Apache with some budget kit

[dave robinson]

OK I re-recorded the rhythm guitar using the Tokai J-200 instead of The Everly's Epiphone.
Also the lead is on a Squier Classic Vibe Strat, no mods. Same settings as previous recording for comparison sake.
Also a second recording with this bundle using yesterday's BT and a cheapo Johnson (£75) Strat - amazingly good for the price.

https://soundcloud.com/dave-robinson-85 ... et-guitars

Here's the Cheap guitar version.
https://soundcloud.com/dave-robinson-85 ... et-guitars

[Iain Purdon]

I do like the re-recorded rhythm, it's pretty Bruce-like. There is just a small handful of club players around who have studied Bruce's technique and can reproduce it. It's a real pleasure to hear a recording made with that intention.

And your cheapo lead guitar is good enough for me.

Now how do we sell all that expensive gear before everyone hears this and the bottom falls out of the market?

[JimN]

OK I re-recorded the rhythm guitar using the Tokai J-200 instead of The Everly's Epiphone.
Also the lead is on a Squier Classic Vibe Strat, no mods. Same settings as previous recording for comparison sake.
Also a second recording with this bundle using yesterday's BT and a cheapo Johnson (£75) Strat - amazingly good for the price.

https://soundcloud.com/dave-robinson-85 ... et-guitars

Here's the Cheap guitar version.
https://soundcloud.com/dave-robinson-85 ... et-guitars

A very good result.

My vote is for the Tokai's sound. I think it's a bit more forward in the mix too.

A good acoustic sound is - as we now know - the missing ingredient when most of us play the tune live, and even over the years, when The Shadows played it. Who could forget the 2004 concerts where Bruce used a Martin for the rhythm part on a clutch of "oldies" including 36-24-36?

[dave robinson]

Thanks for your input Iain. In these times when money is getting more difficult to come by I feel for folks who are wrongly made to feel that they can't successfully replicate this great sound and play our music unless they spend a fortune on a state of the art guitar, amplifier and echo box, because nothing can be further from the truth. OK there are differences between budget and Masterbuilt/Custom Shop, but in the hands of Hank Marvin, or anyone who can do a reasonable impression of his playing, a sensibly priced set of kit can obtain excellent and pleasing results. This is what these recordings are about.
I was guilty of following all the 'must have' advice that was rife over twenty years ago and I paid good money for gear, that in truth I didn't really need as I already had a great sound. All that was missing was 'know how' to get it right and we all struggled with it. For years we chased the bloody Meazzi, because everyone was convinced it must be that, probably because we couldn't buy one anywhere. I must admit that back in he seventies, eighties and nineties I was always disappointed in Hank's guitar sound whenever I heard him live, though never would I criticise his playing as I learned tons from him, it was his tone and echo that let him down for me, as well as hundreds more guys that loved his music. Not until he acquired EFTP did we hear him back to what we knew, though his tone had mellowed somewhat. It was only when we started getting critical and re-listening to the original records that I got caught up in wanting perfection, though my audience loved what I was doing and work was plentiful and to be honest the audience never gave a toss about it not being 'spot on'. Again I blame myself for a lot of stress I put myself through during those times, as my hearing was diminishing, unbeknown to me, but during my chemo treatment almost eight years ago, my hearing seriously was impeded, so much so that hearing aids were the only answer. Since getting those and getting the balance 'right', I have easily solved those problems of pickups, EQs, echo boxes, amplifiers and everything to do with it and the fact is we've all been chasing a bloody myth, which I hadn't realised because my hearing was shot. I since found through acquiring loads of gear, including pickups, echo boxes, amps, loads of guitars of every description, that Hank's sound isn't as big a mystery as we thought and we can all get close to it. I have great fun doing it and I get a lot of pleasure from it so I say to you all, try to resist looking for excuses to modify whatever instrument you have by spending good money when all you really need to do is set it up right and concentrate on learning how to use the gear and playing and practicing. A good budget guitar if set up properly will do the job.

[dave robinson]

OK I re-recorded the rhythm guitar using the Tokai J-200 instead of The Everly's Epiphone.
Also the lead is on a Squier Classic Vibe Strat, no mods. Same settings as previous recording for comparison sake.
Also a second recording with this bundle using yesterday's BT and a cheapo Johnson (£75) Strat - amazingly good for the price.

https://soundcloud.com/dave-robinson-85 ... et-guitars

Here's the Cheap guitar version.
https://soundcloud.com/dave-robinson-85 ... et-guitars

A very good result.

My vote is for the Tokai's sound. I think it's a bit more forward in the mix too.

A good acoustic sound is - as we now know - the missing ingredient when most of us play the tune live, and even over the years, when The Shadows played it. Who could forget the 2004 concerts where Bruce used a Martin for the rhythm part on a clutch of "oldies" including 36-24-36?

Thanks Jim, as expected you're very observant. The difference in the acoustic, apart from it's a more expensive model and is strung with 12/56 as opposed to the Everleys 11/52 gauge strings, will be a very slight shift in the EQ. It's a great example of how different gauge strings and the slightest EQ shift changes sound. We live and learn that going from one day to the next can produce these variants, just as it did on the records. I reckon if was to sit and listen to Bruce's part and keep 'correcting' the EQ, at some point I would find it, but life's too short, so I quit right there because I get it .

[roger bayliss]

The sound of the rhythm guitar is fairly close , but original seems to have more top end sheen and presence to my ears Dave. Also the rhythm guitar is panned to right whereas yours is left. Bass on original seems centre and drums mainly on left with lead guitar in centre. That is on stereo version I have. Maybe drum cymbals on right with rhythm guitar ? Maybe mixing like original could help a bit more or maybe do a mono version.

[Hank2k]

The rhythm certainly makes a massive contribution to the sound, its fairly close to me!

[dave robinson]

I'm fairly certain that my JHS Colourbox would add the desired top end sparkle should I choose to use it, but I wanted to get somewhere close with the Logic Pro X software.
Should I find myself with a bit of spare time I'll give it a try, but like I said in my previous post, I'm comfortable where we are with it for such little effort and time. There was a noticeable difference in tone between two days of setting up, those are the fine margins.

[dave robinson]

Here's a MONO mix of the Classic Vibe & J-200, slightly pushed rhythm guitar.
https://soundcloud.com/dave-robinson-85 ... pache-mono

[David Martin]

Here's a MONO mix of the Classic Vibe & J-200, slightly pushed rhythm guitar.
https://soundcloud.com/dave-robinson-85 ... pache-mono

Excellent!