Billy Sheehan

Billy Sheehan is widely regarded as one of the best bass players in rock. Voted the "Best Rock Bass Player" five times by Guitar Player magazine (which places him alongside Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Geddy Lee and Eddie Van Halen), Sheehan has topped Japan’s Player Magazine’s reader’s poll an unprecedented 14 times.

Sheehan began his career in the ’80s with the prog metal band Talas and went on to unlikely commercial success with Mr. Big and the hit ballad, “To Be With You.” While Mr. Big was categorized as melodic hard rock, they were primarily technical shredders, featuring virtuoso Paul Gilbert on guitar.

By applying the two-handed tapping technique and chording to shape his trademark precision and mercurial speed, Sheehan reinvented the bass the way Eddie Van Halen reinvented the guitar. Further mind-boggling, his jazz-rock fusion band Niacin demonstrates what he can do at half the speed of light.

Billy’s current rig: SVT-4PRO, SVT-810E