Framus Star and Bill Wyman

[JimmyM]

I love the look of that Bass Centre Wyman bass but I'd rather have an original Dallas.

 

[keith christian]

I think Wyman is under rated or maybe overshadowed but at any rate what a great bass tone. He endorsed Framus basses and owned at least three of them. The one in that video has a small body about the size of a Les Paul. I've heard that finish called a ''humbug finish.'' I don't know why, but up close you can see that instead of the top and back being solid wood or even laminated wood, they are made up of hundreds of very thin slivers of wood glued side by side. I've seen videos of him with another small body Framus with a sunburst finish and of course the big one about the size of a gibson EB2. In his book ''Stone Alone'' he talks about how the others got into drugs but he and Charlieboy pretty much steered clear.

 

[stacker]

didn't Charlie start out on the H at age 40? Sure he got a habit out of it!

 

[chris_b]

My first bass was a Framus Star, small body, sunburst with 1 pickup.

I loved that bass and played it for about 2 years. I learnt how to play bass on that instrument. I didn't mistreat it but it wasn't well made and the electrics and hardware broke or stopped working pretty soon after I started gigging. The plastic button on one of the tuners broke in the middle of a recording session and we had to tune the whole band to my D string! Then I ended up having to wire the pickup directly to the jack socket, after the pots stopped working.

Bill Wyman was a huge influence to anyone starting bass back then. Drugs? You're kidding! I read that his rider was a bottle of lightly chilled Blue Nun, so no TV's in the pool with our Bill.

 

[SJLee]

BTW, there is a Framus Star bass in the classifieds right now.

 

[jnewmark]

If you read enough about Bill Wyman,( his own stuff and interviews ), he was/is constantly looking for a bass that was comfortable to play with his small hands. At times he also played a Vox Teardrop ( one of the first I believe), and a Fender Mustang ( lots of pics of him playing this one in the studio and live ). I remember reading an intereview with him in Bass Player where he made a plea to bass guitar makers to please make models for bass players with small hands. Don't know what he plays these days, but it seems like he has forgone the pick, and is mainly playing with his thumb. Still got the Ampeg behind him, though !

 

[JimmyM]

 

[jnewmark]

From a BP interview: " I tried a couple Jazz Basses, but I ended up giving them away. When I heard about the short-scale Mustang, I thought I’d finally be able to manage a Fender—and please Keith at the same time! [Laughs.] It wasn’t too bad. I used it onstage a bit, but it never felt quite right. "

 

[Aussie Mark]

Pretty much Bill's bass timeline went roughly like this ....

"homemade" fretless (also used for most of Bill's recordings up to the Tattoo You album)
various Vox (Mark IV, Apollo, Wyman sig)
various Framus
Dan Armstong lucite
Fender Mustang
Gibson EB-3 (1973 Australia/New Zealand/Pacific tour)
several custom made short scale Travis Bean
short scale Steinberger L-series, and then those full bodied Steinbergers whose model name escapes me

 

[BulbousMoses]

IMO, Bill is one of the most underrated and under talked about bassists in history. Yes, he was over shadowed by Entwhistle but smoked McCartney when you think in terms of that historic three alone.

I'm not sure I'd agree that he smoked McCartney but even if that were true, Macca obliterates Wyman as a songwriter...for that matter, he obliterates Entwistle as a songwriter as well. That said, they each had their strengths and weaknesses as bass players. I love all 3 of them.

 

[Aussie Mark]

I'm not sure I'd agree that he smoked McCartney but even if that were true, Macca obliterates Wyman as a songwriter...for that matter, he obliterates Entwistle as a songwriter as well. That said, they each had their strengths and weaknesses as bass players. I love all 3 of them.

Totally

 

[BackonBass13]

I had the "Brussels Affair" years before the release. BEST LIVE STONES EVER!

 

[Aussie Mark]

I gigged my recently acquired Framus 5/150 reissue on Saturday night for the first time. Even for a big guy like me the body is huge - I can't imagine how a little guy like Bill coped with one of these for so long at the angle he held it.

 

[Aussie Mark]

 

[msb]

You need to hoist that bass up about another six inches , Mark !

 

[Aussie Mark]

You need to hoist that bass up about another six inches , Mark !

Yeah, I know. And use a pick