid) for more than about 20 seconds. Just cannot. I'll be fine. 😊

BILLY!!!

I am Billy's EQ tech. It's cool to see the very first Digitech MEQ Mono 28 I built for Billy in that older rig rundown. (You cant see my logo on the newer rundown) I have built 14 altogether for the Boyzz and they are certainly a key part of his tone. The MIDI patches vary dramatically as you can imagine. I have a feeling Billy pushes the EQ into a bit of clipping, but I cant confirm.