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John Entwistle Gear: 1960–1966

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First basses

First basses

  • Ca. 1960, self-built on grandmother’s dining table, a Fender Precision copy out of mahogany and painted mauve. He had it fretted like a Hofner bass.

    From the November 1975 Guitar Player

    Then, when I was about fourteen, I made my own bass. I never played guitar. Everybody I knew played guitar, and everybody needed bass players, and they just weren’t about. When I first started playing in England there were only about four bass guitars on the market, and they were all very cheap. You couldn’t buy a Fender bass or a Gibson. They were all like these very cheap tuxedo basses; I think the most expensive on you could get was a Framus-style bass — a big sort of acoustic thing — and a few Hofners. I had some photographs of Fender basses, and I just looked very closely at the pictures and tried to make one. I wanted a nice long bass, and so I made the neck really long — it ended up about 5′6″ long. When I took it in to be fretted they took the fret measurements off a Hofner violin bass, and it ended up with about 9″ of fingerboard with absolutely no frets on it. It had a drum material for the scratch plate, the control knobs were stuck on with glue, the wire came straight out of the pickup, and it had a square neck as well. It was terrible.

    From the April 1995 Bassist

    “My first bass was a chronic homemade effort, but I was in a hurry! I had it cut out of a piece of wood and it was in one piece. The guy who made it cut the neck off for me and I had to screw it back on again. It had a pickup made by a company called Royal that looked like a sardine tin with a lead coming straight from it. I didn’t realise that you had to put the lead in the actual body and have a jack plug socket there, and I just had a jack plug on the end of the pickup lead, so it was only about a couple of feet long! I had to sit down to play it thorugh some anonymous amp.

    “I’m sure the speaker was smaller than a 10″ and it was a mighty 10 watts. But most of the time during rehearsals I used to play through the rhythm guitarist’s record deck because it sounded better than the amp. That says a lot about the amp, doesn’t it?”

  • Then, built a Fenton-Weil bass at the Fenton factory.

Early amplification

  • Vortexian 50-watt amplifier without tone control with a single 18″ speaker suspended on a six-inch nail inside an open-backed cabinet.

    “I had to remove it after a gig, otherwise the band refused to carry the cabinet because of its weight.“

1963

As the Detours.

Bass

  • In mid-1963, a 1961 Fender Precision, his first proper bass.

    • Acquired from Gabby Connolly, Detours co-vocalist, in 1963, for paying off his £50 HP debt.
    • Later sold at Roger’s behest, who thought it kept blowing up speakers.

Amplification

  • Vox AC15, shared with PA. The Detours had two Vox AC-15s, one for Roger and Pete to share, and one for John and the PA.

1964–1966

1962 Fender Precision Bass – front, courtesy Brad Rodgers, www.whocollection.com. 1962 Fender Precision Bass – rear, courtesy Brad Rodgers, www.whocollection.com.

1962 Fender Precision Bass, courtesy Brad Rodgers, whocollection.com.

1962 Fender Precision bass

1962 Fender Precision bass

Bass

  • Epiphone Rivoli semi-acoustic bass (sunburst)
  • Gibson EB-2 semi-acoustic bass (natural)
  • 1962 Fender Precision Bass
    • Owned by Brad Rodgers
    • Originally sunburst in color, John had it refinished white sometime around February 1966. This bass is distinctive in that it has the Rosewood fretboard and the tortoise shell pick guard.
  • Mosrite Ventures bass
  • Danelectro Long Horn bass
    • On the recording of My Generation:

      “I bought this Danelectro bass and it had these tiny, thin wirewound strings on. They were so thin, they sounded just like a piano, an unbelievably clear sound. the only thing was that you couldn’t buy these strings. When we recorded ‘My Generation,’ I ended up with three of these Danelectros just for the strings. The last one I had, the string busted before we actually got into the studio to re-record it, so I did it on a Fender Jazz in the end with tape-wound La bella strings.”

      “I played that solo on a Jazz bass with tapewound strings through a Marshall 50 watt and 4x12. Interestingly, the bass solos on the earlier takes were much more complicated, and played on a Danelectro which had a much more piano-like sound. It was a medium scale bass with a two-octave neck. The trouble was that the strings were so thin that I kept breaking them. We’d record during the day and, to finance the sessions, we were playing gigs nearly every night, and inevitably I’d break a string. None of the music shops had any replacement strings and no string manufacturers made replacement strings thin enough for Dano basses then, so I had to go down to Marshall’s and buy a new Dano for £60. I ended up with three new Danelectros, all with busted strings! In the end I busted my last string at the third attempt and there weren’t any more in the country. I thought, ‘Fuck it’, and went and bought myself a Fender Jazz bass and a set of La Bella strings, and played the solo with that. But it was a different sound and a simplified, slowed-down version of the solos on previous takes.”

  • 1965(?) sunburst Fender Jazz Bass
    • Bought in 1965 for the recording of My Generation
    • Serial no. L89716
  • 1963 Fender Precision Bass
  • 1966 Fender Precision Bass (slab) in Olympic White, with maple neck (three of this model)
    • John owned (and trashed) three of 20 made by Fender, which were made specifically for the UK market.
    • Slab (squared off) body, split pickup, maple neck, black scratch plate.
    • John: “There is something different about the sound of these Precisions…I’ve tracked it down to the pickups and tone circuit — the sound is much raunchier and gutsy and has a hint of distortion when the volume is flat out.”
    • At least one featured an additional tone or pickup control and toggle switch.

    • From April 1995 Bassist interview

      “The slab Precisions were like white, squared-off Telecasters, with a split pickup, a maple neck, black scratch plate and what looked like blue veins coming through the white paintwork. I don’t know what they used on them but those basses had a sound of their own, really raunchy with more of a growl than a regular Precision.”

    • Parts would later be used to comprise Frankenstein.
  • Rickenbacker Rose, Morris, Co. LTD, 1999 (4001S) Bass
  • Gretsch 6070 Hollow Body Bass
  • Gibson (1966 EB-2D?) bass
  • Gibson EB-3 bass:
    • For Substitute recording.
      John Entwistle:

      Pete was always being influenced by other artists. “Substitute” was an attempt to play the introduction from “I Can’t Help Myself” by the Four Tops. He played me the demo of it and I thought it sounded great. We didn’t want it to sound too Motown so I played a Gibson SG medium scale bass with wire-wound strings. When it got to the solo, because we were recording and mixing it virtually live, I thought, yeah, this should be a bass solo, so I turned my volume up and they couldn’t mix me out, so it ended up as a bass solo.

      From April 1995 Bassist interview

      “On Substitute I played a two pickup medum scale Gibson bass and I managed to find a decent set of Gibson wirewound strings that vibrated properly. The session was going well and I felt that we were ready for the master take, so when it got to the solo in the middle, I turned the bass up and there was nothing the engineer could do about it. They’d previously balanced everything and it was all going through the mixer at the same time.”

  • 1963(?) Fender Bass VI
    • From April 1995 Bassist interview

      “Around 1964 or 65, I had a Fender Bass VI for about six months but I could never get enough bottom end out of the f***ing thing. Nowadays you could probably get a really good sound out of it because of the control you get from modern amplifiers, but playing through a Marshall or Hiwatt, as I was, there was only a certain amount of bottom end available.”

  • 1965 Mosrite Ventures bass

Early amplification

  • Marshall JTM45 50-watt amplifier and the first Marshall 4x12 cabinet.
  • Two Vox T.60 solid-state bass amps and cabinets, each with 1x15″ Tannoy speaker for lows, 1x12″ Celestion “Bulldog” for highs.
    • Vox AC-100 amplifier heads driving two T.60 cabinets.

From May 15, 2002, Guitar Center interview

John: I started out with an 18″ speaker, which lived in an open-back cabinet. The rest of the band (we had no roadie at the time) objected to the heaviness of the cabinet with the 18″ inside it. So we had the idea to hang the speaker on a six-inch nail and carry it in a separate cardboard box. Consequently every time I played a low E note the speaker would vibrate off the nail and fall on the floor behind the cabinet.

From August 1965, Melody Maker interview

Bass guitarist John is the maniac guitar buyer in the group — he has ten guitars. On HP, they cost an average £150 each. He also owns four bass speaker cabinets, for which he will pay £160 each, and three 100-watt amplifiers which cost £160 each. For various experiments in sound and pop-art, John also has a £150 piano bass, and a £50 piano. He has nearly £3,000 worth of equipment. To add to the expense, John is a stickler for having strings in good condition on all his guitars and gets through about eight sets a month at £4 a set.

From August 1989 Guitar Player

How long did it take for your sound concept to begin developing?

Well, I’d learned to play by ear, by playing along with records by Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, the Ventures, Buddy Holly, the Shadows, and especially Duane Eddy — his guitar had the sound I wanted my bass to have. When I began experimenting, I still had a sort of thuddy, boomy bass sound, but I remember a turning point a few years later. We had our first hit record with the Who, “I Can’t Explain”, and showed up at a big hall for a concert only to find the place empty because the promoter had forgotten to promote it. So we decided to make use of the situation by having a rehearsal. I had a Rickenbacker bass and Marshall amps at the time, and after we started playing, our manager came up to me and said, “it’s all very well, you playing that fast, but I can’t hear the notes you’re playing in the back. Why don’t you try putting a bit of treble on it?” I’d always been tempted to turn up the treble but didn’t dare, because bassists just didn’t do that. So I opened up the treble on my amp and bass and started playing like Duane Eddy.

That was the turning point, but what I didn’t realize was that I’d set quite a task for myself, because you can’t play sloppily using that much high end. I had to clean it up and find a fluid way of damping the notes so they didn’t blur into each other or vary in volume.

Late 1965 amplification

The advent of the 100-watt amplifier. John requests Marshall build a 100-watt amp to be heard above the drummer’s din.

  • Two Marshall JTM45 100-watt amps
  • Two Marshall 8x12 cabinets

From October 1994, Guitar World interview

GW: You introduced the first Marshall 4x12 cabinet into the Who.

Entwistle: Yeah, but I didn’t buy the very first one. It was a guy in a band called the Flintstones who got that. I bought the second one...and the fourth, and the seventh, and the eight. Pete bought the ones in between. It was great. I’d buy one, he’d buy one, I’d buy one, then he’d buy another. And I went, “is it loud enough? Fuck, I’ll buy two more.” And I started using the two-amp system — bi-amping. Then we had a period where we switched to Vox equipment because we figured it would be louder. But it wasn’t. It just blew up. So we’d always been trying to convince Marshall to make us a 100-watt amp. They told us it would be impossible: the amp would be too heavy to carry around. We said, “Put a handle on each end.”

From Guitar Player, November 1975, interview with John Entwistle

What type of amplifier and guitar were you using when the Who first formed?

When we first started calling ourselves the Who I used a Marshall 50 watt amp with a 4-12 cabinet. I had the first 4-12 cabinet that Marshall made. We more or less forced them to make 100 watt amps by changing to Vox, who already had one out. Marshall decided that if they were going to keep us, they’d have to make a 100 watt amp. They used to make their amps with speaker material on the front, and they looked completely different. I said, “I don’t like that; I want it all black,” so they changed them. I bought another 4-12 cabinet, and then Pete bought another 4-12 cabinet, and it went on and on and on. We had more equipment than any band in the country — it was ridiculous. I was using a Fender Precision on the first albums, and then I had an Epiphone and a Rickenbacker. Then I got rid of the Precision and got a Gretsch bass, which I could hardly play. I played it for ten minutes, and my hand got worn out. Then I had three Dan Electros in a row because you couldn’t buy the strings small enough to vibrate properly. I only used the guitar until one of the original strings busted, and then I bought another one.

Why were you going through all those different basses?

I was trying to find something I could play. I felt comfortable with the Rickenbacker, but the neck warped, and it started sounding very strange, so I changed to a [Fender] Jazz Bass. The first proper bass setup I ever used, I had a big cabinet with curtain material on the front, and we used to carry our own equipment then, hire a van to take us to the concert. Because we thought it was too heavy, we used hang the 18″ speaker on a nail every time we’d go to a concert, and when I played a bottom E, it would fall off the nail. So we’d have to stop halfway through the number and hang it back on the nail. The first time I could ever play my E string was after I’d been playing bass for about three years. I’d never actually touched the E string; I was just playing on the first three strings. And the first time I actually touched the E string was when I got my first 4-12 cabinet, and I was using an Epiphone semi-acoustic bass.

Ca. 1963(?), John with Fender Precision Bass.

Ca. 1963(?), John with Fender Precision Bass.

Ca. 1964, as the High Numbers at the Scene Club, John with early Marshall 4x12 and sunburst Epiphone Rivoli semi-acoustic bass. Epiphone Rivoli semi-acoustic bass.

Ca. 1964, as the High Numbers at the Scene Club, John with early Marshall 4x12 and sunburst Gibson EB-2Epiphone Rivoli semi-acoustic bass.

Ca. 1965, Rickenbacker Rose, Morris, Co. LTD., 1999 (4001S) bass in FireGlo.

Ca. 1965, Rickenbacker Rose, Morris, Co. LTD., 1999 (4001S) bass in FireGlo.

Ca. August 1965, Danelectro Longhorn bass.

Ca. August 1965, Danelectro Long Horn bass, with twin lipstick-style pickups and rosewood fretboard.

Ca. August 1965, front view of Danelectro Long Horn bass, and Vox T.60 cabinets and Vox AC-100 amplifier heads.

Ca. August 1965, front view of Danelectro Long Horn bass, and Vox T.60 cabinets topped with Vox AC-100 amplifier heads.

Mosrite Ventures bass

Mosrite Ventures bass.

1965 Fender Jazz Bass

1965(?) Fender Jazz Bass, as used on My Generation.

1965 Fender Jazz Bass

On stage, ca. June 1966, with 1965(?) Fender Jazz Bass, as used on My Generation.

1966 Fender Precision slab bass, with two Marshall JTM45 100 100-watt amps and two Marshall 8x12 cabs.

1966 Fender Precision slab bass, with two Marshall JTM45 100 100-watt amps and two Marshall 8x12 cabs.

1966 Fender Precision slab bass, from side.

1966 Fender Precision slab bass, from side. Note additional control knob vs. the two on a standard Precision Bass.

1966 Fender Precision slab bass, from side.

1966 Fender Precision slab bass, closeup of front showing additional control knob and toggle switch.

Ca. 1966, with 1963(?) Fender Bass VI and Danelectro Long Horn bass.

Ca. 1966, with 1963(?) Fender Bass VI and Danelectro Long Horn bass.

Ca. 1965, John playing a Gretsch 6070 Hollow Body bass.

Ca. 1965, John playing a Gretsch 6070 Hollow Body bass.

At the Marquee, 1965. John playing Rickenbacker Rose, Morris, Co. LTD., 1999 (4001S) bass, and two Marshall 4x12 cabinets side-by-side, powered by Marshall JTM45 50-watt amp.

At the Marquee, 1965. John playing Rickenbacker Rose, Morris, Co. LTD., 1999 (4001S) bass, and two Marshall 4x12 cabinets side-by-side, powered by Marshall JTM45 50-watt amp.

January 1966, with John and Pete both playing through two Marshall JTM45 100-watt Super Lead amplifiers, connected by Y-cable.

January 1966, with John and Pete both playing through two Marshall JTM45 100 (prototype 1959 JTM100 Super Lead; Pete using JTM45 100 Tremolo) 100-watt amplifiers, connected by Y-cable, and driving two Marshall 8x12 cabinets. John’s bass is 1962(?) Fender Precision Bass.

3 Oct. 1966, in CBS studios, John holding French horn. Leaning against the chair, the 1962 Fender Precision Bass, left, and on the floor, the 1966 “Slab” Fender Precision Bass.

3 Oct. 1966, in CBS studios, John holding French horn. Leaning against the chair, the 1962 Fender Precision Bass, left, and on the floor, the 1966 “Slab” Fender Precision Bass. In background, two Marshall 8x12 cabinets for the guitar and bass.

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