Is Billy Gould of Faith No More a good bass player?

[Ivan May]

A founding member of the influential funk metal band Faith No More, Billy Gould has been supplying the low end for the group since its inception in 1982. As a bassist Billy’s funk style owes most to jazz bassists like Stanley Clarke and Ron Carter, but also to rock bassists like Paul McCartney, Bill Wyman, John Entwistle, Geezer Butler, Rush’s Geddy Lee, Yes Chris Squire and Genesis Mike Rutherford.

 

Billy Gould has played a considerable amount of basses, including a Gibson bass, which he used on their first two albums, We Care A lot, and Introduce Yourself, before switching to Aria Pro II basses.

 

 

However, since Faith No More reformed in the 2000s, Billy Gould has been using a Zon bass, as well as a Rickenbacker and a sunburst Fender Jazz Bass.

He also uses Aguilar and Peavey bass amps, along with a Fender Bassman and some Ampeg SVT cabinets. I hope you like Billy Gould’s bass playing as much as I do.