Tommy Bolin

Emote with Your Echoplex Speaking of innovative, Bolin even figured out a way to “play” his Echoplex that went way beyond the norm. “The Echoplex was almost like another instrument to him,” says Johnnie. “He actually had two of them mounted on a podium. He would use the echo as part of the solo or to end the solo, but he didn’t need it to disguise anything. He had it down to where he knew how to get all kinds of rhythms out of it.” One of Bolin’s favorite Echoplex tricks was to preset an eighth-note, eighth-note triplet, or sixteenth-note rhythmic delay time, dime the “repeat” knob, then click it on for the last note of a phrase to produce a quasi-dub effect. (Fact: TB was a reggae fanatic.) He also loved to let the signal run away into regeneration feedback while he simultaneously manipulated the playback head to either change pitch or cause all kinds of multi-speed regeneration mayhem. (The Echoplex playback head is mounted on a manually adjustable horizontal slider as you face the box.) You can hear this in action on Cobham’s “Quadrant 4” (Spectrum), Mouzon’s “Golden Rainbows” and “Nitroglycerine” (from Mind Transplant), and the killer live versions of “Post Toastee” and “Hard Chargin’ Woman” (a mind-boggling solo where, at 6:12, Bolin actually trades “twos” with his echo feedback!) on The Ultimate: Redux. To end the effect, Bolin could either cut off the regenerated signal abruptly with a footswitch, or by gradually backing off the repeats knob until it faded out naturally. Another fave move was to momentarily effect a totally dry solo tone with a few bars (or even half of a phrase) of prominent slapback echo, as witnessed at 3:10 into Cobham’s “Red Baron.” Realizing that only tape echo will give you the real deal (you can accomplish this with some digital delays, but we’re going old-school, Bolin-style here), set your tape or analog unit of choice to a 50-50 wet-to-dry signal ratio, dial in some preset regeneration feedback by cranking the “repeats” knob, then revisit every lick we’ve covered thus far, switching on the echo on the last note. The next choice is yours: Either cut the echo off abruptly, or head to outer space by messing with the playback head or delay time controls for as long as you like. Crazy, man, crazy!

Welcome to all you Tommy Bolin fans! If you want to know more about the equipment of Tommy Bolin and how to achieve his sound, read this article by ’treblebooster’.

This was Tommy's main guitar according to his official website.

This was Tommy's main guitar, it was a 3 tone sunburst 1963 Fender Stratocaster with a rare special order maple cap.

Discover how Tommy Bolin achieved his signature sound with the Ibanez Destroyer by exploring the detailed insights provided on Treblebooster.

Welcome to all you Tommy Bolin fans! If you want to know more about the equipment of Tommy Bolin and how to achieve his sound, read this article by ’treblebooster’.

This was Tommy's main amp according to this article.

Welcome to all you Tommy Bolin fans! If you want to know more about the equipment of Tommy Bolin and how to achieve his sound, read this article by ’treblebooster’.

Tommy Bolin is known to have used a Guild X-175B Manhattan Electric Guitar, as detailed in an article by Treblebooster. For fans looking to understand his gear and replicate his signature sound, this source provides valuable insights.

Welcome to all you Tommy Bolin fans! If you want to know more about the equipment of Tommy Bolin and how to achieve his sound, read this article by ’treblebooster’.

Tommy Bolin used a Fender Hardtail Stratocaster, as detailed on Angelfire's gear page.

Welcome to all you Tommy Bolin fans! If you want to know more about the equipment of Tommy Bolin and how to achieve his sound, read this article by ’treblebooster’.

Tommy Bolin is known to have used the Vox Super Beatle guitar amplifier stack. For more details on his equipment and sound, refer to the article on Treblebooster.

Welcome to all you Tommy Bolin fans! If you want to know more about the equipment of Tommy Bolin and how to achieve his sound, read this article by ’treblebooster’.

The article quotes: 'Tommy would turn down all the treble on his amps and the bass all the way up, using the Fuzz for sustain.'

Welcome to all you Tommy Bolin fans! If you want to know more about the equipment of Tommy Bolin and how to achieve his sound, read this article by ’treblebooster’.

He got this Les Paul from his guitar tech Dave Brown. Here is using it with Deep Purple in a rehearsal.

In this photo you can clearly see 3 Hiwatt Custom 100.

Welcome to all you Tommy Bolin fans! If you want to know more about the equipment of Tommy Bolin and how to achieve his sound, read this article by ’treblebooster’.

Welcome to all you Tommy Bolin fans! If you want to know more about the equipment of Tommy Bolin and how to achieve his sound, read this article by ’treblebooster’.

Welcome to all you Tommy Bolin fans! If you want to know more about the equipment of Tommy Bolin and how to achieve his sound, read this article by ’treblebooster’.

The article quotes: 'Tommy later also had a Hammond M3 organ and he would trade off guitar and organ playing, being heavily influenced by Jimmy Smith and he became more involved with the jazz style of playing, which was a major early influence on him.'

Welcome to all you Tommy Bolin fans! If you want to know more about the equipment of Tommy Bolin and how to achieve his sound, read this article by ’treblebooster’.

In this article from March, 1977's edition of Guitar Player Magazine, Bolin states that he uses Ernie Ball Super Slinky 9-42 guitar strings on his Stratocaster (likely along with heavier gauge sets for short-scale guitars like Gibson models).

WHAT ABOUT YOUR EQUIPMENT?

BOLIN: I'm using two HiWatt tops with four Sound City bottoms. The Stratocaster I use is a stock 1963. It's very hot, and I really don't know why. I use Ernie Ball Extra Super Slinky for the Strat, because my hands aren't very strong. I use heavy picks , Herco gold, but I chew them all day first. It loosens them up and gives them a feeling somewhere between a heavy and medium thickness. [Ed. Note: Bolin also had two other Strats, one with a Telecaster neck, an Ibanez Explorer he used for slide playing, and a $160.00 Yamaha Acoustic that sounded great."]

DO YOU PERFER THE HIGHTS OF A FENDER TO THE THICKER GIBSON SOUND?

BOLIN: Yes, I like the cutting sound of a Fender. With Les Pauls, at least for me, I can get only two or three different tones. That's it. But with the Strat, I can use it on about everything I play. I keep the amp on full bass with no treble and also use a Sam Ash Fuzztone [manufactured by the Sam Ash Music stores of New York, no longer available]. You can't get those anymore. I have the fuzz on all the time with attack, volume, and tone all the way up. It doesn't sound like a fuzz, really. It just gives the guitar so much more bite and attack.

HOW DO YOU GET SUCH A SMOOTH TONE WITH THE FUZZ ON ALL THE TIME?

BOLIN: Having the bass up on the amp is the ticket. Plus you have to work a lot with the tone controls on the guitar. You have to use a lot of bass, because the Strat has such a thin sound. The tone I have now is somewhere between a Strat and a Les Paul. [Ed. Note: Bolin also utilized a phase shifter, built by a roadie, and an Echophlex, which he mounted waist high for access onstage.]

ONE OF YOUR CHARACTERISTICS AS A GUITARIST SEEMS TO BE TRIPLETS. DO YOU HAMMER YOURS OR PICK EACH ONE?

BOLIN: I probably play them too much. I pick each one. I think the ability to do that, again, comes from the drums. The drums strengthened my wrist, which allows me to keep my picking hand relaxed when I play. That's important, and it comes form doing it for a long time. How good you play triplets, or anything really, comes from the way you say something with the guitar, the way you attack the notes. You have to attack with confidence. Practice gives you that, I guess. For me, practice isn't doing scales but doing things like writing, jamming with other people, or playing gigs.

LOOKING BACK, WOULD YOU HAVE DONE ANYTHING DIFFERENTLY?

BOLIN: A lot of times I wish I would have learned to read [theory]. But I'm very impatient. I used to try and take things in leaps and bounds. Now I've realized it's got to be step by step.

In this article from March, 1977's edition of Guitar Player Magazine, Bolin states that he uses Herco Gold "heavy" gauge guitar picks, chewing them with his teeth for a length of time before concerts to make them more flexable, as Bolin describes it a "feeling somewhere between a heavy and medium thickness" pick.

WHAT ABOUT YOUR EQUIPMENT?

BOLIN: I'm using two HiWatt tops with four Sound City bottoms. The Stratocaster I use is a stock 1963. It's very hot, and I really don't know why. I use Ernie Ball Extra Super Slinky for the Strat, because my hands aren't very strong. I use heavy picks, Herco gold, but I chew them all day first. It loosens them up and gives them a feeling somewhere between a heavy and medium thickness. [Ed. Note: Bolin also had two other Strats, one with a Telecaster neck, an Ibanez Explorer he used for slide playing, and a $160.00 Yamaha Acoustic that sounded great.]

DO YOU PERFER THE HIGHTS OF A FENDER TO THE THICKER GIBSON SOUND?

BOLIN: Yes, I like the cutting sound of a Fender. With Les Pauls, at least for me, I can get only two or three different tones. That's it. But with the Strat, I can use it on about everything I play. I keep the amp on full bass with no treble and also use a Sam Ash Fuzztone [manufactured by the Sam Ash Music stores of New York, no longer available]. You can't get those anymore. I have the fuzz on all the time with attack, volume, and tone all the way up. It doesn't sound like a fuzz, really. It just gives the guitar so much more bite and attack.

HOW DO YOU GET SUCH A SMOOTH TONE WITH THE FUZZ ON ALL THE TIME?

BOLIN: Having the bass up on the amp is the ticket. Plus you have to work a lot with the tone controls on the guitar. You have to use a lot of bass, because the Strat has such a thin sound. The tone I have now is somewhere between a Strat and a Les Paul. [Ed. Note: Bolin also utilized a phase shifter, built by a roadie, and an Echophlex, which he mounted waist high for access onstage.]

ONE OF YOUR CHARACTERISTICS AS A GUITARIST SEEMS TO BE TRIPLETS. DO YOU HAMMER YOURS OR PICK EACH ONE?

BOLIN: I probably play them too much. I pick each one. I think the ability to do that, again, comes from the drums. The drums strengthened my wrist, which allows me to keep my picking hand relaxed when I play. That's important, and it comes form doing it for a long time. How good you play triplets, or anything really, comes from the way you say something with the guitar, the way you attack the notes. You have to attack with confidence. Practice gives you that, I guess. For me, practice isn't doing scales but doing things like writing, jamming with other people, or playing gigs.

LOOKING BACK, WOULD YOU HAVE DONE ANYTHING DIFFERENTLY?

BOLIN: A lot of times I wish I would have learned to read [theory]. But I'm very impatient. I used to try and take things in leaps and bounds. Now I've realized it's got to be step by step.

The Yamaha SX-125 Custom is a rare, custom-built electric guitar that Tommy Bolin used during his 1975 Japanese tour with Deep Purple. According to a tweet by SchildChris on Twitter, Yamaha provided Bolin with this guitar, which featured unique gadgets like a tremolo bridge, mini amp, and built-in tuner. Bolin notably played the SX-125 Custom during Deep Purple's performance of "Highway Star" at the Nagoya Diamond Hall on December 8, 1975.