Didier wrote:On the french Shadows' forum, we are having a discussion about which amps were used when playing at the Johannesburg Colosseum in 1961 when they were recorded live.
In Mike Read's book "The Story of The Shadows" Bruce Welch is quoted saying :
"We were promised Vox amps for the tour but we ended up being given Gibson amps which of course had to be used for the live recording as well. This was the only time that Vox amplifiers weren't used on our recordings."
But it is also believed that they came with their own Vox amps. Has anyone precise informations on this subject ? pics would be welcomed.
Didier
If they were "promised" Vox amplifiers, it seems unlikely that the group took their own with them as well. Today, it is common practice for USA players visiting the UK to contract the hire of easily-available and known-quantity indsutry standard amplifiers, especially the Fender Twin Reverb and Deluxe Reverb. This is probably the same sort of arrangement which was made in 1961.
Bruce's statement about the recording, though, is only an approximation. Selmer guitar amplifiers had been used for the first few Drifters / Shadows recordings. Obvious tracks which use tremolo sounds never available on Vox amplifiers include
Driftin' and
Willie And The Hand Jive, both recorded in 1959. And of course, Jet used a Leak amplifier in the studio (possibly the one used later by Paul McCartney).