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John Entwistle, Photo: Bill Abbott

Photo: Bill Abbott · CC BY-SA 2.0

Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by John Entwistle. Every item links to its public source.
9 items · Last checked

What bass does John Entwistle play?

John Entwistle was seen with his Warwick Buzzard signature bass, a carbon fiber Status Graphite Buzzard and a Fenderbird, along with a Rickenbacker 4001 and a vintage Fender Jazz Bass. He developed roundwound strings with Rotosound and was seen with Ashdown, Trace Elliot and Marshall amplification.

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What bass gear John Entwistle uses: a sourced gear guide

Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.

Basses

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Basses over the years

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Strings

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Rig

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Rig over the years

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Questions

About John Entwistle's gear.

What bass did John Entwistle play?

In later years he was seen with the Warwick Buzzard he designed with Warwick in the mid 1980s and a carbon fiber Buzzard by Status Graphite. He had earlier moved on from a Rickenbacker 4001, and was seen with a vintage red Fender Jazz Bass during an impromptu jam at New York's China Club.

What strings did John Entwistle use?

Rotosound says it collaborated with him to develop its strings, and Guitar World notes he worked with Rotosound on roundwound strings in the 1960s in his search for a brighter tone.

What amp did John Entwistle use?

Ashdown's founder said Entwistle got behind the company early and used its gear. His John Entwistle Band guitarist described a bi-amped Trace Elliot rig of about 1800 watts, and he used Marshall amps earlier.

What is the Fenderbird bass?

Guitar World describes it as a Gibson Thunderbird fitted with a Fender Precision neck, a bass Entwistle used for years.

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John Entwistle
About this guide · Last checked

John Entwistle (1944 to 2002) was the bassist of The Who, known as the Ox and Thunderfingers for his lead bass playing on My Generation, Boris the Spider and 5:15. This legacy guide covers the basses, strings and amps he was seen with.

truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. John Entwistle didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.

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