Re: Which "sound" is "that" then?
Posted: 17 Nov 2014, 03:02
strat21 wrote:Just read this old thread and just had to comment.I have in the past 12 years ,since I rediscovered The Shadows,or more accurately trying to emulate Hanks sound,old and new,I have heard approx 6 or 7 sounds with various players who have got it right or as close as dammit is to swearing.The closest was Justin Daish at Warwick Shadows club,using the Meazzi echo and a vox amp.That was almost as if the man himself was there.The secret is the vintage gear,but also a very good player,and Justin is just that a very good player.The other times were odd moments,a club band for want of a better description ,again with a Vox amp and a copy of EOTP and Wonderfull Land ,the intro was spot on,and Roger Bayliss playing Frightened City at the Hankies club one night.There have been others,and there will be more in the future,but Hank cant replicate it,and if he cant,what chance do mere mortals stand.Also,if the list at the start is right ,how can you have "The Holy Grail" of a sound if you keep moving the goalposts.
My advice would be if the "goalposts" are constantly moving -- and they are -- then you too must keep moving with them. The fact is that throughout their careers the Shads used many different amps and guitars and echo systems and recording styles, so when you say "THAT SOUND" you are actually talking about the recorded Shadows (Hank) sound FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL SONG. Hank's sound in let's say The Frightened City is radically different from his sound in Guitar Tango, and again totally different in Zambesi . . . He is not using the same amp, nor the same guitar, nor the same echo . . . But they are all Hank's sound, THAT SOUND.
So, if you want to "be Hank" in every Shadows song, you have to have his sound for that song. That is very possible today, thanks not only to today's digital technology, but to a number of extremely dedicated and clever people . . .
You can go out and buy a Vox AC 15/30, a Meazzi echo (if you can find one), and a Strat, and a Burns. That would give you a very good Hank sound, at least for some of the songs But you can cover more songs if instead of a Meazzi you bought a modern echo that emulates the many different Meazzi models used by Hank, and not only Meazzi, but also other echoes that he used, like the Roland 301 . . . That means buying a completely programmed echo machine that gives you the Hank echo for every song. There are several echo units like that to be purchased, some more expensive, with more sophisticated abilities, others cheaper but still great. New ones are coming out all the time. Also, you can use amp emulation devices and not even have to buy an amp.
Some people rely totally on computer programs, so-called VST plugins, so you need just a guitar and your PC. Go here https://www.youtube.com/user/springer16900 and listen to Christian and you will be amazed. His forum also has great information
http://vintage-sounds.freeforums.net/
So it all depends on what you want to do, you can choose to go hardware or software. Either way the choices are many and it has never been easier to get THAT SOUND than it is now.
Keep chasing those "goalposts" and keep practicing because sounding like Hank also requires playing like Hank!
Regards,
Bojan