Entwistle Innovation

[5StringBlues]

I know John played some flat-out bizarre looking basses in Ken Russell's film Tommy, but,
-- as someone who as a wee teen glommed over the liner notes of that double LP and of the promotional booklet that was issued in a limited edition by the Robert Stigwood Organization when the film first was released (my dad's cousin worked for RSO, so I got some Tommy goodies) incessantly
-- I am supremely confident that John did not play that particular bass in the film Tommy.

Watch, now someone will show that I am wrong!

There's a similar one in the Eyesight To The Blind scene, but it's got a T-Bird neck.

 

[Major Seven]

John had an incredibly wide vocal range: from the low notes of Boris The Spider and Summertime Blues, to the high harmonics in many songs. His regular singing voice sounded very similar to Roger Taylor, Queen's high harmonics singer, and I wonder if their slightly raspy overtones help with high register singing?

Those odd harmonics do sound better on vinyl.

 

[Mosthigh]

With the fabled Rickenbacker 4005LS 'Light Show' bass. Only a handful in existence. Very cool, even if it's mimed.

 

[Mosthigh]

John with Ringo's All-Stars in 1995, backing Mark Farner (and his mullet) with Zak on drums, for GFR's 'I'm Your Captain'.

 

[Michedelic]

I know John played some flat-out bizarre looking basses in Ken Russell's film Tommy, but,
-- as someone who as a wee teen glommed over the liner notes of that double LP and of the promotional booklet that was issued in a limited edition by the Robert Stigwood Organization when the film first was released (my dad's cousin worked for RSO, so I got some Tommy goodies) incessantly
-- I am supremely confident that John did not play that particular bass in the film Tommy.

Watch, now someone will show that I am wrong!

Looks like the one with the T-Bird neck…

 

[Michedelic]

I saw them at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit about 69 I think and I was surprised at the backup vocals of John and Pete live, they were quite good and don't know remember if they even had monitors back then the PA may have just been some Voice of the theaters.

I saw them in July, '70, 'Live At Leeds' was riding high, and they had been saved financially by 'Tommy', so they had a wall of WEM PA gear, with columns as monitors. The Ox's amp rig was two Hiwatt 4x15 cabs, one Hiwatt head each for those, then two 4x12's powered by one head, a sort of early bi-amp set up that he developed further with Sunn gear. One of the roadies had to nail down Moon's bass drums.

For a complete run-down, go here:

John Entwistle Gear | John Entwistle Bass Gear | Whotabs

www.thewho.net

 

[Mosthigh]

I always thought it was odd John went from Sunn to Marshall to Hiwatt, then back to Sunn again with the 'Coliseum Bass' solid state amp, and various cabs in the mid-70s. I love Sunn, but Hiwatt is next level, imo.

 

[Michedelic]

I always thought it was odd John went from Sunn to Marshall to Hiwatt, then back to Sunn again with the 'Coliseum Bass' solid state amp, and various cabs in the mid-70s. I love Sunn, but Hiwatt is next level, imo.

In the UK, they started with the customary Vox, then got in on the ground floor with Marshall as Pete's dad had played with Jim Marshall(on drums)in a big-band situation. In a volume war with John, Pete actually proposed the first Marshall "stack", although it was originally a single 8x12" which was soon cut in half.

When they finally started to get US airplay in 1967, and first toured here, they were not a big deal band with a budget, so they were provided American made Vox gear, solid state, very little to do with the tube/valve British stuff. They hated it, but when they came back for a second round, they got hooked up with original era tube Sunn equipment, far more beefy than the Vox, and akin to the Marshalls back home. But even that situation was changing.

Pete had a falling out with Jim Marshall, then he and John took up with Dave Reeves, who had created Sound City amps as a house brand for a London music store, but was developing his own new line based on SC with higher quality components. That of course was Hiwatt. John was still interested in Sunn, and now had money to spend on a new rig. Sunn's original owners had sold out to a corporation who proceeded to phase out tube amps, but did a great job developing a new transistor line with modern tone features and all sorts of speaker options. That then was the Coliseum line, where he went further with the multiple sized driver concept, a bass PA/wall of sound to which he later added pieces from a German brand, Stramp.

 

[Bob_Ross]

I am supremely confident that John did not play that particular bass in the film Tommy.

There's a similar one in the Eyesight To The Blind scene, but it's got a T-Bird neck.

Looks like the one with the T-Bird neck…

So my ~50 year old recollection is correct!