nic9981
Joined: Oct 31, 2013
Posts: 2
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Posted on Oct 31 2013 04:16 PM
Hi guys,
I need your collective expertise and I joined the forum just to ask this question:
-Does anyone recognise the amp tone from classic Centurians tracks such as Bullwinkle Pt II, Intoxica, Latino etc?
I know I need a Fender Reverb Tank, a Jag or Jazzmaster with HEAVY strings but I just can't place the amp, it seems somewhat dark for a Blackface, but too clean for a Tweed (well the stereotypes anyway).
Thanks in adavance for your help!!
PS I searched for "centurians" on the forum before posting, and there were no results 
Last edited: Nov 01, 2013 07:40:31
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SanchoPansen
Joined: Jan 04, 2011
Posts: 1588
Berlin L-Berg
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Posted on Nov 01 2013 03:11 AM
Welcome to the forum. Don't know about the amp, but isn't it a Bass VI we hear in the recordings?
— The Hicadoolas
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nic9981
Joined: Oct 31, 2013
Posts: 2
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Posted on Nov 01 2013 07:26 AM
Oooh, is it really? That would help explain the darker tone then! Perhaps it is a Blackface something or other after all?
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19194
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Nov 01 2013 07:42 AM
I edited your post title to make it more relevant to the search engine. I think the band started out as The Centurions but later changed their name to The Centurians after the surf music craze.
I'm not really sure you can easily guess the amp. There is also the sound due to recording techniques, etc. Is there any photos or info in Bob Dalley's book (my copy is not near me right now).
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
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simoncoil
Joined: Sep 28, 2012
Posts: 897
Berlin, Germany
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Posted on Nov 01 2013 07:52 AM
I totally agree: They had a really good guitar sound, especially on Bullwinkle Pt. II (see here for discussion about Part I.  ). Since the song was recorded in 1963 the amps used cannot have been blackface amps (which started production in 1964), but have possibly been pretty much what every other surfband was using back then: blonde/brownface Fender Showman or Bandmaster amps.
Like Brian I think that the secret of the Centurions' sound isn't the amps but rather a combination of a pretty cranked up reverb unit, and very good miking and mixing that produces that extremly direct in-your-face-sound. And of course playing with a very hard attack: Whenever I hear "Bullwinkle Pt. II" I think "He's going to break a string the next second!" 
— Los Apollos - cinematic surf music trio (Berlin)
"Postcards from the Scrapyard" Vol. 1, 2 & 3 NOW available on various platforms!
"Chaos at the Lobster Lounge" available as LP and download on Surf Cookie Records!
Last edited: Nov 01, 2013 07:54:55
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Elliot
Joined: Sep 07, 2009
Posts: 31
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Posted on Nov 01 2013 10:55 AM
By far my favourite surf band tone.
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reventlos
Joined: May 23, 2006
Posts: 209
Costa Mesa
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Posted on Nov 01 2013 02:14 PM
image
I should know this, as they were from my town of beautiful Costa Mesa, CA. The pic shows them using the requisite blond on blond Fenders. I believe that a big part of their dark sound came from tuning all their guitars down to D. Way ahead of their time!
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simoncoil
Joined: Sep 28, 2012
Posts: 897
Berlin, Germany
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Posted on Nov 04 2013 03:02 AM
reventlos wrote:
I believe that a big part of their dark sound came from tuning all their guitars down to D. Way ahead of their time!
 You're absolutely right! How come I never noticed this even though it is so obvious?
As far as I remember Randy Holden once said in an interview, that the Fender IV also tuned down to D, mainly because it made it easier to play witht he heavy strings they were using. And they also have a quite dark sound on "Little Ollie"...
— Los Apollos - cinematic surf music trio (Berlin)
"Postcards from the Scrapyard" Vol. 1, 2 & 3 NOW available on various platforms!
"Chaos at the Lobster Lounge" available as LP and download on Surf Cookie Records!
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tubeswell
Joined: Sep 24, 2011
Posts: 1424
Wellington, NZ
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Posted on Nov 04 2013 11:00 AM
To me the sound in intoxica sounds like a JM with Flatwound steel strings and a D-tuned 6th string.
— He who dies with the most tubes... wins
Surf Daddies
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Tuck
Joined: Sep 02, 2006
Posts: 3166
Denver, CO
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Posted on Nov 04 2013 02:49 PM
I believe Dennis Rose is still around. There used to be a relatively current Centurions site on MySpace. The music was recorded, as far as I know, in Ted Brinson's garage studio. There's some (very little) information around on his recording hardware, but I haven't seen anything about his techniques.
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19194
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Nov 04 2013 03:02 PM
That's a great photo Matt, I don't think I have seen that one before.
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
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"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19194
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Nov 04 2013 06:02 PM
Okay, now that I'm home, I just checked Bob Dalley's Surfin' Guitars book. That photo is definitely not in the book, and the only photo of the band that is in the book has the caption "The only known photo of the Centurions, ..."
So Matt, you've got a very rare photo on your hands. Where did you get it?
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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reventlos
Joined: May 23, 2006
Posts: 209
Costa Mesa
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Posted on Nov 04 2013 10:23 PM
Where did you get it?
T'aint mine! Google images!
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shivers13
Joined: Jul 29, 2009
Posts: 2605
Boss Angeles, CA
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Posted on Nov 05 2013 12:18 AM
Here's some insight directly from Bob Dalley's book...
(Equipment-wise, the group had some good stuff. Dennis had traded in his Barth for a '59 Fender Strat that he played through an early prototype Fender Showman amplifier and reverb unit. Ernie now played a blonde '61 Fender Jazzmaster through a Fender Bandmaster amplifier and reverb unit. Jeff Lear used Dennis' '57 Fender Precision sunburst bass amplifier and played through a Fender Bassman amplifier. Joe Dominic played a sixties four piece Ludwig kit, while the saxophones consisted of King Silver Bell, Bundy, and Selmer. The group constantly upgraded equipment, especially the amplification equipment.)
Hope that helps a bit.
— BOSS FINK "R.P.M." available now from DOUBLE CROWN RECORDS!
www.facebook.com/BossFink
www.doublecrownrecords.com
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simoncoil
Joined: Sep 28, 2012
Posts: 897
Berlin, Germany
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Posted on Nov 05 2013 06:44 AM
This cool picture is part of two very nice photo albums on Flickr about surf and garage bands and the Rendezvous Ballroom put together by someone named Barry Kazmer. Does anybody know him?
Garage and Surf Bands
The Rendezvous Ballroom
— Los Apollos - cinematic surf music trio (Berlin)
"Postcards from the Scrapyard" Vol. 1, 2 & 3 NOW available on various platforms!
"Chaos at the Lobster Lounge" available as LP and download on Surf Cookie Records!
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shivers13
Joined: Jul 29, 2009
Posts: 2605
Boss Angeles, CA
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Posted on Nov 05 2013 08:13 AM
simoncoil wrote:
This cool picture is part of two very nice photo albums on Flickr about surf and garage bands and the Rendezvous Ballroom put together by someone named Barry Kazmer. Does anybody know him?
Garage and Surf Bands
The Rendezvous Ballroom
WOW!!! Thanks for sharing this flickr page! Looks like they're playing what's described in Bob Dalley's book.
— BOSS FINK "R.P.M." available now from DOUBLE CROWN RECORDS!
www.facebook.com/BossFink
www.doublecrownrecords.com
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shivers13
Joined: Jul 29, 2009
Posts: 2605
Boss Angeles, CA
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Posted on Nov 05 2013 08:20 AM
BTW Brian: The pixel size of the first photo posted here is too big for my browser and stretching the browser really WIDE so I can't see it. Are you or anyone else having that problem?
— BOSS FINK "R.P.M." available now from DOUBLE CROWN RECORDS!
www.facebook.com/BossFink
www.doublecrownrecords.com
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Noel
Joined: Mar 15, 2011
Posts: 8528
Back in Piitsburgh, Pennsylvania, where I grew up.
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Posted on Nov 05 2013 08:23 AM
shivers13 wrote:
BTW Brian: The pixel size of the first photo posted here is too big for my browser and stretching the browser really WIDE so I can't see it. Are you or anyone else having that problem?
In my case it usually takes a moment to resize, and I just have to let it. Sometimes it happens in under a second and sometimes it really takes a minute or so.
— This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19194
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Nov 05 2013 08:45 AM
There is javascript that is supposed to resize photos. But since you have posted a smaller version I deleted the troublesome post with the super large photo in it (sorry Ivan!).
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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simoncoil
Joined: Sep 28, 2012
Posts: 897
Berlin, Germany
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Posted on Nov 05 2013 10:01 AM
shivers13 wrote:
simoncoil wrote:
This cool picture is part of two very nice photo albums on Flickr about surf and garage bands and the Rendezvous Ballroom put together by someone named Barry Kazmer. Does anybody know him?
Garage and Surf Bands
The Rendezvous Ballroom
WOW!!! Thanks for sharing this flickr page! Looks like they're playing what's described in Bob Dalley's book.
You're welcome! I have a thing for photos and I am always kind of on the lookout for interesting pictures, so naturally I jumped on Matt's link and just had to do some searching. Actually I think it is a bit sad that we don't have that many performance shots (or photos in general) of a lot of the surf bands from the 60s.
And I am still looking for a decent scan of one of my favorites: the picture of DD & the Del-Tones playing open air in Harmony Park (anybody?). It's in the middle of Kent Crowleys book "Surf Beat", but stretched across two pages with Dick standing directly in the fold. Why would you ever place a picture like that? 
— Los Apollos - cinematic surf music trio (Berlin)
"Postcards from the Scrapyard" Vol. 1, 2 & 3 NOW available on various platforms!
"Chaos at the Lobster Lounge" available as LP and download on Surf Cookie Records!
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