In the story of Peter Pan, it is stated that if someone says "I do not believe in fairies", somewhere there is a fairy that falls down dead.
I believe the same is true for guitar equipment at Bruce Welch's event at Lakeside. In the build up to the the gig, if anyone breathes the word "Shadowmania", a vital-to-the-show Vox amplifier or Meazzi echo expires. Both Phil Kelly and Colin Pryce-Jones have had problems that had to be sorted on the day by expert technicians who were called in at the last minute. Thankfully, I had a few days to get my own gear issues sorted.
First of all, with less than two weeks to go before Shadowmania, one of my guitars developed a serious fault that needed sorting. Less-than-ideal timing, not least because my usual guitar tech had just left the country on a well-earned holiday. All other techs I'd employed before had been at the recommendation of fellow guitarists, but none of them were local. That meant finding a stranger to trust with my prized No1 Strat. I must admit to feeling a certain amount of trepidation, but there was no other choice.
While my Strat was in "hospital", I had to rehearse with the Shadowers. Four tunes into the first run-through of our set (on 9th September), my Meazzi echo seemed to give up the ghost. Cue a mild case of hysteria. A few minutes later, I had proven to myself (by cleaning the heads and changing the tape) that the problem was certainly a faulty electrical component. I made a call to a trusted friend who can mend anything with an electrical current, Amanda Hambidge. Amanda agreed to drop everything and meet me that evening to collect the echo. After less than twenty-four hours of being without my "Baby" (my nickname for the Meazzi), I had the news I had been waiting for: it was back to full health and would be waiting for me at our rehearsal venue that Sunday, just three days after the problem had manifested itself.
Fast-forward five days, and we all arrived at Lakeside. I had finally been reunited with my Strat which, thankfully, had been well cared for and was playing better than it had in months. Amanda had brought her superb home-made Vox AC15 clone for me as a back-up. Those in attendance may have also seen, underneath my own echo, a second Meazzi (which Amanda had altered slightly so that it was closer to mine in circuit and therefore sound), which was present in case mine broke down or failed during the set. She was also on hand all day to help us shift our equipment on and off stage, which saved time and so eased stress levels.
I was conscious of not waffling too much on stage between tunes, but in so doing I neglected to thank Amanda for all her help, which was an unforgivable oversight. Amanda, the Shadowers are in your debt, and not for the first time. Thank you.
Lastly, on behalf of the band, I must thank everyone who has commented on the Shadowers' set at Lakeside. We've been inundated with compliments in person, via emails, via Facebook, and via internet forums. Thank you all.
Ciao for now...
J
Tuesday 5 October 2010
Monday 16 August 2010
"Recalibrating" your ear to the sounds of the records
WARNING: This is very much a trainspotting post!
With Shadowmania looming, for the performers appearing on the show it's full steam ahead with practising our sets. The Shadowers have already become well known for accurately reproducing the sounds of the Shadows' records. This is in no small way down to our individual knowledge and analysis of our respective parts. Personally, this means trying to get as close as possible to Hank Marvin's sound, tone and playing.
Today, whilst rehearsing a classic Shads tune from 1961, I wanted to brush up on a couple of Hank's phrases and try to replicate the way he played them in the studio. I played the original and was surprized to hear how much tonal difference there was between my sound and the sound that I was hearing on the record: I thought I was near enough spot on with the sound. It made me realize how much we misremember things in general. Check out a few of the home recordings that appear on YouTube or the various Shadows fan websites, and then compare the guitar sounds to the sounds on the Shadows' records. Most guitarists play with far too much treble in their sound, which is an easy trap to fall into. I find myself doing it occasionally, even though I'm very conscious of trying not to do so. It's harder to identify the problem for yourself as you're not aware of the small changes that happen over time. Small changes that add up to make a big difference. Today, when listening again to the said tune, I discovered how far removed my sound had become from the recorded sound. It was easy to rectify my mistake, but I was amazed at how badly I'd misremembered the sound. As I've said, I thought I was getting it just right.
I decided to test myself again with another tune which I thought I've had sounding good over the last few months. I played the record to hear the tone, and, hey presto, my memory had let me down once more. Again, I hadn't originally heard it wrongly, but I realized that over time my recall of how to pick the notes had blurred and evolved. More often than not, the character of the note is down to how you pick, and not your amplifier settings. I had been accepting a sound that, once I listened to the record once again, I realized was not quite 100% there, and it was largely due to my playing technique. It took some time to study the sound and work out how Hank picks the tune. In fact, after the time I put in today, I believe certain tunes are sounding more authentic than I've ever had them.
So, to all purist guitar-playing Shads fans and musicians that strive to replicate any particular piece of music (I guess this applies mainly to tribute artistes), I must stress the importance of not leaving it too long before you next listen to the record/s you're trying to copy. Your mind will deceive you, and you will need to "recalibrate" your ear more often than you think. From now on, before each gig, I'll be spending some time listening to certain records of the Shads to make sure I'm presenting as true a form of "That Sound" as is possible.
There. I told you it was a post for the anoraks!
Ciao for now...
J
With Shadowmania looming, for the performers appearing on the show it's full steam ahead with practising our sets. The Shadowers have already become well known for accurately reproducing the sounds of the Shadows' records. This is in no small way down to our individual knowledge and analysis of our respective parts. Personally, this means trying to get as close as possible to Hank Marvin's sound, tone and playing.
Today, whilst rehearsing a classic Shads tune from 1961, I wanted to brush up on a couple of Hank's phrases and try to replicate the way he played them in the studio. I played the original and was surprized to hear how much tonal difference there was between my sound and the sound that I was hearing on the record: I thought I was near enough spot on with the sound. It made me realize how much we misremember things in general. Check out a few of the home recordings that appear on YouTube or the various Shadows fan websites, and then compare the guitar sounds to the sounds on the Shadows' records. Most guitarists play with far too much treble in their sound, which is an easy trap to fall into. I find myself doing it occasionally, even though I'm very conscious of trying not to do so. It's harder to identify the problem for yourself as you're not aware of the small changes that happen over time. Small changes that add up to make a big difference. Today, when listening again to the said tune, I discovered how far removed my sound had become from the recorded sound. It was easy to rectify my mistake, but I was amazed at how badly I'd misremembered the sound. As I've said, I thought I was getting it just right.
I decided to test myself again with another tune which I thought I've had sounding good over the last few months. I played the record to hear the tone, and, hey presto, my memory had let me down once more. Again, I hadn't originally heard it wrongly, but I realized that over time my recall of how to pick the notes had blurred and evolved. More often than not, the character of the note is down to how you pick, and not your amplifier settings. I had been accepting a sound that, once I listened to the record once again, I realized was not quite 100% there, and it was largely due to my playing technique. It took some time to study the sound and work out how Hank picks the tune. In fact, after the time I put in today, I believe certain tunes are sounding more authentic than I've ever had them.
So, to all purist guitar-playing Shads fans and musicians that strive to replicate any particular piece of music (I guess this applies mainly to tribute artistes), I must stress the importance of not leaving it too long before you next listen to the record/s you're trying to copy. Your mind will deceive you, and you will need to "recalibrate" your ear more often than you think. From now on, before each gig, I'll be spending some time listening to certain records of the Shads to make sure I'm presenting as true a form of "That Sound" as is possible.
There. I told you it was a post for the anoraks!
Ciao for now...
J
Wednesday 4 August 2010
New blog
Hi all...
To coincide with the imminent revamping of my website (http://www.justindaish.com/) I have decided to start a blog. This blog will take the place of my diary entries which were a popular feature of my old website. It will feature anything that takes my fancy, but will invariably be linked to the Shadows, the fan community, the Shadowers, guitars & equipment or my own personal gigs. Having a blog will allow me to add/create entries quickly, instead of having to go through the procedure of creating a new page on my website each time I have something to say. I still have all the diary entries from the old site, and if anyone wants to see them, feel free to contact me.
Let me know what you think of the new blog, and - when it's done - of the new look of my website. Thanks to both Tom Andrews and Configured Computers for helping write the content and for the support with the technical aspects of the new site. It's nearly done, and its completion will be announced here and on the "General" page of the ShadowMusic Web Community (http://www.shadowmusic.co.uk/).
Ciao for now...
J
To coincide with the imminent revamping of my website (http://www.justindaish.com/) I have decided to start a blog. This blog will take the place of my diary entries which were a popular feature of my old website. It will feature anything that takes my fancy, but will invariably be linked to the Shadows, the fan community, the Shadowers, guitars & equipment or my own personal gigs. Having a blog will allow me to add/create entries quickly, instead of having to go through the procedure of creating a new page on my website each time I have something to say. I still have all the diary entries from the old site, and if anyone wants to see them, feel free to contact me.
Let me know what you think of the new blog, and - when it's done - of the new look of my website. Thanks to both Tom Andrews and Configured Computers for helping write the content and for the support with the technical aspects of the new site. It's nearly done, and its completion will be announced here and on the "General" page of the ShadowMusic Web Community (http://www.shadowmusic.co.uk/).
Ciao for now...
J
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