Rig Rundown - Roger Waters' The Wall Tour- G.E. Smith

www.premierguit... PG's Rebecca Dirks is on location in Chicago, IL, at Wrigley Field for the Roger Waters' The Wall Tour. In this segment, we get to learn about G.E. Smith's current setup for the tour.
For more Rig Rundown videos or to watch one of PG's 1700 other clips online, be sure to visit www.premierguit...

[@billthomas56]

G. E. is great about telling you the history of the guitars and basses he plays, and always crediting the luthiers who have worked on his instruments.

[@wodenoftheangles3339]

But not so great regarding his amps and pedals... lol

[@samumina4218]

G.E. is all class. Every interview with this guy is great.

[@BobMaulucci]

I worked in a vintage guitar shop here in Buffalo, and he would call about old bowl back mandolins we had. He’s a very nice guy who was real patient when young me didn’t always have the answers to his really insightful questions. He never got pissed at me when I had to ask the owner or get him on the phone. And when he called back, he never asked to just skip through to the boss. GE is a classy guy, and really knowledgeable as you can see in the interview. He knows his gear.

[@mattryan6886]

100% good Guy and great player. G.E did an incredible job on this gig and tour. That B.C bass(Bowery/Chelsea) has a telecaster guitar mate as well. The dry aged wood from those very old NYC buildings gives those instruments lots resonance and exceptional tonal quality. I personally love that 54’/55’ JR!!!!!!!! Single P-90 w/ simple volume and tone controls, In G.E’s hands……. Such beautiful noise!!!

[@badkatrising3918]

I totally forgot how much I miss her rig rundowns. She is awesome. Hope she’s doin well

[@ShiningEyeBrigade]

Really appreciate the interviewer’s super-low key style: Always manages to get the guests talking and giving great info without her talking much. First few times I saw her I just figured the guests were good, but I’ve see a bunch of her interviews now, over the last few years and every one is like this. If a guest does miss something, like the pickup on the bass with GE, she gives a gentle nudge to find it out. I’ve done a few interviews and it’s really hard for me to get info out of a guest without talking too much myself.

[@TN-D18]

Cool guy. Honest answers, extremely low amount of BS.....great interview.

[@greedyluigi]

GE is one of the best workman guitarists. I watched the whole SNL era when he was the band leader just to see what guitar he was playing. Not to mention for that 10 to 15 second spot he had the riffs he played were mind blowing. Not to mention I think he is a fellow Pennsylvania boy. Rock on GE.

[@Rhythmicons]

This is the only guy who can say "Songy, song stuff" and not lose any cool points.

[@javiceres]

And make you feel like you're a little girl by his side.

[@Rhythmicons]

Javi, I'm going to have to part ways with you on that one.

[@lapelcelery42]

Haha

[@matthewmello4493]

I was just about to comment that and saw you did it three years before

[@Yourbrotherfranio]

never had any "cool" to begin with

[@robertwittjr1198]

i respect how genuine he is in relating personal experiences in with his gear "i never used marshalls in a long time, i used them with hall and oats in japan and stuff". like to sit down and have a cup of whatever and listen to the man.

[@donnmontoya3397]

Met and hung out with G.E. and T-Bone Wolk during a Hall & Oates tour. Both were very cool down to earth guys. RIP T-Bone. We miss you.

[@JKryanX]

every interview i see with G.E. he just seems like a really cool guy. i'd like to buy him a beer and jam with him someday

[@tticomdmg]

I love a musician who doesn't try to impress me with model numbers and a bunch of tech talk... "I don't know what it is, but it sounds great!" lol.

[@kettlebellheaven6756]

I love everything about this interview. G. E. Smith is a true professional who played with EVERYONE and everywhere. You people who have to insult him because of his looks, you are going to grow up one day and be embarrassed at yourselves.

[@buckandotis]

it's amazing what people will be critical of.....i've seen him play live and he's a monster player, ain't no criticizing that....

[@BaByLaStrAnGe]

Kettlebell Heaven Also he was the head of the SNL band back in the days! great person!

[@EphemeralProductions]

dbltrplx: yup! just what I was gonna say! :)

[@dthellland9738]

didn't realize he was ugly.

[@obscurebandfan]

He just looks like a regular dude in his 60s. He looks actually pretty good for his age, he's hung on to most his hair.

[@reginaldfitzpatrick8681]

A guy with his repertoire and modesty is seriously so impressive. He has no problems taking 10 mins to do an interview that he didnt have to do. You wont ever see Roger Waters do that! This guy had such a passion for the gear, the history and the stories. Thats what its all about.

[@tevinchidester9681]

This Guy - GE Smith is true and so is Roger. If Roger is asked he will do what you ask. Roger Waters is the most heart filled peace committed musician in the world. David doesn't care.

[@dirtydave2691]

This young lady knows her stuff. Great guitar oriented interview.

[@user-wq5km7uq1s]

"Loud, no treble."

[@PPower23]

Back in the 80's, I had a girlfriend who wanted to see Hall & Oates in concert. Seriously that LAST group I wanted to see. But when we got to Oakland Arena, there they were, with G.E.Smith on guitar. I thought, man, what a nice treat that is. THEN - they turned around and rock the arena with all of there "pop" hits. What a surprise! Enjoyed the show. Thanks when I found out G.E.Smith was more than a face on Saturday Night Live...

[@long-timelistenerfirst-t-us2yy]

great interviewer, she really knows how to interview musicians!

[@theHAL9000]

GE tends to be a great interview. Interesting stories about himself and other guitarists, and then of course that he is a killer guitarist adds to the discussion. Kudos to the interviewer ... really presses on crucial sound/tone details with deep knowledge based questions and elevates the entire interview.

[@voskresene]

GE Smith is a cool cat and a great guitar player. I grew up watching him on Saturday Night Live in the 80's.

[@JeevesReturns]

Glad to see that G.E. is showing more of what an informed artist he is beyond the SNL days! Brilliant and passionate musician. Humble man as well.

[@yungsheldon6732]

i love GE Smith. he’s just so cool and laid back. excellent guitarist and bassist. that first bass he showed off was insane!

[@MarvinSheats]

I love G.E. Smith. He's been one of my favorites and loved seeing him on SNL.

[@jodiallardice1500]

This guy lives in my local area and i see him live a lot, and the dude is probably the best session player I’ve seen, he just plays with anyone anywhere

[@Hurtcules]

Man, I enjoy hearing G.E. Smith being interviewed. Such a relatable dude. Always so giving and generous with praise for the behind the scenes support folks. A wealth of knowledge!

[@terebrate]

7:49 "I dunno, maybe if I was in Korn or something I could use it..." lol

[@markkickmark]

This guy is so pleasant and easy to understand. Should have his own show.

[@gettafeelofthis]

I remember watching this guy front the SNL band for years. I always dug his style, his guitars and the tone he would get. Each week it was something totally different. Simply a great musician.

[@JamesBanner]

Great to see two people who know what they're talking about discussing guitars.

[@dlarovere]

This has been my favorite of all the rig rundowns so far. All the right questions and all the cool answers! It's like a guitar player's field trip with G.E. and Rebecca. Cool gig, y'all.

[@jasondesjardins7371]

G.E. is a monster player and such a cool cat.

[@JesseENew]

G E is too cool

[@shaunybenso]

She's a good interviewer

[@fuckassnumberone]

Agreed. She doesn’t fan out like the rest of the PG nerds.

[@HiBot69]

She's alot better than that tall, awkward, half hearted guy.

[@CoffeeAndPaul]

It's great that she knows a broad range of products and what they can do. She's an honest scholar of guitar. I bet she can shred.

[@paulmattle6683]

She actually asked questions that I was interested in hearing. I remember G.E. Smith from SNL, then started seeing him playing with Roger Waters.

[@muhrvis]

A great guy, tremendous guitar player, nice person, love his knowledge and generosity -- "I try to play like Ry Cooder. I can't but I try..."

[@stfuthefonz]

I was wondering who he was talking about. Googled ‘Cooter guitar’ and just got a bunch of confederate flag guitar picks.

[@tose917]

@@stfuthefonz lol!!!🤣🤣🤣

[@Hexspa]

@@stfuthefonz Ry Cooder was involved with Buena Vista Social Club.

[@scotty3034]

Thank you for having an interviewer who knows how to ask the questions we all would ask.

[@lourdes-amaliatalbert748]

Until a few months ago, didn't know who G.E. was. This guys great. I thoroughly enjoy watching him strum his guitar; he's a great talent.

[@franciscomarin6493]

I called Lindy twice. about two years apart, for two guitars. he picked up the phone both times. cool guy and great pickups.

[@theatomicpunkkk]

Such a cool guy. He's always been down to earth in every interview that I have seen with him.

[@jeffreybiscoe6]

Just always enjoy GE when he is interviewed,love the Kelly bass too .

[@DiedrichKnickerbocker1783]

Alittle bit of knowledge and alot of enthusiasm is powerful combination. Rock on, Mr. Smith.

[@kevyd1929]

G.E, how cool, a scholar and a gentleman

[@MisterTee]

I got to meet GE once. Probably the coolest musician I have ever had the honour of meeting.

[@TheRamsberg]

Straight up, Rebecca Dirks is the best guitarist interviewer I've heard.

[@tomcoryell]

TheRamsberg I do so miss Rebecca.

[@claychitwood]

Started keeping up with GE after seeing him on SNL , He turned me on to tone and the tele . Thanks sir !

[@niptodstan]

She's the best interviewer on the net. She knows her stuff and she obviously likes her job. She gets the best from the players and crew.

[@MattFoleysGhost]

My dream rig would be to have GE Smith as a personal shopper. Anything this guy digs and I would play it no questions asked.

[@BryanSmith66]

GE Smith is the MAN! Love my Fralin tele pups. Just ordered a set of no hum Lindy Fralin P90's.

[@alext9067]

I've seen Rebecca before. She is fantastic. She controls the interview totally and knows where to go and what to ask. If you've got Rebecca doing it for you, you've got the best.

[@j_freed]

I think GE Smith and Nicko McBrain from Iron Maiden should have an outdoor TV show all about fishing.

[@nated.8709]

Engaging interview. GE Smith is a class act and the interviewer really makes the interview by asking some excellent questions to a guy who has forgotten more about guitars and guitar playing than most people will ever know.

[@harpguy1]

Humble guy & very knowledgeable & respected by the top tier players he has toured with. He was the musical director for the Bob Dylan tribute & just looking around that stage & the players on it says a whole lot about the respect he is given.

[@GuitarBob6]

Freakin' cool how good his memory is about where he bought the guitars and what's in them. Cool guy.

[@gravy_brain]

Love G.E. and miss seeing Rebecca's interviews.

[@keysersoze3977]

I could watch this over and over...G.E. is amazing..

[@pauloquist6150]

I learned so much about guitars and guitar playing by studying this guy on SNL over the years. There a ton of talented guitar players but very few that could fill this guy's shoes and his accomplishments!

[@AgentXPQ]

I've watched a few interviews with G.E. Smith the last few days, and it's hard not to notice that he rarely looks at the camera, or at the person he's talking to for that matter. Were I to speculate, I would guess that despite his success, he's still a little shy.

[@chasegaddis418]

no he's just a jack ass

[@RWulff007]

Why comment on that thing? We are all different.

[@martimdesouzajunior7585]

Chase Gaddis You're the jackass, loser.

[@jondunmore4268]

Or he's a serial axe murderer.

[@ripplebear]

@@chasegaddis418 your name is like a set of instructions, Chase Gaddis, around the rose garden. No thanks! Your parents loved you! Lol

[@soylentgreen2065]

I've seen G.E. on tv and videos for literally decades and never knew his name until last night when I binge watched him in interviews. In one interview he remarked that people come up to him and say he inspired them to start playing guitar. I'm not surprised, but, I hope his humility, manners and kind-natured soul inspire people to be that person, too. Class act, historic musician....respect to you, Mr. Smith!

[@glassslide]

GE is the coolest. Awesome rig rundown.

[@radiok2ua]

"It's been through everything with me. Hall and Oates, Bob Dylan, Saturday Night Live . . .." "Is everything stock on it?" Hahaha--great moment. She's so focused that she is somehow not totally blown away by the idea of this guitar being in GE Smith's hands, at the center of all of that!

[@quicksite]

Such an awesome interview- gotta praise Rebecca Dirks for impeccable questions, timing, everything- staying background, but bringing out the very best of G.E.'s expertise by being totally in sync with him. Such a different feel than more typical interviews with musicians which have fawning qualities. You can tell G.E. just flows with her no-nonsense down to brass tacks approach. Thanks for this interview!

[@josephfinn9569]

You are so right Quicksite!

[@jonnybeck6723]

Aaw you just want her body... admit it...

[@chuckmauller6101]

Love listening to GE talk about his guitars.

[@geraldwest3428]

G. E. Smith is one great cat, and one helluva musician with an actual personality.

[@dapperdanman1956]

The legendary G.E. smith,

[@RMoore-zt7zs]

I love the Rig Rundowns that Rebecca Dirks did; she's by far their best interviewer that Premier Guitar has had. And then there's the uber modest G.E. Smith. That guy has done so much in his career and has never been one to showboat or steal anyone's thunder; he just goes about the business with a genuine smile on his face. He has some great gear and is not overly absorbed with the geeky side of the process. He just likes stuff that works and gives him the sounds that he hears in his head that fit the song and the band he's supporting.

[@tricko2286]

Good interview.. interviewer gets alot of great info out of G.E. - most of us would be like Chris Farley interviewing Paul McCartney on SNL ...."agh I'm sooo STUPID"!

[@HarrrySpider]

+Tricko totally right. She did a GREAT job of getting information out of him that is actually interesting to guitar / gear folks... well done Rebecca

[@PlanetRockJesus]

+Tricko I love your post here. Thanks for the laugh.

[@randyfloyd7535]

Remember when you were with the Beatles? That was cool

[@Dalevoll]

"This is more for the songy.....song stuff" Hahaa

[@blackmoremaniac]

Really cool ... nice to listen to G.E.Smith ! Great !!!

[@docnasty74]

G.E. is so laidback and talented. Very cool guy.

[@fastguitars4380]

GE is so generous with himself......so laid back..... He's done it all and seen it all, yet he's like your favorite neighbor., ... nothing special, yet he really is special. He's a very deep pool.

[@juliethesoccermum1004]

Best way to describe him

[@bryanmannoia8410]

I met him 20 plus years ago in that used guitar store on 48th st. in n.y.c.. laid back and cool as hell, plus he's a great player. I doubt there is a more modest player out there.

[@mikewallace1270]

I found this truly enjoyable and very interesting. Great questions from the girl!

[@SoftwareAgentsTV]

Excited to see him as part of Roger Water's new stage show! -- AT

[@johnkraemer5505]

Wow! That was an awesome run down! 👍🏻😃

[@lflowers230]

Ah. Mr. G.E. Smith. I remember watching him jam on SNL when I was a kid.

[@woodledog]

GE is one cool dude

[@ericboreen4040]

This is a nice one to come back to from time to time. Relaxing.

[@patrickingram7343]

Awesome. Got to meet G.E. after a gig in Georgia when I was 18. It was a blues and BBQ festival actually, he was cool!

[@Me-kv8vu]

I'm not a guitar player although I GREATLY appreciate the skill and sounds. But G.E. seems like a truly good dude. I've watched a bunch of interviews with him. Regular decent fellow..thanks for posting

[@bristolfashion4421]

That's one of the most humorous remarks I've heard on PG ! 0:31 Well Done Mr. Smith ! 🙂

[@ericportillo8277]

So cool and simple. This is one of my fav episodes 👍🏻

[@georgewaters8592]

wow... seeing a beer on the stage - totally old school, brought back some good memories....!! Seriously though, I love that he's using a lot of vintage gear here, as to me there is no substitute for real good old instruments.

[@dunebats5357]

Well done, Ms Dirks, good questions, to-the-point.

[@ArtDonna84]

Outstanding, thanks for the interview with an awesome bass man in G.E. Smith.

[@DeathNebula]

That interview completly changed my view of G.E.....for the better!!

[@Ematched]

Rebecca was by far the best PG rig rundown interviewer.

[@TheRiceowlex]

He used to be a bad ass guitar player on Saturday Night Live !! Back when Saturday Night Live was worth a damn...He knew when to leave..

[@kellyomalley1873]

He got fired.

[@greenman8]

@@kellyomalley1873 I think at that point he was already, ready to leave. He might have been fired but he tried to quit at least once. I think him leaving was a mutual/amicable thing. Also, he said in an interview, he was outgrowing the college-age demographic of the audience.

[@mckay91095]

Man, I gotta say for his age, Smith has some awesome fuckin' hair. Remindes me of my hair.

[@eyemnotu]

Cool professional! So lucky to be able to work with Roger and perform a masterpiece

[@myway43]

Anybody ever had the opportunity to play a G.E> Smith Tele?

[@voodoochilezee]

Great musician, he sounds like he is really down to earth

[@joezambrano9651]

Man great interview love ge smith very humble man thanks Rebecca for a great interview love the questions your asking great work gal peace

[@monmixer]

I had the pleasure of working on the momentary lapse of reason tour on a few shows. Way before GE Smith played. It was the tour when Carmine Appice played drums. he was the second drummer. He actually recorded on the album with them. Momentary Lapse Of reason tour. I miked his drum kit up in Columbus Ohio. I was checking out Gilmours pedal board. It was custom made and each button simply had the name of the song under it. His guitar tech did what ever switching and his guitar techs area had what looked like a train table. It was as big a a full size parlor pool table just laid out with all sort of different vintage pedals with a lot of the same ones hooked up in different series. Remember this was before we had modeling amps and all of these different multi program affects units. Everything was huge. Of course at that time it was still Pink Floyd with Roger and David both way before the split. Incredible stuff . I think i have seen it all in my life. I'm not complaining. so much has changed in the industry now. It's good in ways and bad in ways. Not good for performers still doing it who want to stay old school. Most have adapted that are still doing it.

[@ryanotoole7585]

10:38 we've all been asking the same question

[@herdguy22]

GE has one of the premier vintage guitar collections in the world. The specimens on display here are for work only.

[@zebdoz333]

G .E. Smith is one damn fine guitar player

[@StamfordBridge]

Yet he's always so humble. In this interview, for example: "This is what I use to try to sound like Ry Cooder. Which I *don't*, but I try."

[@DerekBallesty]

His chorus pedal is the same age as I am. Lovely guitars, great rig rundown.

[@lambert1702]

G.E. is a legend and seems like a really cool guy.

[@alanmooney3120]

G.E. Smith...man the stories that this guy could tell! Incredible musician :)

[@ST-xg3gy]

Wow, sounds like an incredible experience.

[@TheGravygun]

Seen him with Dylan back in the day.Class act.

[@justinsaunders6797]

Very cool interview

[@rainblaze.]

GE smith what a cool cool gent of a dude .. very impressed