Billy Sheehan (born on 1953 March 19 in Buffalo, NY) is an American bassist known for his work with Talas, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, Mr Big, and Niacin.
Sheehan has won Guitar Player Magazine's "Best Rock Bass Player" readers' poll five times for his "lead bass" playing style. Guitar Player has likened his soloing on the four-string instrument to Eddie Van Halen's on the six-string guitar. Sheehan's repertoire includes the use of chording, two-handed tapping and controlled feedback. However, Sheehan is also noted as a steady "true" bassist, fulfilling the traditional supportive role of the electric bass in the rock idiom.
He has also been with the Church of Scientology for 35 years.
Equipment
Sheehan's main bass is a Yamaha Billy Sheehan Attitude 4 string bass with aftermarket blue LEDs and laser pointer, by Sims UK. He is a long time user of the Hipshot Bass D-tuner which allows him to drop the low E to a lower D on his bass' 4th string, all of his signature Yamaha basses have them factory installed. He also has a special deal with Yamaha that, as he puts it : "The basses in the store are the ones that i play, i don't get a custom shop version and a kid goes out with hard earned money and gets a plywood version." Sheehan is a long time Ampeg user, he has used Ampeg SVT-4Pro amplifiers for several years. Ampeg also makes his signature SVP-BSP pre-amps. A few more of his main rack units are: a no longer produced Pearce solid state dual channel pre-amp, he uses it to get distorted tones, as well as an Ashley dual channel compressor. He runs it all through two or four (depending on venue size) Ampeg 8x10 bass cabinets. He also has been known to occasionally use Hartke gear.
Picture from www.roughedge.com
Read more
Billy Sheehan website
See Billy Sheehan bass tip bass technique on VDO bar above
Billy Sheehan bass solo
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