Article and photos: bit.ly/WineryDogsRR
Richie Kotzen and Billy Sheehan took a breather after soundcheck at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville to speak with Premier Guitar’s John Bohlinger about their signature rigs.
Even during the era of pointed headstocks, Richie played a Tele and just recently his signature model became available in the U.S. It features a contoured ash body, maple top and neck, and sports a pair of DiMarzio pickups-the Twang King in the neck and Chopper T in the bridge. Kotzen also expanded the traditional 3-way Tele wiring to include a rotary series/parallel knob. Plus, the small switch between the two knobs activates a tuner that lives around his volume knob. Finally, there’s a Hipshot GT2 Electric Xtender that allows Kotzen to quickly move to drop D. He strings up his Tele with D’Addario .011-.049 strings.
Sheehan tours with the prototype of the third version of his signature Yamaha Attitude bass. He also has an identical production model as a backup. (Sheehan claims that the production model is “tighter” than the prototype.)
To continue learning about the gear behind The Winery Dogs' live sound, visit: bit.ly/WineryDogsRR