Then Tommy Shannon walks on stage....

[stretch80]

Last week I got to go to the Hendrix Experience show -- great show: Mick Taylor, Buddy Guy, Kenny Wayne Shepard, Robert Randolf, Billy Cox, Hubert Sumlin, Mitch Mitchell (in spirit anyway), others, and the Double Trouble rhythm section...

at the Hampton Beach Club Casino, a great old rock room near here.

First song -- Billy Cox on bass, Chris Layton playing bass. The sound is that mix we all know and hate -- lots o bass drum, can't hear the bass guitar. Billy is playing some kind of fancy J. I'm a bit bummed, but resigned to not hearing the bass all night. Oh well.

SO....after a few songs, out comes Tommy Shannon -- with a pretty RAY. He plugs in and ... INSTANT GREAT BASS SOUND. Solid, punchy, you can hear it great in the mix. He plays the Ray all night, sounds great all night.

Tommy is incredibly solid and has amazing restraint. He stays home and does the job, but if one of the 6-stringers wanted him to follow on a riff, he's right there, you know he can play a hundred miles an hour anytime he wants to, but he's keeping the bottom solid. I WISH I had that self control. or chops.

So, great night. And the six-stringers were pretty good too. Mick Taylor was the revelation to me. His tone and phrasing just take you right to lat-e-60s Stones. And man, can he play. That band misses him, but I guess he doesn't miss them,

 

[jasper383]

Cox was probably playing that horrific Cort P/J signature model.

I thought Shannon was a F***** player exclusively.

Nice review!

 

[TNT]

Leave it to Musicman, the Ray and Tommy to dial in the bass the way it's "supposed" to be done!!!

 

[stretch80]

Thanks, and it looks like Tommy has seen the light. It was amazing how much better everything sounded instantly.

 

[EBMM7181]

I'm a huge fan of Tommy Shannon, Double Trouble, and of course SRV. Tommy always had smooth bass lines, nothing too fancy, but he laid it down real good.

I also have seen some recent photo's of Tommy, with a Sunburst StingRay, from his website.

He played Jazz basses the whole time he was with SRV and Double Trouble, I guess he's found something better.

 

[prickly_pete]

Cox was probably playing that horrific Cort P/J signature model.

I thought Shannon was a F***** player exclusively.

Nice review!

Most of us here are old enough to see the word Fender

 

[KennethB]

What about the word G*****?

 

[prickly_pete]

What about the word G*****?

That too

 

[TylerDowBryant]

Tommy is great!

 

[TylerDowBryant]

did Eric Gales happen to be on that show? I really wanted to try and make on of those Experience Hendrix dates...It had to be incredible!

 

[Scraggy]

I'm a huge fan of Tommy Shannon, Double Trouble, and of course SRV. Tommy always had smooth bass lines, nothing too fancy, but he laid it down real good.

I also have seen some recent photo's of Tommy, with a Sunburst StingRay, from his website.

He played Jazz basses the whole time he was with SRV and Double Trouble, I guess he's found something better.

I also saw recently on his website that is using this Sunburst Stingray on stage. That makes me very happy. In the FAQ section, he comments on what gear he's using and says that the Stingray sounds great. He didn't travel with his early basses because of the same thing as other famous players, the instrument are too precious and probably the insurance cost is insane.

It's a heck of a bass player. I always been a huge fan.

 

[James Hill]

The latest KWS cd had a DVD included with it and Tommy was playing a couple of EBMMs on it also. There are probably very few professional bassists that don't play EBMMs at some point while recording or when playing live.

 

[scowboy]

Many of you have but if you have not check out his website. I thought it was one of the most heartfelt websites from a musician I have ever seen.

Tommy Shannon - Official Website

 

[mobass]

What was the pickup configuration on the Ray he was playing?