Latest about ZZ Top
ZZ Top’s Elwood Francis was saddled with his 17-string bass after a joke appearance went viral – now he’s experimenting with a 2-string build
The former guitar tech turned ’Top man is continuing to tinker with his live setup, with amusing results
ZZ Top’s Elwood Francis on the latest weird bass he takes on stage
The guitar tech-turned-band member already struggled with a 17-string monstrosity, before adding a 15-string to his arsenal – and says he can’t forget his days cleaning the band’s fuzzy guitars
Add some Texas blues sizzle to your lead playing with this lesson in Billy Gibbons' sweet soloing style
This lesson is the ZZ Top content you need to stay cool while bringing the heat. It will develop your sense of pacing and blues phrasing, and give you a chance to let some pinch harmonics fly off the fingerboard
Seymour Duncan supercharges two classic Billy Gibbons guitar tones with new signature Tele and Les Paul pickups
The Pearly Gates have been beefed-up as the Hades Gates, and the ZZ Top legend's Red Devil humbucker has been turned into a hot output Telecaster pickup
Billy Gibbons talks bringing out his iconic Pearly Gates Les Paul for Slash’s all-star blues album
Gibbons checks in to tell us how he and reimagined Willie Dixon's Hoochie Coochie Man for a new era, and to assure us why the blues is in safe hands with today's players
ZZ Top’s Elwood Francis on teching for Joe Perry, lying to Steve Vai – and the curse of his viral 17-string bass
The gear-trashing DIY enthusiast once had to choose between Vai and Joe Perry, before being fired and rehired by Guns N’ Roses – in a matter of days
Elwood Francis on the origins of his 17-string bass – and why he regrets it becoming a ZZ Top staple
Elwood Francis reveals the origins of his preposterous 17-string bass – and why he’s disappointed it went viral
Elwood Francis replaced Dusty Hill in ZZ Top – but he still feels uncomfortable about it
Francis originally served as ZZ Top's longtime guitar tech, but took on a completely new role at the behest of Hill's wishes after the bassist passed away
“Billy drops the line, ‘I'm sending you some sheepskins. I want you to put them on some guitars’”: Dusty Hill’s iconic fur-covered spinning bass from ZZ Top’s Legs video just sold at auction – and absolutely smashed its estimated sale price
The Dean Zelinsky-made model went under the hammer alongside Hill's custom Hot Rod car bass – but both were outsold by the late ZZ Top bassist's vintage 1953 Fender Precision model
“Billy Gibbons brought some off-brand amp simulator to the studio. We heard him playing through this thing and it was like, ‘Wow! It sounds like f**kin’ Billy Gibbons!’” Troy Van Leeuwen might have just proven beyond doubt that tone truly is in the hands
The Queens of the Stone Age guitarist recalls a studio visit from the ZZ Top icon, and in doing so provides yet more evidence in favor of the ‘tone is in the hands’ argument
