The Old Sound

[abstamaria]

Thanks, Dave.

[abstamaria]

It just struck me, remembering the massive, complicated drum and cymbal sets Brian Bennett used on the Tours, that he had no desire or intent to replicate or sound like the original recordings that made the Shadows famous.

[abstamaria]

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The original recordings seem to have featured a basic drum set with a single mounted tom, the only flourish being the special cymbals Dave noted. We should have used such a set for our shows. We were so focused on the guitars and the amps.

Andy

[dave robinson]

On that photo of Tony, he's using the champagne Gretsch kit with a 20" Ping Ride, 16" crash cymbal and 14" hi-hats, all Avedis Zildjian.
That cymbal configuration is apparent on the early hit singles. Brian uses a larger array on some live gigs as he always used to feature a drum solo and he needed different textures of cymbal.

[abstamaria]

Thanks, Dave. That information is very useful, and I will share it with the fellows here.

Andy

[dave robinson]

I have over the years been in some very privileged positions being able to speak first hand to Hank, Brian, Bruce, Mark Griffiths and Alan Jones and I learned a lot from asking the right questions at chosen times, enough to dissuade me from continuing making foolish choices regarding equipment. I was always pretty clued up on my gear and always enjoyed having a good guitar & PA sound throughout my career, thanks to experience picked up from when I turned pro in January 1966. In that first year I was lucky to work with and rub shoulders with some top performers and learned a lot. The Yardbirds, Little Richard, David Bowie, Searchers, Undertakers to name a few that helped me learn valuable snippets of information, then of course my seven years as lead guitarist for Dave Berry helped me understand recording, as we were frequently at the BBC or in some recording studio working. It is by far the best way to learn, just studying how the top guys do it and all that knowledge helps as you progress. Speaking to people like Jeff Beck and Big Jim Sullivan about what seemed trivial things at the time really helped me make valuable choices later on in my work. Then chatting with Hank for three hours in the dressing room at Sheffield's Cavendish Club was priceless, I asked all the questions a guitarist would about his gear and destroyed a bunch of myths. The reason Hank is as good as he is can be told in one word - practice, that's it. He practices and prepares for his performances and that's why he appears 'flawless'. That was back in 1973 and in 2002 when I was in the Vibratos I had a similar chat with Brian Bennett who said exactly the same as Hank did about the importance of practice and preparation. Whilst we were rehearsing I shared a hotel with Mark Griffiths and it was an eye opener to understand how these top guys work and succeed at their profession, there are no secrets it's just hard work and dedication.
Hank told me about Big Jim Sullivan's habit of practicing his guitar parts and told me he used to go to his house to pick him up and he would often find him in bed, sat up with his guitar practicing his parts. Someone once told Hank that he was lucky to be able to play the way he does, but Hank's answer was yeah ? The harder I work the more lucky I become. That's it in a nutshell folks.

[abstamaria]

In the same way that Hank changed guitars in the Tours, Brian should perhaps have shifted to a simpler drum kit for the early pieces! (And we should have removed one rack tom for our shows. And used a Ludwig set!)

Andy