Tommy Bolin

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.