Re: [Harp-L] fender bassman ltd again

["Bob Maglinte" <bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "scott" <checker758@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2005 1:30 AM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] fender bassman ltd again


> --- In harp-l-archives@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, TomEHarp@xxxx wrote:
> > i have to say this,i've only had it a week and i just can't get that LW 
> > sound
> > like i do out of me 1953 danelectro,i thought i would i don't get it.i 
> > think
> > its going back to the store.
>
> The issues of getting your own sound, etc., have already been addressed, 
> many times, so I won't go there.  However I don't see anything wrong with 
> emulating someone else's sound - everyone on this forum does it, whether 
> they admit it or not.  I only have two comments:
>
> 1. *Which* LW sound were you trying to get?  If you listen to his sessions 
> chronologically, you'll hear that no two sessions sound alike.  His harp 
> tone went from the relatively clean sound of, for instance, Juke, to the 
> broken kazoo distortion of Rocker, and everything in between.
>
> 2. Since there's no evidence that he ever used any kind of Bassman amp, 
> there's logical reason to expect that the modern version one would help 
> you get his sound.  If you want his sound (and I'm not talking about his 
> phrasing, acoustic tone, etc., just the kind of bass/treble/distortion 
> combination his equipment produced, which I assume is what this is about), 
> then you pretty much have to use the same type of equipment he did.  Which 
> is to say, 1950s Gibson, National, Masco, etc. amplification, and 
> microphones of the same vintage.
>
> OK, a third comment, to answer the inevitable question raised by the 
> comment above.  I've probably researched this subject more than anyone, 
> and the fact is, no one ever bothered to make note of which specific amp 
> LW used his gigs or recording sessions.  It's unknown, and at this point, 
> probably unknowable, unless a cache of photos from one of his sessions or 
> gigs that has been buried for 50 years suddenly turns up.  But at this 
> point, there are no known photos nor any definitive evidence of him using 
> ANY specific make or model of amp at any specific time.  Virtually 
> everyone who was in a position to know which amps he used 'back in the 
> day' always said the same thing: he used whatever was available and was 
> working at any given time.  Remember that when LW himself was asked point 
> blank which amp he liked, and he was unable to name a brand, let alone a 
> model.  So if someone is going for "the LW sound", literally any decent 
> amp from that era should get you in the ballpark.  In!
>  other
> words, you want the sound of Juke?  Get something that was available in 
> May 1952.  You like the sound of Key To The Highway?  Use a rig that was 
> available in 1958, etc.  The rest is up to you.
>
> Scott

Hi,
This is from someone who definitely would know, and he's one of the authors 
of the LW bio, which is an awesome book. A lot of those old harp greats from 
the same era, like Big Walter, who I met so many times during the 70's, the 
real deal was that they used whatever was available to get their sound 
across and it's almost a joke how so many players are gear obsessed thinking 
amps make themselves sound good if they haven't got their own acoustic chops 
and tone together first. Most amps in those days were well under 50 watts, 
and in the early 50's, any amp of 25 watts was a loud SOB back then and it 
was only until the late 50's that they began getting louder, and the first 
amps to be louder were bass amps because to reproduce those frequencies 
requires more power than a guitar amp.

Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
MP3's: http://music.mp3lizard.com/barbequebob/