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Billy Sheehan interview


3V17C
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[url="http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/musicradar-podcast-billy-sheehan-134807"]http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/mus...-sheehan-134807[/url]


new interview with Billy boy, plus some pics of his new Yamaha BB signature bass - which is a new one on me!

peace

c

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[quote name='3V17C' post='142388' date='Feb 18 2008, 12:29 PM'][url="http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/musicradar-podcast-billy-sheehan-134807"]http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/mus...-sheehan-134807[/url]


new interview with Billy boy, plus some pics of his new Yamaha BB signature bass - which is a new one on me!

peace

c[/quote]

There's a short piece on Billy's new Sig bass in this month's Guitarist magazine. He reckons it's the first update on his model in nearly 14 years.

I love the colour of it- chrome red is such a nice finish.

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I don't get this BB Sheehan sig bass-

looks more like Yamaha got him to do it to boost sales of the BB range.

in his On Bass and Bass Secrets videos he stresses he really needs the old style precision pickups-

and prefers the covered polepieces- as on his Attitude sig.

-yet this BB model has the Yamaha split pickup (that's less comfortable as a thumbrest) and exposed polepieces.

also his old pink custom BB2000 /BB3000 prototype had a maple fingerboard.

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yeah it is a bit odd, because he's not played a BB for many, many years, since that pink/maple one in the early 80's DLR era(which WAS cool!) - i guess its easier for Yamaha to make these mods to a standard BB and call it a signature rather than get a whole budget Attitude range into production again.

still no sign of the Mark III attitude anywhere either?......thought they were meant to be out by now?



peace

c

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[quote name='3V17C' post='142453' date='Feb 18 2008, 01:50 PM']i guess its easier for Yamaha to make these mods to a standard BB and call it a signature rather than get a whole budget Attitude range into production again.[/quote]

ah, I get it now.

the demand for a cheap Sheehan-style bass isn't enough.
I remember the cheap Attitudes getting cleared out and discontinued.

I still think the Attitude 5 (with PJ pickups) had a wide appeal, but the BB series covers the trad-style cheap passive 5string market now.

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I like the chrome red finish.
However, I share the concerns about pick-ups and the change to a rosewood (?) fretboard. Note also the lack of fretboard scallops in the upper registers. Looks like another cost-cutting measure.
Still, if it sounds good / plays well and is good value, then fine!
Besides, I should worry...



It's a good instrument, but I'd love to build an Attitude-a-like that would fit my preferences;

*Jazz neck width & profile (!)
*Neck HB and split "P" as per the Attitude.
*A tap-able Twin "J" at the bridge (an idea borrowed from the "PJ"s, Warwick Infinity and Fender Deluxe "P".
*Passive electrics.
*A slightly longer horn on a basically "P" body (probably Alder) to prevent the Attitude's slight tendency to dive.

Don't know about controls or hardware, but it'd be able to approximate the sounds of quite a few instruments, plus give a few unique tones of its own...

Edited by Lfalex v1.1
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[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='142872' date='Feb 19 2008, 08:09 AM']I like the chrome red finish.
However, I share the concerns about pick-ups and the change to a rosewood (?) fretboard. Note also the lack of fretboard scallops in the upper registers. Looks like another cost-cutting measure.
Still, if it sounds good / plays well and is good value, then fine!
Besides, I should worry...



It's a good instrument, but I'd love to build an Attitude-a-like that would fit my preferences;

*Jazz neck width & profile (!)
*Neck HB and split "P" as per the Attitude.
*A tap-able Twin "J" at the bridge (an idea borrowed from the "PJ"s, Warwick Infinity and Fender Deluxe "P".
*Passive electrics.
*A slightly longer horn on a basically "P" body (probably Alder) to prevent the Attitude's slight tendency to dive.

Don't know about controls or hardware, but it'd be able to approximate the sounds of quite a few instruments, plus give a few unique tones of its own...[/quote]



the Attitude 'Special' has pretty much a Jazz neck on it plus the HB and split P...

peace

c

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[quote name='Machines' post='142397' date='Feb 18 2008, 12:40 PM']I like the BBs but that looks horrid to me. It's like someone drunkenly played around in photoshop[/quote]
Good god, it does doesn't it? :huh:
[attachment=5730:sheehan.jpg]

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='142872' date='Feb 19 2008, 08:09 AM']It's a good instrument, but I'd love to build an Attitude-a-like that would fit my preferences[/quote]
Well... get thee to a luthier! :) It needn't be expensive.

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Well, I like the new BB. :huh: It's quite possible that the polepieces on the pickups have been epoxied over, like the older Attitude models, but you can't really tell from the pictures.

I still think Billy's a great player, but I heard him proseletysing about being a Scientologist recently, and that made me lose a lot of respect for him... :)

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[quote name='Russ' post='144432' date='Feb 21 2008, 02:58 PM']Well, I like the new BB. :huh: It's quite possible that the polepieces on the pickups have been epoxied over, like the older Attitude models, but you can't really tell from the pictures.

I still think Billy's a great player, but I heard him proseletysing about being a Scientologist recently, and that made me lose a lot of respect for him... :)[/quote]


yeah theres a bunch of videos on youtube at the moment with him going on about the scientology stuff, though to be fair, as far as i know, he keeps that totally seperate from his music career and never preachs it or even mentions it at clinics/gigs or anything.

peace

c

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[quote name='SJA' post='144556' date='Feb 21 2008, 05:51 PM']it's odd how he's "seen the light" in scientology, but still hasn't regarding music theory and reading music....c'mon, Billy, it's not that difficult....[/quote]

nor has stuart zender, but I still love him...maybe a little too much...

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[quote name='SJA' post='144556' date='Feb 21 2008, 05:51 PM']it's odd how he's "seen the light" in scientology, but still hasn't regarding music theory and reading music....c'mon, Billy, it's not that difficult....[/quote]


Wait a minute!!!! I've been lucky enough to meet and chat with Billy on two occasions, once many years ago when he did a clinic in Wapping High St, the Ampeg Promo Billy's back and once at a Mr Big Gig In Newport. All I can say is "speak as you find..." I found him to be a very polite, sincere and genuine person regardless of any beliefs he has and does it really matter what beliefs a person has? and whether a player can read or not? I don't think so.

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[quote name='Jase' post='144928' date='Feb 22 2008, 11:58 AM']Wait a minute!!!! I've been lucky enough to meet and chat with Billy on two occasions, once many years ago when he did a clinic in Wapping High St, the Ampeg Promo Billy's back and once at a Mr Big Gig In Newport. All I can say is "speak as you find..." I found him to be a very polite, sincere and genuine person regardless of any beliefs he has and does it really matter what beliefs a person has? and whether a player can read or not? I don't think so.[/quote]


you've got the wrong end of the stick here-
I respect the guy a lot- I've learnt loads from his instructional vids.

it's just a bit odd, since learning bits of theory myself, to look back on the Bass Secrets and On Bass vids in which he shows a striking lack of knowledge of things like modes-
when it's pretty simple, logical concepts.

it seems like a form of mental block, which I've had myself, stemming from being self-taught, which I'm overcoming gradually.

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