Hank's pick up selection during tour

[abstamaria]

In a thread some time ago on one of the tours, which I could not locate, it was noted that Hank kept his pick-up selector switch firmly in the bridge position, even for pieces that called for another pick up. I am not certain now whether that was for the Final Tour or a later one. Does anyone recall the conversation?

Many thanks.

Andy

[cockroach]

Hi Andy

I recall the thread, but it would probably date back to the time of the final tour- when was that? 10 years ago?

I vaguely remember someone speculating that Hank just played and his off stage guitar tech person adjusted the tones, echo settings etc remotely from off-stage...

Who knows? With stuff like pitch correction now being used on live concert vocals, anything is probably possible, even 10 years ago!

Back in the old days, the audience generally got what they saw and heard...like that Royal Command Concert show in the early '60's where Hank's echo unit packed up and he had to just get by with a dry amp sound...

Years and years ago, I tried a guitar and amp in a shop with a tape echo unit hooked up...someone else had been playing with it, and he handed the guitar to me when he had finished (another time waster in a guitar shop, killing time in his lunch break from work- same as me!). As soon as I started playing, it was obvious why That Sound was the way it was...even I could sound a little bit like Hank!

[abstamaria]

Many thanks, John. I appreciate your taking the time to reply.

It is good we have these little pursuits.

Warm regards,

Andy

[dave robinson]

I could never get to grips with Hank using the treble pickup for everything during the final tour.
Maybe the set up he was using (KCP/Alesis Quad) didn't respond to those Kinman pickups in the other positions, it's something that baffled me at the time and obviously others noticed it too.I had a KCP and it was bottom heavy , but I have no such trouble whatsoever with my Vox amps, which enable the use of the correct pickup selections as one would expect them to be. The KCP was made to Hank's spec, so I'm not pointing the finger at them. I do feel that it was far from what we wanted in terms of vintage sound though, which is why I was grateful that somebody bought it from me.
There's a lesson here which I learned the hard way. We started with Vox AC30amps, later spending a lot of money going down the road of different amps as they became 'fashonable' i.e. Carlsboro / Marshall / Sound City / Fender Twin etc etc, but in the end realising that if you want he Shads sound from the early sixties, then Vox is the way to go.I ended up with two more AC30s and never looked back - that said I favour my Mesa Boogies for general use. Funny old world ain't it ?

I'd like to add that in my opinion the best I ever heard Hank apart from the early days, was when he used the Matchless DC30 and had just acquired the EFTP set up. The sound on that particular tour was excellent and was instantly noticeable. Did anyone else pick up on that ?

[KurtFroberg]

Hi Andy,
Maybe it was this thread from Charlie's site back in 2008?
http://charliehall.proboards.com/thread/339

Kurt

[chippy71]

I could never get to grips with Hank using the treble pickup for everything during the final tour.
Maybe the set up he was using (KCP/Alesis Quad) didn't respond to those Kinman pickups in the other positions, it's something that baffled me at the time and obviously others noticed it too.I had a KCP and it was bottom heavy , but I have no such trouble whatsoever with my Vox amps, which enable the use of the correct pickup selections as one would expect them to be. The KCP was made to Hank's spec, so I'm not pointing the finger at them. I do feel that it was far from what we wanted in terms of vintage sound though, which is why I was grateful that somebody bought it from me.
There's a lesson here which I learned the hard way. We started with Vox AC30amps, later spending a lot of money going down the road of different amps as they became 'fashonable' i.e. Carlsboro / Marshall / Sound City / Fender Twin etc etc, but in the end realising that if you want he Shads sound from the early sixties, then Vox is the way to go.I ended up with two more AC30s and never looked back - that said I favour my Mesa Boogies for general use. Funny old world ain't it ?

I'd like to add that in my opinion the best I ever heard Hank apart from the early days, was when he used the Matchless DC30 and had just acquired the EFTP set up. The sound on that particular tour was excellent and was instantly noticeable. Did anyone else pick up on that ?

Totally agree Dave, thought he had a great sound with the DC30/EFTP, wished i could afford that set up!

[abstamaria]

Thanks, Kurt. There was another, more extended discussion. The most plausible explanation given there was that the adjustment of volume levels in auditoriums as large as those the Shadows played in is a complicated and difficult task for the sound engineer, particularly considering the effect of the thousands of warm bodies on pre-show sound checks. That seems an easy task in a small venue, but perhaps difficult on a much larger scale, particularly on pieces such as “Atlantis.” Anyway, that theory could be all wrong, but, knowing the sound level differential between pick-up positions even in my little studio, it seemed logical to me.

Best,

Andy

[cockroach]

I agree with you Andy!

Over the years, I've played live gigs and also recorded material in recording studios.

Unless you have a super high class PA and mixing desk, and a competent person at the mixing desk, it is very difficult to achieve subtleties of tone changes between various pickup combinations etc playing live, compared with the sounds achievable in a studio recording- I've also noticed not only differences in pickup sounds but also differences in level, clarity and 'cutting power' when using different pickup and/or tone settings in a live situation.

Pretty much any Fender type bridge pickup gives clarity, power and is easily discerned in the overall band sound- but using the neck pickup or two pickup combinations etc often sounds boomy, muddy and/or indistinct . The bigger the performance space, the more problems! And as for playing outdoors...forget it!

Maybe Hank just 'played safe' trusting he could get a reasonable 'generic' Hank sound by just using the bridge pickup, and avoiding mixing and level issues for the overall sound balance for the group.

If any type of guitar can always be heard clearly, all things being equal, it's usually a Fender- and a Telecaster bridge pickup can usually be heard the most clearly in most situations!

[Gatwick1946]

One of my pleasures at a Shadows concert was studying Hank's style and technique.

A good venue for this was Fairfield Halls, Croydon, where there were 2/3 rows of seats, arranged in a half circle, behind the stage. I presume this was to give a "theatre in the round" type of situation. Hank or Bruce usually made a quip about these being the cheap seats.

Once I managed to get a front seat, in this section on the right of the stage, so I was only a few yards from Hank on his left side,and I was able to watch him switch pickups. While Bruce was addressing the audience Hank sometimes made some adjustments to his echo unit.

Anorak moment:- If you listen on headphones to a stereo, digital version of Adios Muchachos, at 1:09 you can hear the faint click as Hank changes to bridge pickup.

Kindest regards
Christopher

[KurtFroberg]

Anorak moment:- If you listen on headphones to a stereo, digital version of Adios Muchachos, at 1:09 you can hear the faint click as Hank changes to bridge pickup.

There are quite many of the early tunes on record where Hank changes pickup, to name but a few:

The Stranger
Theme From "Shane"
Back Home
Kon-Tiki
Shadoogie
The Boys
The Breeze And I
Atlantis

Kurt