Alembic Guitars Club

Alembic products => Showcase => Artists and Their Alembics => Topic started by: senmen on July 30, 2007, 12:28:06 PM

Title: John Entwistle and his V-head Spyder
Post by: senmen on July 30, 2007, 12:28:06 PM

Guys, below see some pics you might have not seen before. All courtesy by G.D.  Many greetings Oliver (Spyderman)
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/42539.jpg)
 
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/42540.jpg)
 
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/42541.jpg)
 
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/42542.jpg)
 
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/42543.jpg)
 
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/42544.jpg)
  (Message edited by davehouck on July 30, 2007)

Title: John Entwistle and his V-head Spyder
Post by: speicky on July 30, 2007, 01:28:54 PM

Hi, Oliver,
 
great pics, man ! Is this the very bass that JAE used on Too Late The Hero ? I can't tell any differences....
 
If it is, then THAT is the bass that led me towards being an Alembician. 1981 was the year...
 
Thanks for sharing,
 
Christian

Title: John Entwistle and his V-head Spyder
Post by: senmen on July 30, 2007, 01:34:46 PM

Christian,
how are you doing? I hope all is well.
Yep this is THE bass of the TLTH album and this was THE bass that also led me to Alembic.
This has ever been my dream bass; with my once owned Spyder 4 I was close to it, but not close enough....
Who knows... :-)
 
Oliver (Spyderman)

Title: John Entwistle and his V-head Spyder
Post by: speicky on July 30, 2007, 02:38:16 PM

Oliver, I'm fine, thank you ...even more when I start my summer vacation on Wednesday ;-)
 
Do you know by chance if John played that bass at the Rockpalast in 1981 when The Who were performing the rock night with the Deads in Essen/Germany late in March ? I have digged the internet for eons, and you can get many recordings of gigs from Rockpalast, but AFAIK, you (well, okay, I at least) cannot get the Who/Dead performance on tape/DVD.
 
Any legal matters, perhaps ?

Title: John Entwistle and his V-head Spyder
Post by: senmen on July 30, 2007, 02:42:52 PM

Speicky,
no, at the Rockpalast gig John played his conehead Spyder No1, the one which failed at the Live Aid gig and was later sold to the Hard Rock Cafe and hang for many years at the wall at the Berlin HRC.
He played the v-head very rarely on stage as he said that this one was much heavier than the conehead Spyders.
Hey, the Rockpalast gig was sent on TV again last Saturday.
But it is also available on DVD in the US. Take a look on Ebay.
Oliver (Spyderman)

Title: John Entwistle and his V-head Spyder
Post by: adriaan on July 31, 2007, 04:29:54 AM

Ah, the Rockpalast gig! That laser show! I enjoyed watching that live on television back in 1981, immensely ... is it that long ago already?! This was before the days of stereo sound on TV, but they probably recorded it properly.
 
We don't get WDR on cable where I live, just ARD and ZDF. Do they have a website where you can watch recent programs, like we have here in the Netherlands?

Title: John Entwistle and his V-head Spyder
Post by: hieronymous on July 31, 2007, 01:36:34 PM

Very cool pictures. But, ummm, what's that Firebird thing attached to the bottom?!!! Maybe this is totally obvious? Is it a mandolin or a mandocello? How is attached there? And WHY? (I'm probably just not up on my John Entwistle lore...)

Title: John Entwistle and his V-head Spyder
Post by: lindoom on July 31, 2007, 03:27:51 PM

there's a cool video on youtube with John playing this bass with Tony ashton on a show called Gastank. John plays a hot solo in it. it is the only film I have seen of this bass being played live.

Title: John Entwistle and his V-head Spyder
Post by: David Houck on July 31, 2007, 10:10:29 PM

This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHEZFMefplk) must be it.

Title: John Entwistle and his V-head Spyder
Post by: senmen on August 01, 2007, 02:00:42 PM

Guys,
there are totally 4 vids witgh John using the V-head:
1. the above vid, Gastank, Get America
2. also from Gastank, Twist and Shout, same venue as above
3. The Who, You better you bet
4. The Who, Another Tricky Day
All 4 on YouTube.
 
Oliver
(Spyderman)

Title: John Entwistle and his V-head Spyder
Post by: senmen on August 01, 2007, 02:03:03 PM

Hieronymous,
sorry, forgot to answer your question.
The small T-Bird was buildt by Peter Cook, the guy that buildt
most of the older customs for John.
This one, called Christopher, was a gift for Johns son Christopher.
 
Oliver (Spyderman)

Title: John Entwistle and his V-head Spyder
Post by: lindoom on August 01, 2007, 04:40:34 PM

What I ment was he was playing LIVE in the Gastank video. the other videos I have seen but they are not a live performance.
Hey Oliver did that other Explorer bass you were having made get finished  I would love to see a picture of it if it is!

Title: John Entwistle and his V-head Spyder
Post by: georgie_boy on August 22, 2007, 10:40:20 AM

i used to know Peter Cook very well!!
I always got him to do my bass work before tours, and any custom work I wanted
His shop was only 2 miles from where I used to live in London.
A GREAT luthier
G

Title: John Entwistle and his V-head Spyder
Post by: bigbadbill on September 13, 2007, 04:55:09 AM

I only had 1 dealing with Peter Cook; I took a P-Bass to him many years ago to have a new bridge fitted and a set up done. He would only put Dean Markley strings on it (I wanted Rotos),and when I got it back it was harder to play than when I took it!

Title: John Entwistle and his V-head Spyder
Post by: elwoodblue on March 17, 2008, 11:47:14 PM

John looks very happy and healthy in these pics...thanks Oliver

Title: John Entwistle and his V-head Spyder
Post by: white_cloud on March 18, 2008, 05:18:25 AM

Amazing pics of one of the very greatest artists to play bass!
 
Incredible picture of a stunning Alembic bass!
 
John.

Title: John Entwistle and his V-head Spyder
Post by: georgie_boy on March 18, 2008, 12:50:34 PM

Hey Shaun.
Howzya doin' ol' buddy??
I'm amazed that Peter did a bad job for you.
I went to him cause he was real close to where I lived, and the fact that J E used him all the time.
He was GREAT with me, and his work was superb.
I stopped using him when I moved abroad, and it seems he turned to the dreaded WEED (sorry Bill)
He did so many repairs and set ups for me----I would only trust HIM at the time.
He even modified a Precision into a fretless bass with an ebony neck for me. I had just bought a set of P-Bass Activators for her at the time---?120 in 1987---Expensive!!
As per usual, I sold the bass due to cash problems, and it seems that a guy who did sessions with the BBC snapped the bass up immediately!!
Wish I had her back-------She wasw a 1974 model, I really liked her
I was so broke recently that I sold the original pups for ?20
Forgive me gentlemen, but when things get rough.
 
G

Title: John Entwistle and his V-head Spyder
Post by: white_cloud on March 24, 2008, 02:21:43 AM

Hey George,
 
I have that T-shirt! The biggest mistake I ever made was the sale of my Wal custom back in 1988.  
 
What an idiot!
 
John.

Title: John Entwistle and his V-head Spyder
Post by: bigbadbill on June 19, 2008, 05:24:11 AM

Hi George! Sorry about the late reply; I've not been around these parts much recently due do a hectic life. I'm doing ok thanks. Back is playing up again though; made the mistake of trying out a bass that proved to be far heavier than it looked (incredible bass though, almost worth the pain - a Sei Millenium 6). So much so in fact that I'm having to seriously reconsider my position re my Triple O again.  
 
I'm not sure Peter did a bad job, it just wasn't for me. I don't know if I caught him on a bad day, but he was very much I do it this way or not at all and I was too young/intimidated to really state my case.
 
(Message edited by bigbadbill on June 19, 2008)

Title: Re: John Entwistle and his V-head Spyder
Post by: senmen on April 26, 2020, 05:26:18 AM

Guys,
some more superrare live shots of John playing the V head on stage.


Greetz
Oliver (Spyderman)