Big W equipment (was Big W on DVD)

[tom ball <havaball@xxxxxxx>]

Mark asked:
>was that the same for mics - he would play thru vocal mics or 
>bullets? - or it didn't matter?
>
>I have seen some photos of him using only vocal mics - but that 
>doesn't mean anything of course - just what he was waving around in 
>front of a photographer.
____________________
Big Walter's Mics:

Like Walter Jacobs, Walter Horton used several different mics during 
his career.  One can only guess what he was using on those incredible 
sessions of 1953 and 1954, but when I saw him in the '60s and '70s he 
was alternating between a Shure vocal mic, a pale green Calrad  DS-2, 
a Shure 520 "Green Bullet", and an Astatic JT-30.

Big Walter sometimes simply blew through a vocal mic.  Harp ace Peter 
'Madcat' Ruth, who took a few lessons from Horton in '67 and '68, 
recalled one of them thusly:  "The microphone Walter was using at 
that time was a Shure PE57, a plastic body, high impedance dynamic 
mic with an on/off switch..."

There are several performance photos of him playing through various 
other vocal mics, but so little of the mic protrudes from his hands 
that it's impossible to determine exactly what they are.  And there 
are other photos of him playing through huge dispatch-type mics that 
appear to be bullet-shaped heads molded onto short stands (possibly 
an Astatic 200-S or a Turner?)  Horton evidently disregarded the 
attached stand and it's additional weight.

The Calrad DS-2 that Big Walter used is a large, pale green, bullet 
shaped  model.  Oddly enough there are a few other mics that appear 
to be identical to this model (like the Armaco M-131 and the Argonne 
AR-54,) and although I have no concrete documentation or proof, I've 
heard it rumored that these all might have been made by Shure.


Big Walter's Amplifiers:

There has surprisingly been much less research into Walter Horton's 
amps than there has been with regard to Little Walter, which is a 
shame considering that Horton is generally remembered as having had 
such incredible tone.  In the '60s I recall seeing him several times 
with a blackface Fender Princeton Reverb, and other times with a 
blackface Fender Princeton (no reverb.)  Whether those choices were 
based upon tonal preference or simple portability remains unclear, 
but they are great sounding amps for harp (especially in the hands of 
a master like Big Walter.) The only possible drawback to these amps 
is their low wattage (12 watts,) but a low wattage amp can always be 
independently miked and run through the P.A. if necessary.

In the '70s Horton was sometimes spotted using a tweed 4 x 10 Fender 
Bassman, but the amp apparently didn't belong to him.  Other reports 
have him using a blackface Twin Reverb, a silverface Princeton Reverb 
and on occasion a blackface Super Reverb.


Big Walter's Effects:

The first recordings of Big Walter on which we hear effects are, 
naturally enough, his first electric recordings: sessions from 
September 15, 1952, recorded at Sun Studios.  These first electric 
sessions (and a subsequent unissued session from December of that 
year) are not heavily laden with effects, but there is slightly 
audible reverb and/or echo present.  Initially, Sam Phillips only had 
a single-track, mono-input board, but by late '52 he was using a few 
methods for reverb and/or delay, including plate reverb, and (much 
like Bill Putnam's set-up at Universal in Chicago) the linking of two 
Ampex tape decks together to provide a slap-back effect which he most 
often used on the drum kit.

The 1952 Horton waxings have much less overall effects than some of 
his recordings of the following year.  Up in Chicago in '53, Big 
Walter cut the  classic sides with Johnny Shines for J.O.B. Records, 
but there are no details at all on the technical aspects of that 
session. '53 was also the year he recorded the great instrumental 
"Easy," (back again at Sun,) which featured steadily mounting echo 
throughout.  In Escott and Hawkins' book 'Sun Records-The Brief 
History,' Big Walter recalled, "We cut that thing in three or four 
takes but my box started screechin' and we had to cut it.  I played 
real loud on that one. I like to play loud."  One wonders if the 
other takes have survived - not only would it be instructive to hear 
the differences in the harp, but perhaps there is a take in which 
guitarist Jimmy DeBerry plays the correct figures!

The jury is still out as to whether either Big or Little Walter ever 
used a Fender outboard reverb unit once they became available in the 
early '60s.  It has been suggested that they did, but there are no 
confirming photos or first-hand reports.  While there is audible 
reverb on both of their harps during recordings from the mid-'60s, it 
may well have been supplied either from plate reverb in the studio or 
from built-in reverb tanks in their amps.  In any case, these 
outboard units are wonderful additions to the modern harp player's 
arsenal... if you can find one at a reasonable price.

cheers,

Tom Ball
Santa Babs
http://www.tomballkennysultan.com

.