Ventures Guitars and Amps

[abstamaria]

It is perhaps sacrilegious to raise this query in this forum, but what guitars and amplifiers did the Ventures use in their very early (Walk Don't Run, Blue Moon) recordings? That would be 1959 and 1960.

Unlike the Shadows' gear, documented and discussed down to string gauges and picks, there is very little on the Ventures (one wonders why as they were quite popular). My research seems to say a 1959 Fender Jazzmaster for the lead guitar, a Stratocaster for rhythm, a Precision Bass (as with the Shadows), and Fender Twin Amps. They could have used a Bassman for bass, but there seems no indication of this. Did they use a reverb for those early pieces? Perhaps some of you know?

We do play Ventures, which are generally more danceable than the Shadows. I prefer the Shadows of course, but it is a nice change to shift to Bogle and Wilson.

Reagrds to all.

Andy

[Mike Honey]

I'm no expert on the Ventures (or any other band come to think of it) but the name Mosrite rings a bell!

mike

[John Boyd]

Andy,
As you correctly stated, the Ventures guitars used on the early recordings were a Jazzmaster for lead, Stratocaster for rhythm and a Precision bass.
The information I have available states that on March 22 1960 , when the Ventures entered Joe Bole's home basement studio to record 'Walk Don't Run', they took a Fender Bassman (for Nokie Edwards' bass) and a Fender Vibrolux and a Gibson GA - 40 for the guitars.
An RCA 44 ribbon microphone was used for the bass, a single Telefunken U47 cpatured the drum sound and the guitar amps were recorded with Electrovoice 666 and Altec 639 microphones.
Hope this is of some use to you.
Cheers,
JB

[George Geddes]

Certainly Fenders for the early stuff - Mosrites came in around '64. Later in the 60s the appeared to use Gibsons - I've certainly seen photos of McGee and Wilson with a Les Paul and an SG respectively.

George

[cockroach]

Andres,

It occurred to me some time ago that if Hank had got a SUNBURST Strat in 1960 instead of the red one, at about the time when Bruce had the sunburst Jazzmaster and Jet had his sunburst Precision bass- they would have looked like the British Ventures!!!

[AndyKC]

Andres,

It occurred to me some time ago that if Hank had got a SUNBURST Strat in 1960 instead of the red one, at about the time when Bruce had the sunburst Jazzmaster and Jet had his sunburst Precision bass- they would have looked like the British Ventures!!!

Nahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh the Ventures didn't do the steps.

Having grown up in the States most of us were a lot hipper to the Ventures than to the Shads, but there were a few of us who were on a higher plane of consciousness...

That said, there's a 1965 video of the Ventures in Japan doing Slaughter On 10th Avenue that absolutely kicks boo-tay. The Shads' version is beautiful and very very close in arrangement to the traditional renditions, but this version is what comes out of the Wild, Wild West Coast:

[JimN]

... there's a 1965 video of the Ventures in Japan doing Slaughter On 10th Avenue that absolutely kicks boo-tay. The Shads' version is beautiful and very very close in arrangement to the traditional renditions, but this version is what comes out of the Wild, Wild West Coast:

Great video, Andy. Thanks for the link. I know a lot of people (including some quite influential here) are critical of The Ventures' version of Slaughter..., but I've always thought it a great track. When I heard the Shads' version a few years later, and having at the time never heard the symphonic original, I was surprised by how stately and laid back it was...

Remembering that 1965 album "The Ventures On Stage" (the one with all the fake applause and the pretence that The Ventures had played live in the UK!), I am reminded of the Mosrite guitars, but also of those iconic Fender-style piggy-back amps (three blonde Dual Showmans - or Guyatones?) looking so cool on their tilt-back legs I wanted an amp like that immediately!

JN

[abstamaria]

"Slaughter" to me has a very oriental (or Japanese) flavor. I wonder of that's just me or a resuilt of The Ventures long and frequent tours to Japan. I have a Japanese friend visiting this Saturday, and I know he will want to play that ("Driving Guitars" has the same impression on me).

With the Mosrites, a different tone and style, the Ventures on the video already seem different to me from the Ventures that played "Walk Don't Run" and "Bulldog." They could almost be a another band.

[dave robinson]

Sorry guys, I can't see or hear anything good in that video apart from those nice Fender amps and the wasted Gretsch drum kit. To me it was a poor rendition of a good piece of music - these guys in my opinion are the 'John and Edward' of instrumental music, so often their guitars are out of tune. I have listened to many of their recordings in an effort to try and 'get it', but it ain't there for me.
Give me Chet Atkins, Les Paul, Tommy Emmanuel, Jeff Beck etc every time. Dare anyone else agree?
Tin hat in place.

[cockroach]

JimN,

Actually I didn't post that video- but I have seen it before and I like it- one of my favourite Ventures tunes..

Dave, I do agree that everyone is entitled to their own opinion regarding music- it's a pretty subjective thing after all, like most art forms...I can't stand rap, hip hop and many other types of 'rock' music, but I'm also a great fan of Chet, Tommy E, Les Paul, Django, and Jeff Beck (who eats the over rated Clapton for breakfast, and always has in my opinion..)

To me, about the time that the Shadows style changed to something unlike their early classic stuff, that's when I thought the Ventures started to change for the better! I always preferred that 'middle' Ventures period (about 1963-65) with Nokie playing lead- the early Ventures era stuff sounded a bit amateurish to me, especially compared with the Shadows in that same 1960-1962 period. Sorry Andres!

I suspect most of the American 'surf music' bands were maybe a bit out of tune back then, such as the Surfaris! But I still enjoy ALL that classic guitar instrumnetal era stuff...and don't forget our dear old Bert Weedon either! Go back and listen to his 'Ghost Train' from 1961- excellent!!!!