Ivan,

I have some of your CDs, but I listened to some of the solo versions you have posted on YouTube. Dawn in Cadiz is truly stunning. It has the intricacy of Jazz, even Classical music. Beautifully played. I love the sound of the Vox and the Strat together. It’s a perfect match.

My favored rig is a Gretsch plugged into a Winfield Cyclone amp. The Cyclone has a lot of commonality with the earliest AC-15s, EF-86 and all. The other amp I use is a Fender ‘68 Custom Deluxe Reverb, which has greater midrange than the DRRI when you play the first channel. I think it’s a bit closer to the Brownface sound, less of a scooped midrange. It surfs well, in its own right.

If I might ask, what are you using for reverb?

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

He has Welch down to a fine art. The Shadows were fantastic; truly a unique approach and an unbeatable sound. The two of you do it proud.

Dawn in Cadiz is no walk in the park to play. It has to be planned out and executed carefully. It doesn’t fall back on any cliches, it has a structure all its own. Songs like that take a while to internalize and you have to internalize them in order to play them. It’s essentially plectrum classical guitar. The ‘65 works well on that cut.

The Gomez reverb has to be awesome. I wish we could keep him busy full-time building amps, etc. He’s a true asset. I’d love to have a Surfer but don’t play enough large venues to justify it.

Those early Vibroverb RIs can be sweet. Century Bob, formerly of Two Lane Blacktop, has one. Apparently there are a couple of simple mods that really work wonders. I’ve heard his live and it is quite rich sounding.

My big amp is a TRRI with a perfectly balanced set of 6L6s which are as close as you can get to the old RCA black plate. It’s heavier than I care to schlep, so I had a piggyback cabinet made and have a 1x15” Eminence Commonwealth pushing the air molecules. I had to use a 9” reverb because of the low clearance of the cabinet, but it sounds quite good. Mel Waldorf put me onto the idea of the small onboard pan. I wasn’t expecting much, but it actually drips.

Winfield Thomas lives 30-40 miles east of me, so I’ve seen the hallowed ground up close. He builds quite a variety of models, including the 5 watt Typhoon which has essentially the same EF-86 front end. When I’m mic’d and know that the soundman has me covered, I just use the little Typhoon with a Topanga reverb. It sounds as big as a Dual Showman and weighs a fraction as much as just a Showman head.

The Winfield Cyclone is a 15 watt with the same preamp and I believe that he makes a 30 watt version as well. Besides that, he makes something quite akin to a blackface DR and a tweed Deluxe.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

Badger wrote:

Ivan, as I'm sure many feel, these videos with your Dad evoke something way beyond the music. I feel blessed that you can share these with us. Literally, a gift that keeps on giving.

That’s exactly how it struck me. When I meet, and play music with someone and the music clicks, that’s a special moment. It bridges generations, cultures and background. Family is something very special. When there is another bond, such as music, it becomes even more special.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

Thank you SO VERY MUCH for all your wonderful compliments, gentlemen! I'm very glad you're enjoying the videos, and of course, they're pretty special to my dad and me! Lots and lots of fun to be able to do this together.

(Ariel, sorry, I must have forgotten to post the Hail, Poseidon clip! I intended to, but I guess it just slipped my mind. Glad to hear you like the song that much - it's actually my favorite on the album, but not that many people bring it up, so it's nice to have it get some love! )

Happy new year, all!

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube

Thank you very much, Mr. Delrin96mm! I'm a huge fan of the Shadows and have been since the age of 10 (I'm now 48). I couldn't agree more with your observation about the whole band being masterful musicians, too! My dad (who specializes in Bruce-Welch-style rhythm guitar) and I have had a Shadows tribute band since 2000, the Troubadours, based in Indiana. We got to play (and hang out) with Bruce Welch and Licorice Locking back in 2003 in Toronto, Canada for the Shadowmania North America, and that was a truly wonderful experience - Bruce proved to be a truly down-to-earth and interesting man. (I spent about 3-4 hrs sitting next to him in the hotel bar after the show, chatting away, and it's one of my dearest memories.) My dad and I also attended the 'real' Shadowmania in Surrey in May of 2000, and got to catch Hank playing live (solo) in Norwich on that same trip. Oh, I also got to play THEE STRAT (the '59 Strat Hank used on all their big hits in '60-'61, now owned by Bruce, who's standing to my left, keeping a watchful eye over it - he had it insured for half - or 3/4? I forget now - million pounds, after all!) in Toronto in 2003!!! Here's photographic evidence:

Thanks again for the nice words, and once again, welcome to SG101! We're happy to have you here!

Here is the YouTube playlist with all 12 (!) videos of my dad and me performing the Shadows over the past three Christmases. Hope it's a nice way to start your new years!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCrNIMaZJAOpeQ4Al9dSoImkGguE03rZv

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube

Last edited: Jan 04, 2018 13:12:14

synchro, ! VERY cool with all the different guitars you got to play!

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube

Post deleted by author.

Last edited: Mar 10, 2020 14:26:57

Thanks for a very interesting post, Samurai. I always wonder about different places and what they listen to in various cultures. I remember that things were pretty isolated in the USSR, but wasn’t sure how that affected music. The universal appeal of various arts always finds a way, however. I remember reading an article in Guitar Player about Guitars sold in the Soviet Union. As I recall, they had an ES-335 clone available. Showing up with a Gibson or Fender would have been all but impossible, I imagine, and would probably have placed one under scrutiny.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

Samurai wrote:

synchro wrote:

Thanks for a very interesting post, Samurai. I always wonder about different places and what they listen to in various cultures. I remember that things were pretty isolated in the USSR, but wasn’t sure how that affected music. The universal appeal of various arts always finds a way, however. I remember reading an article in Guitar Player about Guitars sold in the Soviet Union. As I recall, they had an ES-335 clone available. Showing up with a Gibson or Fender would have been all but impossible, I imagine, and would probably have placed one under scrutiny.

Sure it was a miracle to see Gibson or Fender, we mostly had some clones like Yamaha SGV-300 named Ural, or some Eastern Europian Musimas or alike. The same about music, we had access only to some limeted number of atists somehow favored by communist government (I remember Adriano Celentano or Joe Dassen) and sometimes suddenly we may have a Beatles vinyl in a music shop)) Sure the people listened to a lot of music “underground” (the band I wrote about surely had some Shadows records and decided to open it to us in this illegal but delicate way), but I was too young then and when I was 15 we suddenly got access to everything when USSR broke up. And in 1993 I saw real Fender Stratocaster for the first time)

I think that SGV-300 was what I recall seeing in Guitar Player. All in all, a very decent instrument. One thing I find interesting is the instruments made in China. They have a heritage of instrument making which goes back a very long time and, as I understand it, have made fine orchestral instruments for a very long time. While some of the inexpensive instruments from there are not so good, I've seen some that were truly exceptional. A friend of mine specs and sells guitars made in China under the brand name of Harvest. His top of the line instrument is an acoustic archtop with a suspended pickup which rivals a Gibson Johnny Smith Model. They can build great instruments there.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

I guess I'm not too surprised to hear that. I'm no expert on how various music actually developed, but it obviously has some common roots. Music from all around the Mediterranean basin seems to share certain characteristics.

A while back, I was reading about the "Andalusian Cadence", basically the changes to Walk, Don't Run. The origins were Spanish, make that Greek, make that Israeli. From there, the possible roots could have come from some of the nations east of there, or possibly they come from Israeli culture, no one knows for certain. The point here is that once you unravel the thread it never ends. It all goes back to some guy beating on a hollow log and noticing that it brought him attention.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.