Attn: Harvey Gerst... (and/or other knowledgable folks) HELP!

[Buck62]

Sorry if this is the wrong forum guys, but I need to make sure Harvey sees it and I know he hangs out in this forum more often than the others.

Okay, Harvey... (or anyone else who can help) I'm recording a Jimi Hendrix tribute band tomorrow morning and have a question or two if you can help me out. Do you know what amp (or amps) Jimi used for his "clean" sounds when he recorded in the studio? Like on "Wind Cries Mary" and similar tunes.

Also, the guitar player in this band uses a Marshall JCM head and 4-12 Marshall cabinet on every song and he tends to run his distortion a bit on the heavier side. I'm thinking of splitting the signal and running one side without any distortion, just in case we need to clean up the sound of the guitar a bit, and also to get a "fatter" sound. Should I make that second signal more like a classic Fender Twin or Vox sound?.... or should I use a second Marshall amp recorded clean with very minimal overdrive?

Lastly... do I have to use an A/B splitter box?... or can I simply use a cable that splits the mono signal coming from the guitar into 2 seperate signals? Would the there be a significant signal loss or added noise by using just a Y-splitter cable? Could I use 2 channels of a headhone amp to do the trick?

Anybody else with good advice is free to jump in... and thanx!

 

[Dracon]

I think Harvey is on vacation. Haven't seen any new posts from him the last couple of days. Oh! He works too, but I don't think that's the issue.

 

[boingoman]

Sorry if this is the wrong forum guys, but I need to make sure Harvey sees it and I know he hangs out in this forum more often than the others.

Okay, Harvey... (or anyone else who can help) I'm recording a Jimi Hendrix tribute band tomorrow morning and have a question or two if you can help me out. Do you know what amp (or amps) Jimi used for his "clean" sounds when he recorded in the studio? Like on "Wind Cries Mary" and similar tunes.

Also, the guitar player in this band uses a Marshall JCM head and 4-12 Marshall cabinet on every song and he tends to run his distortion a bit on the heavier side. I'm thinking of splitting the signal and running one side without any distortion, just in case we need to clean up the sound of the guitar a bit, and also to get a "fatter" sound. Should I make that second signal more like a classic Fender Twin or Vox sound?.... or should I use a second Marshall amp recorded clean with very minimal overdrive?

Lastly... do I have to use an A/B splitter box?... or can I simply use a cable that splits the mono signal coming from the guitar into 2 seperate signals? Would the there be a significant signal loss or added noise by using just a Y-splitter cable? Could I use 2 channels of a headhone amp to do the trick?

Anybody else with good advice is free to jump in... and thanx!

Most A/B boxes like a Morley or whatever don't have impedance-compensating, so they are basically the same as a Y-cable, with switching. You won't get any more or less signal loss either way. A Y-cable is fine.

That being said, doing it that way will be better than using a headphone amp, which won't have anywhere near the input impedance of two guitar amp inputs put together, like when you use an A/B box. There would be a lot of loss in quality.

Keep the cable runs as short as possible, with the Y-cable you are already gonna lose a little tone.

Good luck!!

 

[Son of Mixerman]

Im not Harvey...


Tough question Buck since Hendrix used alot of different things in his short recording career. If the tribute band has the sound of Hendrix then just capture that. If they don't then no amount of gear will make them sounds like Hendrix. Mainly whay your looking for is a Strat, a 1959 Marshall running clean, a Univibe etc..

Eddie Kramer quote from a book:

"I`ll find where the cool speakers are and stick one or two mics in the correct place to capture that sound.I use a three-mic technique: a (Shure)SM57,a (Sennheiser)421,and a (Beyer)M160,all in a very tight pattern.Then I pick and choose the tone quality,because each mic is totally different.I combine those together,and then I put a (Neumann)U67 away from the amp to get ambience".

page 132.

"(Sennheiser)421s are absolutely essential to the blend of what I do.If you can afford a ribbon mic,get one,too.To me,the best guitar mic is the Beyer M160,which I`ve used for 30 years on Hendrix,on Zeppelin,on everybody.I still use it".


Steve Vai mic's it just like this too. I wonder Why?


Next time your in Seattle Buck see what Randy Hansen does in recording his Tribute albums.

SoMm

 

[riantide]

Im not Harvey...

If the tribute band has the sound of Hendrix then just capture that. If they don't then no amount of gear will make them sounds like Hendrix. Mainly whay your looking for is a Strat, a 1959 Marshall running clean, a Univibe etc..

SoMm

Couldn't agree more. Also, if they DO have lame gear, BORROW, BORROW, BORROW!! If you can get your hands on a well-set-up American strat, a Plexi or JMP, and an awesome fuzz pedal (Roger Mayer Axis, Voodoo Labs Superfuzz, Big Muff, or any good Fuzz Face copy) then you should be OK. After that it's all the player.

I'm jealous, you're going to have fun recreating some of my favorite guitar tones I've ever heard. Have a blast and wish the drummer luck in trying to play like Mitch Mitchell, too!

 

[Richard Monroe]

I can't help you a lot, but the chain is : Strat > Cry Baby or Vox wah > Axis Fuzz box > Mayer Fuzz Face > Uni Vibe > Mayer Oktavia > Marshall w/ 6550 power tubes substituted for the original EL34's.

The modern substitute is:

Strat > Dunlop Cry Baby wah > Fulltone Fuzz > Prescription Electronics Experience Fuzz w/ octave and swell modes > Fulltone Deja'Vibe > Boss OC-2 > same Marshall as above.

Note, flipping the strat and reversing the nut changes string tension radically, as #6 becomes the longest string, and #1 the shortest. The pickups are now slanted the "wrong" way. If you want that sound, you have to start with a left handed strat and set it up as a righty, flipped over.(or get a left handed guitarist) There is some clean setting in all that stuff which will give that MD421 what it's looking for, but you need to start by modifying a left handed Strat. Best of Luck.-Richie

P.S. Thanks to Jon Chappell for this insight, who has forgotten more about recording guitar than I will ever know.

 

[Richard Monroe]

I can't help you a lot, but the chain is : Strat > Cry Baby or Vox wah > Axis Fuzz box > Mayer Fuzz Face > Uni Vibe > Mayer Oktavia > Marshall w/ 6550 power tubes substituted for the original EL34's.

The modern substitute is:

Strat > Dunlop Cry Baby wah > Fulltone Fuzz > Prescription Electronics Experience Fuzz w/ octave and swell modes > Fulltone Deja'Vibe > Boss OC-2 > same Marshall as above.

Note, flipping the strat and reversing the nut changes string tension radically, as #6 becomes the longest string, and #1 the shortest. The pickups are now slanted the "wrong" way. If you want that sound, you have to start with a left handed strat and set it up as a righty, flipped over.(or get a left handed guitarist) There is some clean setting in all that stuff which will give that MD421 what it's looking for, but you need to start by modifying a left handed Strat. Best of Luck.-Richie

P.S. Thanks to Jon Chappell for this insight, who has forgotten more about recording guitar than I will ever know.

 

[Buck62]

Thanx for all the advice guys.

I made a splitter cable of my own, but not sure if we'll use it.

I'll let you know how it goes, or better yet, post mixes in the MP3 Clinic when they're done.

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

Take DI feed of all the guitar tracks to a separate track, just in case you need to reamp later.....

 

[abraf]

I would think a nice strat->univibe->Fender twin(as he often used in the studio)->Beyer M160 would get you awfully close. At least it would be 99,5% left to the player.

 

[Middleman]

All great tips but focus on the ambient sound too. The U67 is the real key along with the right room size to match the Hendrix sound. If you can rent one, do. The pictures I have seen on the album session with Wind Crys Mary show a room about 15 feet high and 20 x 20 at least. That is going to play dramatically into the overall sound.