Bill Wyman
Role
Role
Bill Wyman's Bass Guitars
Wyman can be seen in this photo tuning up his Fender Mustang Bass.
This was the Japanese Bass that Bill Wyman transformed into a fretless. He used this in their very early gigs in 1963. He last used it to mime The Last Time in the Top of the Pops. https://youtu.be/27ouOE4RvUc
This photo shows Wyman with a Vox Teardrop Bass.
Wyman can be seen playing a Bass Centre Wyman Bass in this photo.
Bill nicknamed this bass "Humbug" because he thought the finish resembled a British striped candy by that name.
In this video Bill Wyman is seen playing a violin bass made by vox in the rock n roll circus.
Bill Wyman had several custom short-scale Travis Bean TB2000 bass guitars made for him, as shown in a Getty Images photo of The Rolling Stones.
Bill Wyman needed a higher quality bass guitar as opposed to his Japanese homemade one. He used this extensively, since it fit his short-scale stature, from 1963 to 1965 and predominantly in 1964.
In a user-uploaded photo, Bill Wyman is seen holding a 1974 Prototype Ampeg Dan Armstrong Bass with a Cherry Finish.
Bill Wyman can be seen playing the Höfner 500/1 Bass in this post. According to the information on this link, he performed at Peter Seller's House in 1976.(https://sfae.com/Artists/Terry-O-Neill/Bill-Wyman-Ronnie-Wood-and-David-Bowie-at-Peter-Se). It is unknown whether he used the bass elsewhere.
"This is a special, one-of-a-kind bass built for Wyman in a short scale by arrangement through Alan Rogan. Steinberger L-Series basses were all built with 24 frets. Wyman's custom Steinberger has only 22 frets by eliminating the last two frets. (Partially omitted) The bass has the cap from a Bic pen affixed to the top of the bass where the headstock would be so that Bill could place a cigarette there while playing on stage. With custom road case and guitar strap from the Rolling Stones 1981 American Tour in support of their album Tattoo You. Bill also used this bass onstage with the Rolling Stones during the 1982 European tour and during the 1988 A.I.M.S. charity concert held at the Royal Albert Hall. The bass was also photographed backstage leaning up against a Stones road case during the 1982 tour."
"This is a very rare instrument, as only about 200 were ever made. Bill used a Staccato bass in the music video for the Rolling Stones single "One Hit (To the Body).""
"Recording engineer Chris Potter, who worked on the Steel Wheels LP, described the Rolling Stones studio gear, remembering a new Wal MIDI bass that Wyman had for the sessions: "On 'Almost Hear You Sigh,' Bill used his Wal bass with a combination of DI and FET 47 mikes in front of a small Ampeg B15 Porta-flex bass amplifier placed in the stall next to Charlie [Watts]; this typified his setup for the duration of the session." This bass was also on the road for the Rolling Stones 1989-1990 tour."
Bill Wyman is in the promotional photos for the Yamaha BB3000. According to a post on Yamaha's Instagram, he used the bass in Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings. The URL for Yamaha's post is here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DFpPD0myun2/?img_index=1&igsh=MXh6bXN5bTZtazM2ZA==
This is a community-built gear list for Bill Wyman.
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Discography