[Harp-L] Re: effects

TomEHarp@xxxxxxx writes:

i think most of little walter is without effects.but on juke,sad hours,blue
midnight,and you better watch your self. he had bomthing on.its a delay or an
echo plex.   what do you people thing???

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(from "Little Walter / Big Walter Licks" book):

Little Walter's Effects

Mainly echo and/or reverb. The recordings Little Walter made as a leader are somewhat more heavily effects-laden than his work accompanying Muddy Waters and others, but there is echo/reverb present to some degree on almost every session after 1951. At the earliest sessions, this would have necessarily originated from the studio - there were no outboard units or amps with built-in reverb yet available.

A lot of research has been conducted (by Scott Dirks and others) into Chess Records' early recording techniques, and as a result we now have a clearer picture of how these recordings were produced. In response to a recent request for info, Scott filled me in with the following details:

"Contrary to popular belief, most of the classic Chess blues sides weren't recorded at Chess Studios, which didn't come into being until around 1955. Universal Studios was the premiere recording studio in Chicago for years, and to his credit, Leonard Chess used Universal exclusively until his own studio was up and running.

"Universal owner/chief engineer Bill Putnam built his own tape delay machine using a reel-to-reel....(and they basically) used three different methods to get delay and/or reverb: (1) An empty tiled room with a speaker at one end and a mic at the other (the classic 'echo chamber,') (2) a massive plate reverb unit, and (3) the slave reel-to-reel that was used solely for tape delay."

At least one harmonica book has stated that Little Walter used an Echoplex, an outboard unit made up of an endless tape-loop cartridge. That book goes so far as to say that the Echoplex can be clearly heard on "Juke," "Mean Old World," "Sad Hours," etc. Problem with that analysis is that the Echoplex wasn't yet invented or available (nor were it's predecessors the EccoFonic or EchoSonic) in 1952 when those songs were recorded. The effect we're hearing on them is no doubt the aforementioned reel-to-reel device built by Putnam.

Nevertheless, the Echoplex is a handy unit for today's harp player. If you're in the market for one, keep in mind there are two versions: the earlier tube variety and the later solid-state model. Some folks claim there's little difference; to my ears, though, the more fragile tube model is richer sounding. The "echo" aspect may not be that much different, but when used with a high-gain instrument (like harp through a mic,) the tube unit breaks up into a warmer distortion. Unfortunately in today's market, the vintage tube model commands more than twice the price of the solid-state version.

Occasionally Jacobs used other effects. On the recently issued session from January of '53 that included an alternate of "Fast Boogie," "Drifting Blues," and "Don't Need No Horse" you can hear added tremolo/vibrato on the harp. And it's also audible on later sessions ('58-'59) that produced "The Toddle," and the Le Roi du Blues bootleg version of "Goin' Down Slow." At those points in his career he must have been using an amp that had this built-in feature.

When asked about effects in the previously mentioned Living Blues interview, Walter denied using anything at all in the studio, saying he was "doin' it with my hand." But Louis Myers then contradicted him, saying that the studio had used "viberation."

cheers,

Tom Ball
Santa Babs

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