Talk:Buckethead

Pickups

"The neck pick-up is a DiMarzio Tone Zone with a DiMarzio Air Norton in the bridge." This just doesn't seem right to me, the DiMarzio Tone Zone is a hotter pickup than the Air Norton, as well as it's calibrated for the bridge position, unlike the Air Norton which can go in either position. How pickups are set up for strength goes with how much the string vibrates, the strings vibrates more noticeably at the neck then they do near the bridge, so a hotter pickup should be at the bridge to balance out the neck pickup. Is there any other evidence of this pickup combination? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.242.11.74 (talk) 00:29, 30 September 2008 (UTC)

Succession Box

The "Lead Guitarist of Guns N' Roses" succession box seems a bit over the top, doesn't it? I'd think such boxes were reserved for official titles, offices held etc. I for one vote we delete it. It seems almost comical to attribute such importance to what is essentially a small gig as a touring musician. Skjald (talk) 16:47, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Comical, yes indeed. BTW: BH wasn't the successor to Slash... --hexaChord² 22:07, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

Redirect?

I typed in Slunk, adn it redirected me to Buckethead. It is only because I am a stout fan that I wanted to do this without having an account. Thus, I won't respond to anything that is said here. I simply want to make it clear that Slunk should NOT redirect to the Buckethead article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.172.112.120 (talk) 05:29, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Rework the article

Right now, the article is an introduction, followed by history. There should be a section on musical style and general on-stage antics. People are going to want to know why this man is wearing a bucket on his head. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.107.0.73 (talk) 00:48, 21 February 2008 (UTC)

Ridiculous second sentence

"He is known for wearing a white plastic mask and a KFC bucket on his head." He is known for that? Funny. I thought his godly guitar skills might have had something to do with his fame. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.172.187.10 (talk) 11:46, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

Yes, he's known for that. It's the first thing I think of every time I hear his name. Wingnutrules (talk) 00:12, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

I think the problem here is that its been stated that his outfit is designed to help people avoid focusing on the personality, instead on the music, yet the 2nd sentence in the article is that he is "known for wearing a mask and bucket". I think the point hes trying to get across is thats not what you should know him for. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.240.187.148 (talk) 05:50, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

Yes, it was the point *he* was trying to get across. It didn't work. Bad luck. 80.128.102.154 (talk) 16:57, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

I would also agree it is problematic second sentence, there should be a qualifier added to the sentence to avoid any controversy as to what he is know for... ie. he is know (among other things). Sickness5080 (talk) 05:42, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

I would suggest taking a look at the various different interviews and articles about him, and see what they focus on first when describing his fame. We should reflect that here. Marasmusine (talk) 07:50, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

Thats a good idea, but seems a bit involved just to fix a problem with a sentence i would still vote for a qualifier.

Sickness5080 (talk) 17:09, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

Just change it from: "He is known for wearing a white plastic mask and a KFC bucket on his head." to "He is known to wear a white plastic mask and a KFC bucket on his head." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.240.187.148 (talk) 23:48, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Other work

Buckethead appears on the soundtrack for the John Carpenter flick Ghosts of Mars along with Anthrax. Buckethead is also known for playing the theme for Power Rangers in one of the early versions of the show.Source. --- Trench 23:02, 22 January 2006 (UTC)

I thought he performed the guitar for portions of the Power Rangers: The Movie, not the tv series. Am I wrong?-D (talk) 19:43, 25 August 2008 (UTC)

Buckethead is obviously Steve Vai.

Brian Carrol. Yeah right. Why would PFunk end up with a no name kid. No way. It is for sure Steve Vai.

You have no way of knowing that....he may not be Brian Carroll, but he's probably not Steve Vai either. Everyone should just respect Buckethead and stop discussing his identity. That's not what's important about him. It's his musical ability that we should be focusing on. *Lizz*

Seriously, do you have any proof it's Steve Vai? For one thing, Steve Vai isn't that tall. His hands are not that big. His playing style is completely different. Unless Steve Vai grows 10 inches when he puts on a mask, it's not him.

67.160.30.127 06:22, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

Big B's not Steve Vai. I'm a longtime fan of Vai, and while many guitarists are capable of easily switching sound, tone and style with their playing, there's certain little things they do that are a signature of their playing style that make it uniquely theirs. Buckethead sounds nothing at all like Vai. With a bit of effort, I'm pretty sure one could prove that they were playing at different places at the same time anyway.

Compare here [1] and here [2]... in short, on Oct. 29 of this year, Buckethead was playing in Anaheim, CA at the House of Blues, while Steve Vai was in Wallingford, Connecticut at the Chevrolet Theatre.

The only name I've ever seen attached to him is Brian Carroll.

X3J11 00:20, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

His name is Brian Carroll. With 2 r's and 2 l's. YOu can tell Buckethead is not Steve Vai because of the way Vai uses vibrato. Fobsternd 06:28, 3 March 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, BucketHead is NOT Steve Vai, for the movie "Ghosts of Mars" Steve Vai and Buckethead both contributed their considerable playing abilities and they are seen in video of the studio recording sessions at the same time. Also, a very high probability that BH is Brian Patrick Carroll; the knowledge is pervasive enough in the culture and literature surrounding him, has been for years. Even if it is not his real name, it is a significant aspect of the Buckethead figure that must be addressed. To people with good intentions trying to argue for BH's privacy: you can't omit information on the basis that it's "personal," or "against the wishes" of the person in question - even for the biographies of living persons. That's not what Wikipedia is about. - User 22:00, 26 August 2007

Guitars

There is not much comprehensive information about Buckethead's guitars through out the internet. Besides his customized white Les Paul, Buckethead owns many, many guitars. I'll try to summarize his guitars from his early days.

Black, Jackson? : this was seen used in the footage from his DVD Young Buckethead.[3]

Pickup Configuration: HSH
Pickups: Dimarzios
Bridge: Floyd Rose tremolo
Momentary switch/Kill switch: no

Blue, ESP MII: Used throughout his concert in the Wetlands. This guitar seems to be smashed and broken and never used again as seen in a binge clip.[4]

Pickup Configuration: HS
Pickups: Dimarzios or Duncans.
Bridge: Floyd Rose tremolo
Momentary switch/Kill switch: no
Inlays: squares? ESP model on 12th fret.

Jackson Flying V, (mahogany): One of his less used guitars. Not much is known except that the pickups are Dimarzio's. [5]

Pickup Configuration: HH
Pickups: Dimarzios
Bridge: Floyd Rose tremolo
Momentary switch/Kill switch: yes

Jackson Flying V, (KFC): Again, almost identical to the brown flying v except it lacks the Floyd Rose bridge. [6]

Pickup Configuration: HH
Pickups: Dimarzios
Bridge: N/A
Momentary switch/Kill switch: yes

(psychedelic) Jackson?: This guitar has never been played live as far as I know. But it seems to be used during the Praxis days with Brain, and Bootsy. [7]

Pickup Configuration: HSH
Pickups: Dimarzios or Duncans
Bridge: Floyd Rose tremolo.
Momentary switch/Kill switch: no]

Ibanez Flying V X-series: This guitar was used mainly during the Praxis years. [8]

Pickup Configuration: HH
Pickups: Dimarzios
Bridge: Floyd Rose tremolo.
Momentary switch/Kill switch: no

Steinberger SG: a cheaper version of the Gibson SG. This guitar was rarely seen with Buckethead. [9]

Pickup Configuration: HH
Pickups: Dimarzio/neck, original bridge
Bridge: original bridge
Momentary switch/Kill switch: no

Takamine electric/acoustic: Used mostly during his Colma tours back in the late 90s. Big B occasionally uses it during recent tours for a few songs. [10]

Fobsternd 06:18, 3 March 2007 (UTC)

Couple things. The "psychadelic Jackson" is Kaiser's gift, a Steinberger GS. Also on the topic of Steinbergers, there was no SG model. The SG was a Gibson guitar.

Could you also provide something showing Buckethead using a killswitch on one or both of his custom Vs?Sk8tuhpunk 23:04, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

The les paul is neither a 59 or any vintage custom, its 24 frets, just look at any picture of it and count them, Gibson NEVER made a guitar like that in the 50s, they actually made a few 24 fret guitars but they didnt have extended fret scales, they pushed back the neck pickup, but buckethead's is in the correct place as far as les paul customs are concerned. Also, why is the dimarzio bit on there, Ive never seen any hard proof that he uses them. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.64.223.6 (talk) 06:02, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

A picture containing a one of B's Coopwood guitars. The red killswitch can be seen near one of theknobs.

http://thebucketdatabase.com/photos/main.php/v/2000+-+2003/2000-06-30+Praxis+Knitting+Factory-New+York+City/8.jpg.html D01703 (talk) 04:39, 28 December 2008 (UTC)D01703 12/27/08 11:38 PM EST

Y2KV - Guitar

Buckethead uses two V-shaped guitars. FACT: They cannot be Flying Vs due to the fact that Gibson would have a field day taking down Jackson, in the Fender family of brands. They CAN NOT be King Vs due to the fact that that guitar has never looked like Big B's KFC or Coopwood guitars. The center of the body is too long and the ends to pointed. Following a hunch, I compared Buckethead's KFC V to a Y2KV, and who'd have guessed that they are the same. Off to fix the list.Sk8tuhpunk 22:04, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

That constitutes original research and needs a reference to be valid. Mcr29 22:17, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

It's true. They are both custom Jackson King V's with Y2K electronics. --24.119.21.78 (talk) 04:02, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

Connection (if any) to the Meat Puppets song

The Meat Puppets had a song on their 1985 album Up on the Sun called "Buckethead". When did Carroll start going by Buckethead and is it related? 02:00, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

It would seem pretty likely, according to this article Buckethead appeared in 1988. However the article also says he was a teenager then and born in 1966 so it's unclear. However Meat Puppets were very appropriate listening for anyone over the age of ten in 1985 so yeah. Potatoswatter (talk) 13:18, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

I don't see any evidence for a conection. --Say Headcheese!--hexaChord² 02:29, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

Fender Heartfield?? Re: Heartfield Talon II, in fact

What is this Fender Heartfield guitar in the list, it says its a pink fender with pink X2N's any source of this info? Also I would like to ask what is with the Gibson Chet Atkins and the Gibson SST I haven't found any pics of Bucket playing these guitars, and one more thing he only has one Les Paul which has been with covered pickups, and then they have been uncovered.

I would like to fix these mistakes, so unless someone finds sources I will delete them in about a week. —Preceding unsigned comment added by TimmyTermite (talk • contribs) 12:05, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

He does indeed have a midnight blue Heartfield Talon II (by Fender) with pinkish pickups that look like they might be DiMarzio X2N's -- as can be seen on several occasions in Secret Recipe (Buckethead DVD) Young Buckethead DVDs. I took two screenshots from Volume 1 and merged them into one picture: http://noeff.clanservers.com/noldis/Young_Buckethead_Vol_1_-_Soundcheck_-_Cactus_Club_(November_24_1990).jpg

And what makes it specifically a Talon II is, it has a H-S-H pickup configuration and 24 frets. (cf. http://www.heartfield-central.com/html/whichtalon.htm) If you still don't buy it, you might want to check this out: http://youtube.com/watch?v=e58chys_l2s

--Noldis 03:35, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Primus is not mentioned

Why isn't Primus mentioned in this article? They have backed Buckethead and Les (Primus's Bassist) Recorded with him. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.21.75.3 (talk) 20:46, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

Likewise, Buckethead toured backing Primus, I know for sure that he did so in 1999. Haphazardjoy (talk) 00:47, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

Just out of curiosity...

How does Buckethead play clarinet, saxophone, or recorder? There are no links telling if this is true or not, and it makes me wonder how he does that while wearing a mask. 71.194.224.134 (talk) 01:39, 15 May 2008 (UTC) I haven't seen any videos of him playing any of those, but I have one friend that says he played the saxophone during a concert. I don't know if this is true or not, but for the sake of the article, lets say it is. --24.119.21.78 (talk) 04:08, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

71.193.224.134's query is exactly why we have a WP:Verifiability policy. I'm removing those instruments until it can be sourced with something reliable. Marasmusine (talk) 07:09, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

He's not playing them live of course, but on records. Escape From Inbred Mountain off Inbred Mountain (2005) is a good example for rather untypical instruments. --Say Headcheese!--hexaChord² 18:49, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

Birthdate?

I've seen people say that his birthdate is in 1969, but I've never seen a site that actually states that in plain terms and he's certainly not open about his personal life. As I previously added on the wikipedia page, the Young Buckethead DVD liner notes place his birth around 1972 since Jas Obrecht states that he first met Buckethead when he dropped off his demo in 1988 and that Brian was 16 at the time. Haphazardjoy (talk) 00:52, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

I remember checking this recently when I tidied up the lead sentence. I was going to remove the birth year, then spotted it in one of the references. But for the life of me, I can't find it now. If you want to change the year, put what you've just said in a footnote and don't forget to change the category. Marasmusine (talk) 09:12, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

I'm just putting it out there, I'm not entirely sure myself. Furthermore, the liner notes don't offer more on the subject to make it more clear. Claiming that he was 16 in 1988 doesn't even pinpoint which year he was born in, depending of course on the time of the year versus his birth day. In the DVDs, where he's talking at least, he does seem quite young (though that could be older footage), and supposedly his parents brought him to drop off his demo tape, so I'm inclined to believe he is younger. However, this could all be deliberate misinformation on his part. Haphazardjoy (talk) 15:59, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

For example: http://chinese-democracy.blogspot.com/2008/02/classic-rock-magazine-chinese-democracy.html --HexaChord (talk) 01:18, 6 November 2008 (UTC)

DiMarzio Pickups

Referring to his white Les Paul: "...DiMarzio Tone Zone in the neck and DiMarzio Air Norton in the bridge position." Where's the proof of this? While I don't doubt that they are DiMarzio pickups, I question what type of DiMarzio pickups they are, and their location in his guitar. It seems strange that he would use a medium power pickup like the Air Norton in the bridge position, and a high power Tone Zone (which the DiMarzio website recommends as a bridge pickup) in the neck position. Where did this information come from? 72.129.164.206 (talk) 15:33, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

I found a site that says Buckethead does indeed use a Tone Zone in the neck and an Air Norton in the bridge: http://corridorbuzz.com/articles/masked_prodigy_buckethead_to_shred_at_the_picador.htm 72.129.164.206 (talk) 01:17, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

Distructive edit patterns

Every guitarist page has a gear section. And all could be better sourced. For players like Buckethead... 90% of the article's readers viewing that page are going to be gearheads. Creating encyclopedic/sourced gear sections is one of the mandates of the Guitarist Project. Unfortunately there are editors who are unfamiliar with the Wiki-project's "work-in-progress" plans and every now and then you see distructive edits like this. Personally, I am a staunch deletionist. But I know how Wiki is supposed to "play to its audience" as well. If someone tried to delete Eric Clapton or David Gilmour or Jimmy Page's gear sections there would be a mutiny. Like all of the others, they are very long and detailed... but require better sourcing. "Gear" information what guitar players use these pages as a reference for. That is the "reliable information" they come here looking for. Trick is... making it reliable. Hard to do when it isn't there to build on. The Real Libs-speak politely 14:16, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

WP:V. If content is not sourced and someone thinks it's remotely controversial, they can remove it, simple as that. I suggest you learn to use a sandbox if you want to put content somewhere while you look for reliable sources.bridies (talk) 15:57, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

That won't be needed. I will just continue to respect the mandate of a Wikipedia Project that they will replace the source that has been given with the actual authored content from Harmony Central... the "source of the source". I am not a member of that project. But I am familiar with the edit histories of the projects regular editors and I can certainly trust that they will continue to be a very active and reliable project. Makes it easy to AGF that they will find the V. There is nothing controversial here. There are no opinions being soapboxed. Its just a gear list. No different than any other guitarist article gear lists. There are hundreds of them. And they all look the same. The Real Libs-speak politely 16:12, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

From WP:V: The burden of evidence lies with the editor who adds or restores material. All quotations and any material challenged or likely to be challenged should be attributed to a reliable, published source using an inline citation. AFG has nothing to do with this issue. Assuming good faith simply means assuming that whoever added the content meant well. That doesn't mean they were right to do so. Also, this article is not edited exclusively by wikiproject guitarist members. Wikiprojects can't overrule WP:V. Incidently, I'm a member of Wikiproject Guitarists and I know of no such mandate. Care to point me to it? I also don't understand what you mean regarding Harmony Central, can you clarify please? Not all the gear lists look the same, some are reliably sourced; that's the central issue. bridies (talk) 17:09, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

OK... The issue has not been addressed and from my own searching I conclude that the content is derived from various forum discussions (presumably ultimately from fans who have seen Buckethead using various equipment). Thus it probably violates WP:OR as well as WP:V. The source currently in the article is not reliable. The content can be added in again, only if a reliable source can be found to support it. The deleted content can easily be found by looking through the edit history; I have also kept a copy in my user space. As it happens, the '90%' or people looking for this information can easily find it by googling 'Buckethead gear'.bridies (talk) 07:46, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

And that information will be found here. And someday a valid ref will be added to it. Thats how Wiki works. As before... there is nothing controversial here. This isn't information that is drastically lowering the dependability of Wikipedia (it has none to start with) There is no violation of WP:BLP here. It's just gear. All gear that is out there for everyone to see. It can be deleted it is blatantly wrong. But that would also take a citation. It's unthreatening and perfectly fine the way it is and it can patiently stay that way until a cite comes along. The Real Libs-speak politely 17:45, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

It's not how wiki works. Again, read the policies: WP:V, WP:OR. The speculative and incoherent crap you're spouting doesn't change them.bridies (talk) 18:07, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

I concur. Find a reliable source first, then add the information to this article. If the previous list of equipment can all be sourced, fantastic, but it should also be presented as prose rather than a list (which was my other issue with that section - see WP:EMBED). Also to all parties here, please remember to be WP:CIVIL. Marasmusine (talk) 09:43, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

Buckethead task force?

I'm trying to install a task force under the Guitarists Project. Would you like to join? --HexaChord (talk) 21:29, 6 November 2008 (UTC)

buckethead is awesome said salvador —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.118.65.191 (talk) 19:49, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

Michael Jackson Influence

The article says that Buckethead was inspired to play guitar when, at the age of 12, he heard Michael Jackson and was, "...impressed by the backing band, mainly Louis Johnson and Jennifer Batten." But Jennifer Batten joined Michael Jackson for the 'Bad' tour in 1989--Buckethead would have been (around) 20 at this point. So, this claim needs some attention. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.232.153.242 (talk) 21:38, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

Michael Jackson should be quite clear. [11] But the age thing is not. He's most likely born around 1970 (+/- 2 or 3 years - I still believe it's 1969 rather than 1972) so this makes "age of 12" very unlikely. --Say Headcheese!--hexaChord² 22:28, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

Patrick?

Where's this come from? I've never heard his middle name as being Patrick, and it isn't mentioned anywhere in the source given. 90.206.232.37 (talk) 18:51, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Bucketheads Birthdate

It has been said that in the year 1987 Brian Carroll was 18 years old, placing his birthdate at '69. This was said by WildHorseStudios1421@youtube.com D01703 (talk) 04:29, 28 December 2008 (UTC)D01703 - 12/27/08