Top 10 Guitarists and Bassists Who Played a Headless Guitar or Bass
Headless design is futuristic, minimalist, odd and a bit scary - it's like there's no head on the guitar and bass necks.Headless electric guitars and bass guitars were designed and originally manufactured by Ned Steinberger. Steinberger became a brand of distinctive headless instruments. The name Steinberger has been applied to different instruments but it's usually associated with a "headless" design of electric guitars and bass guitars.
I mention where and when these musicians played headless instruments but this isn't a full list of all their songs with the use of Steinberger.
David Jon Gilmour is an English singer, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He joined the progressive rock band Pink Floyd as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1968. You can see he plays a headless guitar in a YouTube video titled 'Smoke on the Water with Queen, Pink Floyd, Rush, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, etc.' (by the way this is one of the most incredible cover songs ever).
He also used a Steinberger headless guitar for the recording of Pink Floyd's song 'Sorrow'. Gilmour gave details:
"That very nasty distortion you hear at the beginning of the song is basically the result of the Steinberger going through two little amps in the studio - a Fender Super Champ and a Gallien-Krueger. I use a Boss Heavy Metal distortion pedal and a Boss digital delay pedal, which then goes into the Fender Super Champ. And that in combination with the internal distortion on the Gallien-Krueger was how I got that particular sound."
Gary Lee Weinrib, known professionally as Geddy Lee, is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush. For example, he played a headless bass during the Grace Under Pressure Tour 1984. The full concert is available on YT and you can see it.
Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen (January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was a Dutch-American musician, songwriter, producer, and inventor. He was best known as the lead guitarist, occasional keyboardist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen. He used a Steinberger headless guitar at least in these songs (but maybe there are more):
- "Get Up" and "Summer Nights" (from 5150)
- "Fire in the Hole" (from Van Halen III)
- "Me Wise Magic" (from Best of Volume I).
Amazing guitarist! Its like David Gilmour playing Death Metal, just check out the album 'Focus' by Cynic or even their later records. His playing is phenomenal even in Death's notable record 'Human'. Many Djent bands are also influenced by Cynic/Paul Masvidal. Underreated but totally talented!
~ by, Siddharth.
William Frederick "Billy" Gibbons is an American musician, singer, songwriter, producer, and actor, best known as the guitarist and lead vocalist of the American rock band ZZ Top. He played a Teuffel Birdfish guitar (the same or almost the same badass model Kirk Hammett played).
Kirk Lee Hammett is the lead guitarist and songwriter for the heavy metal band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus. During the World Magnetic tour he used a headless Teuffel Birdfish guitar. It looks so badass.
That's so awesome! Kirk is the BEST!
Mark Freuder Knopfler is a British singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer and film score composer. He is best known for being the frontman of the British band Dire Straits.
In this image you can see how this design looks like.
Brendan is the former Ne Obliviscaris' bassist (2005-2017). This design suits him as well as Ne Obliviscaris' music in general.
As seen in: Ne Obliviscaris - Curator (Official Music Video)
As seen in: Beyond Creation - Earthborn Evolution, Coexistence (official videos).
Actually 3 band members play headless instruments in these videos - both guitarists and the bassist. Only the drummer doesn't, for obvious reasons.
They play technical death metal.
Christopher Tony "Chris" Wolstenholme is an English musician. He is the bassist and backing vocalist for the alternative rock band Muse. He used a headless bass during a live show while playing Uprising. I can't remember the show's name and date. So far as I know.
Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner CBE, known professionally by his stage name Sting, is an English musician, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, activist, actor, and philanthropist. He is best known as the lead singer for the English band The Police Sting was a guitarist? Did not know that.
Brian Patrick Carroll, known professionally as Buckethead, is an American guitarist and multi-instrumentalist who has worked within many genres of music.
Maurice Gibb of Bee Gees played headless bass and guitar
Page Hamilton of Helmet
He's the lead singer and bassist for the power trio, The Outfield. He can be seen playing a headless bass in the music video for their 1985 hit "Your Love".
Guitarist for Beyond Creation.
Beyond Creation - Earthborn Evolution, Coexistence (official videos).
Bassist for Beyond Creation since 2015.
Beyond Creation - Earthborn Evolution, Coexistence (official videos).
David Robert Jones, known professionally as David Bowie (January 8, 1947 - January 10, 2016) was an English singer born in London, the son of a fundraiser and a waitress. He is credited for his experimental and creative musical discography which has won praise and accolades for many critics and fans.
The man who the world knew as David Bowie was an actor, a painter, a philosopher, and many other things. But first and foremost, and what he was known for most, he was a rock star, covering every genre from psychedelic folk to industrial. His influence on fashion, music, and pop culture in general remains as his legacy--along, of course, with his unforgettable music.
Victor Lemonte Wooten is an American bass player, composer, author, producer, and recipient of five Grammy Awards. You can see it in the picture.