Vince Gordon.
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I'm often asked about my gear, guitars and how I get my sound, so I
have created a webpage that should answer most questions. What I
express here is my personal opinion. There are - like with everything
else - many different ways of achieving the same goals.
Over the years I've had a bunch of vintage guitars. Primarily
Gretsches. >From Country Gentleman to Country Roc, a couple of 6120's
and I've played the odd White Falcon. I've also tried out a lot of
amps. You CAN get an "authentic" sound by following my advice, and it
will leave you a lot of room to get your own sound. "Authentic",
"new" or even "bluesy".
Amplifiers: I never heard anything better than a Fender . As long as
you get a tube Fender you'll probably be on the right track, because
they all sound pretty good. It doesn't have to be vintage at all, but
they do look pretty cool. Actually I started out playing a vintage
Vox AC 30 and it wasn't bad at all. The sound was very 'tube' and
that's what you're looking for, but Fender is still the better choice
for Rockabilly.
When you play your Fender Amp, don't use the built in Reverb that
some of them have. Sure, the reverbs sound great, but when you're
playing live only use an echo (I use a digital one - the Boss DD-3. )
or else the sound will get too muddy for rockabilly when you use both
an echo and the reverb. If you're into Surf music it's a whole
different ballgame though.
Gretsch Guitars: As far as playing rockabilly on them I wasn't
impressed with the first reissues. The problem is mainly that the
FilterTron pickups on those are to 'muddy' sounding for your typical
rockabilly line-up. Up through the 90s Gretsch used ceramic magnets
rather than the Alnico magnets in the vintage models. Luckily that
should be in the past now as all stock FilterTron-equipped models
after 5/03 have Alnico magnets.
It's still not the pickup I'd pick for rockabilly though. I would
either get DynaSonic (DeArmond) or TV Jones FilterTrons pickups (Most
people agree that they sound better than any of the reissue
FilterTrons from Gretsch). You can get both stock on new Gretsches
today. It's important to remember that Gretsch used DeArmound pickups
(which are single-coil as opposed to the FilterTrons which are
Humbuckers) in the mid-fifties and that's where the legendary Gretsch
Rockabilly sound originated from.
The guys who utilized that sound were such greats as Cliff Gallup (of
Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps) who played a black 1955 Gretsch Duo
Jet, Eddie Cochran, who played a 1955 Gretsch Hollow Body (he changed
the rhythm pickup to a Gibson P-90, but that's a different story) and
Duane Eddy who played a 1957 Gretsch Hollow Body. Did you know that
Gretsch is now owned by Fender by the way...
Resources:
http://www.gretschguitars.com
http://www.bigsbyguitars.com
http://www.provide.net/~cfh/gretsch2.html#6120
Fender Guitars: Not really my kinda guitar (not semi-acoustic ya
know) but I've heard some amazing stuff played on them by Paul
Burlison, Danny Gatton, Jimmy & Stevie Ray Vaughn, Carl Perkins, and
Albert Lee to name a few. Maybe someday I'll stumble across one that
fits my hands and I'll be all over it. The great thing about Fender
Stratocasters and Telecasters is that they have single-coil pickup's
that'll cut through any backing band. - and that's what rockabilly
guitar is all about - isn't it? =:)
Fingerboard: Whatever suits you. A guitar may sound great, but if
it's hard to play for you, you're not doing yourself a favour. Find
out why it sounds good and look for that in another guitar that's
easy to play. They're supposed to be! Technique shouldn't stand in
the way of music. Mind you, you can get a long way with having a
prof. guitar tech. adjusting a 'bad' guitar. Always have a new guitar
adjusted to fit YOUR hands and way of playing.
Strings: Basically there are no 'right' or 'wrong' strings for
Rockabilly. It's a matter of taste. As a rule you can say that heavy
strings give you a 'fat', dark sound and light strings give you a
'thin', bright sound. Pretty simple, ay? If you're looking for the
Scotty Moore sound you'll want some flat wound heavy jazz strings. I
settled for a middle of the road set of strings: Ernie Ball 0.10-0.46
(Regular Slinky). I would have preferred to play a 0.11 set because
the just feel better in my hands, but there is so much bass in them
(On MY guitars) that it meddles with the territory of the double
bass. The 0.10's also allow me to get a 'twangy' sound when I need
it. Something that's hard to get with heavy strings.
If you enjoyed my little write-up, please check out my webpage where
there's a lot more info, "best buy" for finding your perfect
rockabilly guitar, pictures of guitars as well as their pickers and
some free soundsamples. Have fun!
"Put another Jime in the jukebox"
Vince Gordon of The Jime
Used with permission
http://www.the-jime.dk/Rockabilly_Guitar.shtm
The Jime
info@the-jime.dk
http://www.the-jime.dk
The Jime: Its Still Rockn'Roll To Me