The ShadowMusic Web Community

After reading a thread on another website, a couple of questions occurred to me which some folk on this site may be able to answer..

1. I recall a photo in the old Beat Instrumental magazine from around 1966/67, where Bruce is holding a Vox Escort guitar (which was basically a Telecaster type copy by Vox) with the built-in effects module (six push buttons on the scratchplate) at a UK music trade show, which photo caption indicated that he was being presented with it (by a pictured Vox executive)..Bruce is quoted as saying 'Hank will be dead chuffed with this!'

I wonder if either Bruce or Hank actually tried or used this guitar?

2. When Bruce got the blonde Telecaster around 1960/61(?) did Hank ever try it out? Seeing as Hank was a fan of James Burton whose sounds on the Ricky Nelson records he loved, and that although Hank had by then got the Strat, I wonder if he wished he had got a Tele...or whether by that time, he was fully satisfied with the Strat?

Any comments?

Bruce only used a Tele (likely lended) on a very few occasions, such as at the Paris Olympia where I saw him playing with one in 1961.
But Hank already had the Strat and developped his own style, using a lot the tremolo arm, so the Tele was obviously of little interest for him...

Didier

In relatively recent interviews, I understand that Bruce doesn't even remember that Vox New Escort guitar (which was fitted with a Vox "Hank B Marvin" short vibrato unit and all of the electronics - mid boost, tremolo, fuzz, etc - which were then being built into top-of-the-line Vox guitars.

There's a scan of that photo online somewhere.

Here it is (I re-did the text because the original image was distorted by having been photographed rather than scanned):

Third time lucky?

https://imgur.com/kiLCn3O

JimN wrote:In relatively recent interviews, I understand that Bruce doesn't even remember that Vox New Escort guitar (which was fitted with a Vox "Hank B Marvin" short vibrato unit and all of the electronics - mid boost, tremolo, fuzz, etc - which were then being built into top-of-the-line Vox guitars.

There's a scan of that photo online somewhere.

Here it is (I re-did the text because the original image was distorted by having been photographed rather than scanned):

Third time lucky?

https://imgur.com/kiLCn3O

Thanks Jim- that's the photo!

I'd remember if I got a free guitar...even years later!

Didier wrote:Bruce only used a Tele (likely lended) on a very few occasions, such as at the Paris Olympia where I saw him playing with one in 1961.
But Hank already had the Strat and developped his own style, using a lot the tremolo arm, so the Tele was obviously of little interest for him...

Didier

Even so, in my experience, if your friend and musical colleague in your band gets a new guitar, you'd be interested to have a try!

JimN wrote:In relatively recent interviews, I understand that Bruce doesn't even remember that Vox New Escort guitar (which was fitted with a Vox "Hank B Marvin" short vibrato unit and all of the electronics - mid boost, tremolo, fuzz, etc - which were then being built into top-of-the-line Vox guitars.

There's a scan of that photo online somewhere.

Here it is (I re-did the text because the original image was distorted by having been photographed rather than scanned):

Third time lucky?

https://imgur.com/kiLCn3O

Interesting pic. Hank was obviously not "chuffed"!

Perhaps he had an arrangement with Fender that didn't allow him to be seen playing another make, like Les Paul's with Gibson.

Uncle Fiesta wrote:Perhaps he had an arrangement with Fender that didn't allow him to be seen playing another make, like Les Paul's with Gibson.

The Shadows did have a contract with Burns-Baldwin at the time.

But that didn't stop Hank from using a Fender Bass VI or the group in general from using the Gibson J-45 6-string and B-45 12-string guitars.

JimN wrote:

Uncle Fiesta wrote:Perhaps he had an arrangement with Fender that didn't allow him to be seen playing another make, like Les Paul's with Gibson.

The Shadows did have a contract with Burns-Baldwin at the time.

But that didn't stop Hank from using a Fender Bass VI or the group in general from using the Gibson J-45 6-string and B-45 12-string guitars.

Perhaps the Vox guitar was able to be provided as a part of the group's other separate endorsement arrangement with JMI for Vox equipment?

JimN wrote:

Uncle Fiesta wrote:Perhaps he had an arrangement with Fender that didn't allow him to be seen playing another make, like Les Paul's with Gibson.

The Shadows did have a contract with Burns-Baldwin at the time.

But that didn't stop Hank from using a Fender Bass VI or the group in general from using the Gibson J-45 6-string and B-45 12-string guitars.

I'm assuming the Burns contract only covered electric 6- and 12-strings and anything else would be OK.