The B-52s - Rock Lobster (play along)

My play along version of Rock Lobster by The B-52s, with the CFxxFF tuning as Ricky Wilson played. My guitar is slightly panned on the right.

[@davidnissim589]

Ricky was criminally underrated. Probably the only person who could rock that hard with a 4-string guitar. RIP

[@101Volts]

The guitar was only tuned to 2 different notes, too. The higher strings were still in a higher octave. That said, he only used this 4 string tuning of CFxxFF for 3 songs. Most of his tunings were 5 string tunings.

[@101Volts]

Much more recently, I've been told (by Ricky's guitar tech, no less) that the string gauges for the CFxxFF Tuning are: .058, .056, empty, empty, .018p, .018p. That would give uneven tension between the low 2, but it's required. It's also played on a 24.50" scale length (yes, 24.50") Mosrite Ventures Mark V. He probably used a Fender Twin Reverb amp, but I'm not sure. He later switched to Mesa Boogie Mark II amps for live shows for 1980.

[@cartercartercartercar]

what a genius ricky was. he understood better than anybody - a guitar doesn’t need that many strings. b52’s maybe the most underrated band of all time. every member was important. an absolute display of control (over self and audience), minimalism, a manic episode you can’t look away from. in every performance. the perfect band

[@LUR1FAX]

Ricky Wilson, like Dick Dale, was one of a kind.

[@michaelbuxton9611]

ricky was way ahead of the curve. nobody can touch his style. great vid

[@FreezyAbitKT7A]

Ventures, Duane Eddy could touch it. But Ricky made it raw

[@theyoungupstarts1243]

It’s January 2024 and i’m still digging this! Thank you. 🏄🏻

[@gabriel38g]

I've been telling whoever will listen that this song is full of great riffs from beginning to end. Now I'm just going to send people to watch this video! 👍

[@LucaFrappola]

Thank you so much 😊

[@temens]

4:52 > I could listen to this part on loop all day long. Just. Pure. Genuis.

[@kevinswift8654]

Such a unique way to play the guitar. It works perfectly for the song. I think the synergy with the keyboard is important, too.

[@The.Last.Guitar.Hero.]

Great tribute to the man who was an unappreciated genius

[@wcbranitly0692]

This is the most accurate cover I've heard yet, better than every tutorial I've seen too

[@briangregory6303]

Badass. May Ricky Wilson live on forever through 4 strings.

[@user-wx4gv8up4b]

No other play along or tutorial comes close to this. It's perfect.

[@al6347]

Ricky was his greatest live.

[@toddkalbfeld]

Flashback!! You are the best Rock Lobster cover out there!! Ricky Wilson lives again!!

[@DanielSmith-yk4ds]

Fantastic! I think you are using the private Idaho 4 string. The lobster had 5 I believe. If I'm wrong or right it wouldn't matter because you killed it! 👏👏👏 RIP Ricky! The plane went down with you.

[@LucaFrappola]

Thank you Daniel. CFxxFF (4 strings) tuning is for Rock Lobster, Dance This Mess Around and Runnin' Around. The tuning for Private Idaho is EBDXBB (5 strings). Cheers

[@Funkyfanfare-py4uh]

Best tutorial on the internet. Thank you!

[@LucaFrappola]

Thank you Raul, I'm glad you like it

[@urfinjuse8935]

Всё гениальное просто. RIP Ricky Wilson.

[@charlieramonesbackingtrack8876]

Just perfect! Thank you!!

[@vernonadams1536]

That was absolutely KILLER! Thank you for posting!

[@WillyWillis1965]

I don't think it could be played any more perfect than this !! Great job :)

[@LucaFrappola]

Oh man, thank you for your kind words

[@LuisTheFilmHack]

Oh man, this is perfect!

[@LucaFrappola]

Thank You so much

[@MrSotenacious]

Wow this is great. Thanks for the upload!

[@centurionbasso]

Accurately rocked, excellent work!

[@bevod6665]

I have been wanting to watch someone play this for a long time. Glad I found this, and great job.

[@jeffdemers75]

Bravo!!! That looks like so much fun!

[@leonchisler8495]

Nailed it! ❤. Great job

[@heli-crewhgs5285]

Superbly played! Well done!

[@victormanuelperezsilva2285]

Great job Luca!. One of the best Rock Lobster well-known cover .

[@andyscott6648]

Excellent! It's such a simple, cool, rhythm style that made it genius. Well done.

[@geomac53]

Wow! Thanks for that! That was just as much fun as the B-52's. Amazing!! .. 👏🎶☺️

[@user-gm2fx8kl1p]

They are a genius group.

[@Cobra_bushcraft]

perfect just like the original

[@baikhous]

Excellent work man!

[@LucaFrappola]

Thank You

[@Andyjefford]

Great cover,love it 👍👍

[@eveleenastrix7766]

I don't think it could be played any more perfect than this !! Great job :) Accurately rocked, excellent work!

[@brucemunro7499]

Loved it!!!

[@lee-annek6969]

Great cover. RIP Ricky

[@noeyedeer4655]

Amazing job!

[@adrianfewster8391]

Love it

[@calogerovenniri7868]

Really good mate

[@JRKeelin]

Awesome. Thanks a million!!!

[@LucaFrappola]

Thank You

[@tprski]

Greetings from Manitoba Canada... Thanks for posting, it was absolutely bang on. Nicely done!!

[@mirv_9243]

Nice work!

[@LucaFrappola]

Thank You

[@tickelledee2890]

That was f’n great!

[@jeffdemers75]

That was! F’n great!!

[@christianlazo5146]

just 4 strings :O

[@jasonburks6644]

Christian Lazo shut up it’s just an alto bass

[@RainyCactus]

Yep, that's a Bass

[@101Volts]

@@jasonburks6644 "Shut up?" That's probably astonishment, not a criticism. I know, I know, text doesn't always tell tone of voice and intent very well.

[@semenshestakov2247]

Its intended to be like this, man.

[@xxxXXXCH04XXXxxx]

looool

[@garychaplin6110]

outstanding

[@silverburst3112]

Such a sick Cheeseball song the offical music video is also amazing great job

[@edwardsaavedra4048]

Tiene partes muy complejas. Genio!

[@bryttnenakamura1921]

So good! I can tell that you’re playing but it’s so perfect it almost sounds as if you’re not. Great cover!!

[@briandefoe4008]

That’s soooo cool!!

[@almightyleancup2489]

Amazing

[@josea.vertiz3327]

Muy buen cover, Saludos desde la ciudad de México

[@BeesWaxMinder]

A M A Z I N G!!

[@thebluemoonwhispers6160]

Great Job , thanks .......

[@Dune137]

Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow.....THIS WAS AWESOME!!! I desperately want to learn to play this. I love this but I just think it is FANTASTIC from 5:13 on...that part really rocks!

[@oozzyknob]

Best part of the song fosho

[@clazza65]

Brilliant.

[@seancarroll8103]

awesome

[@prtspro]

Thats insane

[@kimandcris]

so cool

[@phantuyetbang1959]

u are FKN AMAZING!!! Thaaaaaank uuuuuuuuu!!!!!

[@kokakola41]

That was impressive,

[@eustatic3832]

Nice

[@stenadteve]

Thaaaaaank uuuuuuuuu!!!!!

[@Rick-fj9oh]

It’s like he was playing bass and guitar at the same time

[@101Volts]

This is sharp baritone territory, not bass. Kate played bass on the keyboards.

[@lfroglfrog4962]

u are FKN AMAZING!!!

[@LucaFrappola]

😀

[@LabGrownDracula]

I was looking at his guitar thinking "wow I haven't seen a bass with that much space in the middle" then I realized

[@leososaleososa]

I don’t get it, is that a bass or a guitar?

[@101Volts]

@@leososaleososa It's a guitar with the 2 middle strings missing, on purpose. But originally, Ricky actually took his 66 Mosrite MK V Guitar (which has a 24.50" scale length, I typed it right) and he put -big bass strings on it.- EDIT: No; he had thick strings, but not that thick. The gauges were .058, .056, empty, empty, .018p, .018p.

[@Eman-xz4pr]

@@101Volts what exactly is the purpose behind that? The missing strings I mean and replacing them with bass string. I’m completely new to guitars and such and I’ve never seen this before!

[@101Volts]

@@Eman-xz4pr I'm not sure what Ricky's thought process was for it, but it's certainly unique. I've never heard of anyone else doing it, either. To be specific, he put these gauges on: -.105b, .085b, empty, empty, .018p, .018p.- Tuned to CFxxFF in 444 Hz (slightly sharp.) EDIT: Again: .058, .056, empty, empty, .018p, .018p. -Frankly, he did not do this right away; there's an earlier release of the song from 1978, and it doesn't sound the same. He seems to have decided to do this later, in 1979.- However, I did hear of Chris Ballew (of The Presidents of the United States of America) putting a bass string on a guitar, and using it as a bass. Chris, however, didn't go outside thick guitar string territory; he just put a 0.060 string and a 0.036 on his Gibson or Epiphone, tuned to Drop C#, and played it as a short scale bass that was still in the same octave as the guitar, which was also in Drop C#.

[@101Volts]

@@Eman-xz4pr Turns out that I was off-kilter with the bass string idea, although it could still be used on a guitar since I did try it. I was probably the most obsessed person with sounding like Ricky in 2010, so I actually did put bass strings on a cheap Epiphone, and I thought it sounded like Rock Lobster, so I got excited. That was before I got a Mosrite Guitar like the ones Ricky often played early on. The actual gauges for the CFxxFF tuning are .058, .056, empty, empty, .018p, .018p. I asked about tuning notebooks at a fan group, and Ricky's guitar tech replied and explained the string gauges. (These gauges weren't written down in the available tuning notebook photos that I could read.) So Ricky's string gauge set is still weird, but not quite as wild as I thought. He had two thick Low E strings of different gauges, and then two G strings on the guitar. Tune the lower two strings to C and F but in 445 Hz instead of 440 (about 4 notes below standard tuning,) and tune the .18p strings two notes below where a G string normally would be.

[@cesarcastillo3175]

Que belleza.

[@Aussie.rules69]

Well you are the man. Is that Ricky?

[@Roberttimestwo]

I have read that Ricky Wilson didn't read music and on a lot of his songs didn't even know the actual tuning. His guitar tech (who is also Cindy Wilson's husband for 30 something years) took a lot of notes and thank goodness. This effort by Mr. Frappola is right on the money. Do you do Lava?

[@LucaFrappola]

Lava: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z2PKo5t7mLiKoNU

[@VintageGuitarClubSP]

Good job

[@thedoc1210]

I was today old when i found out about this tuning.......interesting, B52s were a brilliant outfit

[@rwelcome1977]

@LucaFrappola String guages?

[@LucaFrappola]

0.56, 0.46, 0.11, 0.11

[@semenshestakov2247]

At 5:14 it sounds like there's two guitars! Crazy!

[@odyssey814]

oh yeah

[@spacealienjesus709]

Fucking Epic !!!

[@brainwasher0]

what string gauge?

[@betobraniff4610]

So 1st string tuned up a half step and 2nd way down till F ?

[@axelheredia9095]

Que efectos de guitarra se utilizan para esa canción?

[@axelheredia9095]

Que alguien me diga que efectos de guitarra se utilizan en esa canción porfa 😭😥😭

[@LucaFrappola]

Just one pedal, Joyo American Sound and a little bit of spring reverb

[@adansotosoto2565]

oh fender!

[@luisenriquettitocarazas8263]

Y el baile? Rick Wilson la tocaba bailando :3

[@LucaFrappola]

Sorry, I can't dance 😳

[@calledthemoon2768]

Los movimientos de Ricky Wilson eran geniales, su energía era única🔥

[@Mlotshaw1]

Was this also the string config used by mark of Devo

[@fracro327]

Thank you. One question, at 5:19 are you hitting the B and e strings open?

[@RubenRamoslatinguitar]

Can I ask what gauge of strings are you using on the bottom strings?

[@gfj06]

Bass gauge, seriously. They used bass strings.

[@RubenRamoslatinguitar]

@@gfj06 I know but what "gauge"? .045? .065? etc.

[@101Volts]

@@gfj06 The strings in this video are just the bottom strings of a set of .12s, but the 1979 album version (and later shorter edits) has these gauges: .058b, .056b, empty, empty, .018p, .018p. EDIT: I'm the guy who thought the bass string idea held credence, so I'm sorry I started that inaccurate rumor. Though I did actually try it, and I initially thought that it sounded accurate... In 2010, on an Epiphone Junior, before I got a 1966 Mosrite. You really can stick .105b and .085b strings on a 24.75" guitar, though, at that tension and not have the neck snap, *IF* you have the string action low enough. But downtune it in-between playing, it's *lot* of string tension. And naturally, you need to make a wider nut for a guitar like that.

[@Egamer-db7bu]

Can anybody tell me the tuning of each string?

[@101Volts]

Low to high: CFxxFF in 444 or 445 Hz (slightly sharp.) x = no string in that slot. String Gauges in this video: 10-52. Strings in the original song: .058, .056b, empty, empty, .018p, .018p. Guitar used for the original song: 1966 Mosrite MK V. 24.50" Scale Length. EDIT, 2 - 3 years later: fixed string gauge inaccuracy.

[@Egamer-db7bu]

@@101Volts Thank you.

[@TheSolarwaves]

Brilliant! Did the original guitarist use a Fender Strat or Telecaster for the track? And any effects?

[@LucaFrappola]

Ricky Wilson played a Mosrite guitar

[@101Volts]

Ricky Wilson played a 1966 Mosrite Ventures Mark V model for this song. No real effects, except it has a weird set of strings on it, and is tuned strangely. I posted the notes in my guitar tab at Ultimate Guitar - my tab is the 4th version of a guitar tab for the song.

[@risingsun101ch]

Stupid question probably but are all 3 F's the same?

[@LucaFrappola]

1st and 2nd strings are the same F, the 5th one octave below

[@KenshinZZ]

What amp/profile did you use?

[@LucaFrappola]

Joyo American Sound pedal into Focusrite Scarlett

[@Staygoldfarms]

What rig did Ricky play through?

[@101Volts]

@@Staygoldfarms Judging by live photos from the time, he probably used a Fender Twin Reverb. They switched to Mesa Boogie Mark II models a bit later, but the first album might still have used the Fenders.

[@stephanemineot5077]

Absolutely fine ! which gauge string do you use for this ? Thanks a lot

[@LucaFrappola]

0.56, 0.46, 0.11, 0.11

[@monroegrisman2000]

Same question thanks for asking!

[@monroegrisman2000]

@@LucaFrappola I thought it looked like you were using heavier gauge strings. Thanks for this confirmation. Great demo of this tune. Playing it with a band this weekend... much better thanks to you!

[@user-wx4gv8up4b]

By the way, do remember what string gauges you used for this?

[@LucaFrappola]

0.56, 0.46, 0.11, 0.11

[@user-wx4gv8up4b]

@@LucaFrappola thank you. I was considering a couple of 17s for the top two Fs because they're tuned so low.

[@101Volts]

@@user-wx4gv8up4bRicky used two .018p strings for the F strings, so your idea was pretty close. The bottom 2 strings are .058 and .056. He also played it on a 1966 Mosrite Ventures Mark V model, which has a scale length just shorter than a Gibson, at 24.50". He also used thick picks. However, I'm not sure which size. Maybe start with .88 mm, and go up to 1mm or 1.14mm. Try different ones.

[@drauziofernandes4798]

Lobs Excentent

[@Crayjean19]

Hi .... what is the tuning order of each string please

[@Crayjean19]

Espectacular

[@LucaFrappola]

6th C 5th F 4th no string 3rd no string 2nd F 1st F

[@101Volts]

@@LucaFrappola You might want to rectify the order of the 5th and 6th strings there, it's backwards between the two.

[@LucaFrappola]

@@101Volts thank you

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Luca Frappola I can play that on a Baritone Guitar

[@FreezyAbitKT7A]

Do you feel possessed when you play this so accurate?

[@doctorarturov.5735]

Hi sorry my english....drop guitar??? Thanks great job

[@LucaFrappola]

Fender Classic Player Baja Telecaster, Dean Markley Heavy Bottom 10-52, CFxxFF tuning

[@jasonshepherd5750]

its cool man everyone breaks that string anyway :p

[@virgiliodaos94]

Ricky wilson is alive

[@joedivision2329]

Are you using bass strings on that tele??

[@LucaFrappola]

No, it's a Dean Markley Heavy Bottom 10-52

[@Glidescube]

It's how Ricky used yo play it

[@xxxXXXCH04XXXxxx]

@@Glidescube It's a guitar then?

[@101Volts]

@@xxxXXXCH04XXXxxx Ricky's method was a guitar with a hybrid set of Bass and Guitar strings on it. .058, .056, empty, empty, 018p, .018p. Tuned to C F empty empty F F, and in 444 or 445 Hz. EDIT: Fixed my inaccurate bass string idea.

[@xxxXXXCH04XXXxxx]

@@101Volts Thanks :)

[@odyssey814]

too easy for you

[@jasonburks6644]

Iraq lobsta

[@tz.mr07]

And butter sauce