It's never too late............

[Somerset]

Hello! I’ve recently joined this forum and as a bit of a gear-a-holic I’ve spent a lot of time reading all of the posts on the gear message board.

I was born in ’54 and can still remember the joy of hearing Apache and later Shadows tunes on the radio. Even at that age I was already a Cliff fan and I still have the 7 inch singles of Living Doll and Travelling Light that were bought for me but it was The Shadows that really got me excited. Owning a guitar was, for me, out of the question in those days but the next best thing was getting a guitar catalogue from the local music shop and I spent more time looking at that than I did my Rupert Annual. From what I can remember it was mainly big bodied semi’s.

My first guitar was a Hofner Verithin in Cherry Red with a factory fitted Bigsby and I will always regret having sold it for a succession of Japanese copies of Gibson guitars in the ‘70s. My amp was a Bird Golden Eagle. However, I sold all of my gear when I got married in the belief that I would not be needing it any more. How wrong could I be!

I started my current collection just over 30 years ago and in that time I have amassed far more guitars, pedals and amps than I could ever justify under cross examination! Most of it has been acquired over the past 10 years since I took early retirement and have had more time on my hands. I’ve played in a couple of short lived bands playing mainly ‘70s rock and Chicago Blues.

The strange thing is that despite being a Shadows fan for just about all of my life I had never played any of their music………..until now.

Over the last couple of years I had fallen out of love with the guitar and until a couple of months ago I had not played one since October last year. For the last 17 years I have played tenor banjo in a band playing Traditional Irish Folk Music. We do a few songs (pub favourites like Wild Rover, Black Velvet Band, Whiskey In The Jar etc.) but mainly instrumental tunes (jigs, reels, hornpipes and polkas). So I still had a musical interest to keep me occupied.

However, in late April things took a sudden and unexpected turn when I was searching for something to watch on TV and in the listings I spotted The Shadows final tour film on Sky Arts. That was the spark I needed to re-ignite my love affair with the guitar and I decided there and then that I would start learning Shadows tunes. I am probably enjoying playing the guitar more now than ever before. A good friend I have known since childhood has played semi-pro for the past 50 years and includes many Shadows tunes in his repertoire and when I broke the news to him I said I was looking forward to learning the tunes but would not be chasing tone and anyway, I had everything that was needed to get “close enough”. A clean amp (my Fender ’65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue does that) an echo/delay pedal (I’ve got a couple of those) and a Stratocaster (yep, I’ve got some of those as well).

So here we are less than 2 months on and I have a brand new Fender FSR Strat in Fiesta Red and maple neck (Guitar Guitar exclusive) and a Baby Blue Tape Echo Pedal. After seeing something on Youtube I am using my Boss GE-7 EQ pedal to help make my Fender amp sound like a passable imitation of a Vox and in my good ear (singular!) it sounds ok to me. So why, last week, did I buy on eBay a Vox AC15CC1? Unfortunately, when I went to collect it it had a very intrusive reverb hum so I did not complete the purchase. But it’s probably only a matter of time before a Vox amp joins my collection. The AC10C1 looks nice and I quite like the look of a Strymon Volante but I’m getting ahead of myself now.

I live in North Somerset and my local club appears to be The South West Shadows Club in Exeter so once I’ve got a few more tunes under my belt I’ll probably get in touch with a view to joining.

[artyman]

I'm ten years your senior and only got back into guitar playing when I was 70, I meetup with a group of guys in Ringwood twice a month to plays Shadows stuff plus some others, not sure which bit of North Somerset you are in, but if you would like to join our informal group to 'dip your toes' in you would be most welcome. Just PM me if you want more details. One of our group also goes to the Exeter Club.

[Somerset]

I'm ten years your senior and only got back into guitar playing when I was 70, I meetup with a group of guys in Ringwood twice a month to plays Shadows stuff plus some others, not sure which bit of North Somerset you are in, but if you would like to join our informal group to 'dip your toes' in you would be most welcome. Just PM me if you want more details. One of our group also goes to the Exeter Club.

I’ve tried to PM you but it seems stuck in my Outbox. Not sure what to do to send it. Help!

[artyman]

I've received it and replied, I think they appear to sit there until the recipient reads it.

[guitarfred]

Nice to read your story Richard. Mine is very similar to yours. I was born on 1946 and heard Cliff & the Shads when I was about 14. I too used to look at the guitar magazines and music shop windows but in no way could I afford one. I eventually, when I was 17 I bought a new Vox which looked a bit like Hanks Stratocaster. Me and a friend tried to form a band but the Vox was that bad It was not possible to tune it because of the lack of any intonation. I lost interest because I was not able to play it, so like you, I joined a traditional Irish folk band playing on acoustic guitar- played all the folk clubs in Coventry and residencies in some of the pubs. I married moved away from Coventry and that was the end of it. My kids grew up and my interest in guitar was kindled again. I formed my own 60s band when I was about 50 years old, and of course was able to afford any guitar that I fancied. We played the working men's clubs for nearly 20 years and then arthritis and polymyalgia took their toll and I had to give up. Still play at home (with all the best gear) playing and recording shadows instrumentals. So never really took it up until I reached 50 ! you are right "it is never too late".

[Somerset]

Nice to read your story Richard. Mine is very similar to yours. I was born on 1946 and heard Cliff & the Shads when I was about 14. I too used to look at the guitar magazines and music shop windows but in no way could I afford one. I eventually, when I was 17 I bought a new Vox which looked a bit like Hanks Stratocaster. Me and a friend tried to form a band but the Vox was that bad It was not possible to tune it because of the lack of any intonation. I lost interest because I was not able to play it, so like you, I joined a traditional Irish folk band playing on acoustic guitar- played all the folk clubs in Coventry and residencies in some of the pubs. I married moved away from Coventry and that was the end of it. My kids grew up and my interest in guitar was kindled again. I formed my own 60s band when I was about 50 years old, and of course was able to afford any guitar that I fancied. We played the working men's clubs for nearly 20 years and then arthritis and polymyalgia took their toll and I had to give up. Still play at home (with all the best gear) playing and recording shadows instrumentals. So never really took it up until I reached 50 ! you are right "it is never too late".

Hi Fred, it’s nice to see a I am not alone on this forum in having an interest in traditional Irish folk music. Whilst the guitar was my first love I must say that I get huge enjoyment from belting out a jig, polka or reel on my tenor banjo which is a melody instrument. The other instruments in the band are fiddle, flute, whistle and guitar. Sometimes I play the bodhran on reels and jigs because the tune benefits from having a driving beat.

[ade]

Richard
I have sent a PM regarding the South West Shadows Club.

Ade

[Somerset]

Richard
I have sent a PM regarding the South West Shadows Club.

Ade

Thank you Ade. Just waiting for it to appear in my Inbox