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on recommendation form this list i recently bought the Atlantics
complete cbs recordings vol. 1 - great cd, thanks for the tip.
anyone who can shed some light on the gear they use, or how the got the
sound.
sounds like a tad reverb and a lot of tape echo, but that's not what i
am intersted it in. what guitars/amps/settings, both for lead and
backing is what I am curious about.
my initial guess is strat with mid/bridge pup for lead, with "midless"
amps settings
I read they used a blond bandmaster, and I saw a pic that had a blond
piggyback and what looked like an AC30 behind the lead guitarist - but
that's about what I could find.
--- In , "mono_tones_1" <rockverb@h...>
wrote:
> on recommendation form this list i recently bought the Atlantics
> complete cbs recordings vol. 1 - great cd, thanks for the tip.
>
> anyone who can shed some light on the gear they use, or how the
got the
> sound.
>
> sounds like a tad reverb and a lot of tape echo, but that's not
what i
> am intersted it in. what guitars/amps/settings, both for lead and
> backing is what I am curious about.
> my initial guess is strat with mid/bridge pup for lead,
with "midless"
> amps settings
> I read they used a blond bandmaster, and I saw a pic that had a
blond
> piggyback and what looked like an AC30 behind the lead guitarist -
but
> that's about what I could find.
There's an Atlantics website done by a surf fan, Rev. Willis - you
can find it here:
Anyway, there's a whole bunch of info about the Atlantics on there.
I would point you to the interviews section. I gave a copy of an
interview by Stephen McParland to the Rev., and he scanned it and
put it on the website. At the bottom of that page is a rough
transcription of an email exchange that I had with Jim Skiathitis,
one of the guitarists in the Atlantics, where he talks more about
their gear. (I pasted the relevant parts below).
Answering your question is pretty much impossible. I've not been
able to reproduce their guitar sound, as much as I've tried. Both
Jim and Theo had a very unique guitar style, seemingly mostly coming
from their right, picking hands, and their tones are unlike anything
else in surf music. I think in the early days they used a lot of
bridge pickup settings, with some middle pickup on occasion. In the
later period, covered by the CD Vol. 2, I think they used a lot more
neck pickup (by then the lead guitar was played through an AC30,
unlike all the earlier recordings - all the lead guitar stuff on
Vol. 1 was a '63 Bandmaster, blonde with wheat grill cloth). I
think that both of them picked close to the neck, and tended to have
a more staccato attack, rather than a smoother, flowing style of
Hank, for example. That's about the best that I can do. Maybe they
sound like nothing else also because of the recording techniques and
quality, which are not terribly good, but which definitely impart a
unique 'color' to their sound.
Anyway, here's the excerpt of my email exchange (from maybe five or
six years ago):
JS: In the very early days we only used the Fender amp for leads and
probably also used reverb more then. But after we got our Voxes, (we
had two ac30's), one was a piggy back, we started to use the voxes
more and more because we liked the warmer sound of the vox. we also
used less and less reverb and more and more echolette.
IP: Interesting! When you used a Bandmaster, was Theo using an AC30?
Did you buy the Voxes later, or were they given to you as part of
the endorsement?
JS: We actually bought the Voxes ourselves but I am just trying to
remember what we used to do. I know for awhile we only used the
Fender for leads and one Vox (the piggy back) for rythym. Theo and I
used to swap sides all the time depending who was playing lead. The
piggy back was not a very good lead amp. I am sure we only used it
for rhythm until we got the other vox which I used all the time for
lead...(I think...???)
We were also one of the first groups to use a stereo effect on stage
with our amps. We split our lead into 2 amps, one on either side of
the stage. So we used the Vox AC30 and the Bandmaster for that and
the other Vox was the rhythm...I am sure there is more to all that
but I can't recall at the moment.
IP: Did you move away from reverb because it doesn't sound quite as
good with AC30s (which is what I found), or because you just wanted
a different sound?
JS: I think that we basically wanted a different sound. Everybody
was using that bubbly reverb sound. Especially for surf music. It
was in fact that real American/Californian sound synonymous with
surf music. So we just wanted something else. I think also that it
was just a matter of blending our great love of The Shadows and
their sound with this new style of music that was emerging.
JS: We actually had 2 Klempt Echolette echo machines and in some
songs we joined them up and ran one into the other.
IP: Do you remember which ones? I'm guessing "War of the Worlds"
and "S.O.S(Stomp on Stomp)", at least.
JS: Yeah you've guessed perfectly. I can't remember all the songs
but certainly "War of the Worlds" and "S.O.S" were 2 of them.
Now even with all the technology some days we just can't seem to
capture the exact sound that we are after or that is actually coming
out of our amps.
IP: It's funny, isn't it? I think those sounds were simply the sound
of all the 'primitive' recording equipment, which colored the sound
quite a bit, unlike the modern equipment which is very pure and
neutral. However, being all tube recording gear, it probably colored
it in ways that we quite like today!
JS: That schreeching treble that you're talking about is certainly
there when we play live but I think we probably try to avoid it for
recording.
IP: Hmmm, well, let me rephrase that - I believe it was the treble
that gave your sound the agression and drama, and I totally dig it!
I don't think it was unpleasant in any way. I think that's what made
you stand out. I often think of it as analagous to (or even an
evolution of) Hank's tone from '60-'61 - stuff like Man Of Mystery
and The Frightened City. I think it was beautiful, and you should
definitely EMBRACE it, rather than avoid it, for recording!! In my
mind, it's as big of a part of the Atlantics as the rolling toms and
the echo.
JS: Again, interesting comments and observations. I will give it
some thought and talk about it with the guys and Martin and we may
look at 'Embracing' it, as you say.
I must say though that sometimes on stage my vox is just so sharp and
trebly that it sounds awful to me.. on stage that is. Some nights I
just can't get it right. It seems to vary with the different venues
too.
I think the biggest difference is that we now use mainly Vox amps
but back then most of our stuff was done on Fender which of course
had a much sharper sound than the vox.
From my links:
You can email the band and ask. They are very nice folks.
Phil
--- ipongrac <> wrote:
---------------------------------
--- In , "mono_tones_1" <rockverb@h...>
wrote:
> on recommendation form this list i recently bought the Atlantics
> complete cbs recordings vol. 1 - great cd, thanks for the tip.
>
> anyone who can shed some light on the gear they use, or how the
got the
> sound.
>
> sounds like a tad reverb and a lot of tape echo, but that's not
what i
> am intersted it in. what guitars/amps/settings, both for lead and
> backing is what I am curious about.
> my initial guess is strat with mid/bridge pup for lead,
with "midless"
> amps settings
> I read they used a blond bandmaster, and I saw a pic that had a
blond
> piggyback and what looked like an AC30 behind the lead guitarist -
but
> that's about what I could find.
There's an Atlantics website done by a surf fan, Rev. Willis - you
can find it here:
Anyway, there's a whole bunch of info about the Atlantics on there.
I would point you to the interviews section. I gave a copy of an
interview by Stephen McParland to the Rev., and he scanned it and
put it on the website. At the bottom of that page is a rough
transcription of an email exchange that I had with Jim Skiathitis,
one of the guitarists in the Atlantics, where he talks more about
their gear. (I pasted the relevant parts below).
Answering your question is pretty much impossible. I've not been
able to reproduce their guitar sound, as much as I've tried. Both
Jim and Theo had a very unique guitar style, seemingly mostly coming
from their right, picking hands, and their tones are unlike anything
else in surf music. I think in the early days they used a lot of
bridge pickup settings, with some middle pickup on occasion. In the
later period, covered by the CD Vol. 2, I think they used a lot more
neck pickup (by then the lead guitar was played through an AC30,
unlike all the earlier recordings - all the lead guitar stuff on
Vol. 1 was a '63 Bandmaster, blonde with wheat grill cloth). I
think that both of them picked close to the neck, and tended to have
a more staccato attack, rather than a smoother, flowing style of
Hank, for example. That's about the best that I can do. Maybe they
sound like nothing else also because of the recording techniques and
quality, which are not terribly good, but which definitely impart a
unique 'color' to their sound.
Anyway, here's the excerpt of my email exchange (from maybe five or
six years ago):
JS: In the very early days we only used the Fender amp for leads and
probably also used reverb more then. But after we got our Voxes, (we
had two ac30's), one was a piggy back, we started to use the voxes
more and more because we liked the warmer sound of the vox. we also
used less and less reverb and more and more echolette.
IP: Interesting! When you used a Bandmaster, was Theo using an AC30?
Did you buy the Voxes later, or were they given to you as part of
the endorsement?
JS: We actually bought the Voxes ourselves but I am just trying to
remember what we used to do. I know for awhile we only used the
Fender for leads and one Vox (the piggy back) for rythym. Theo and I
used to swap sides all the time depending who was playing lead. The
piggy back was not a very good lead amp. I am sure we only used it
for rhythm until we got the other vox which I used all the time for
lead...(I think...???)
We were also one of the first groups to use a stereo effect on stage
with our amps. We split our lead into 2 amps, one on either side of
the stage. So we used the Vox AC30 and the Bandmaster for that and
the other Vox was the rhythm...I am sure there is more to all that
but I can't recall at the moment.
IP: Did you move away from reverb because it doesn't sound quite as
good with AC30s (which is what I found), or because you just wanted
a different sound?
JS: I think that we basically wanted a different sound. Everybody
was using that bubbly reverb sound. Especially for surf music. It
was in fact that real American/Californian sound synonymous with
surf music. So we just wanted something else. I think also that it
was just a matter of blending our great love of The Shadows and
their sound with this new style of music that was emerging.
JS: We actually had 2 Klempt Echolette echo machines and in some
songs we joined them up and ran one into the other.
IP: Do you remember which ones? I'm guessing "War of the Worlds"
and "S.O.S(Stomp on Stomp)", at least.
JS: Yeah you've guessed perfectly. I can't remember all the songs
but certainly "War of the Worlds" and "S.O.S" were 2 of them.
Now even with all the technology some days we just can't seem to
capture the exact sound that we are after or that is actually coming
out of our amps.
IP: It's funny, isn't it? I think those sounds were simply the sound
of all the 'primitive' recording equipment, which colored the sound
quite a bit, unlike the modern equipment which is very pure and
neutral. However, being all tube recording gear, it probably colored
it in ways that we quite like today!
JS: That schreeching treble that you're talking about is certainly
there when we play live but I think we probably try to avoid it for
recording.
IP: Hmmm, well, let me rephrase that - I believe it was the treble
that gave your sound the agression and drama, and I totally dig it!
I don't think it was unpleasant in any way. I think that's what made
you stand out. I often think of it as analagous to (or even an
evolution of) Hank's tone from '60-'61 - stuff like Man Of Mystery
and The Frightened City. I think it was beautiful, and you should
definitely EMBRACE it, rather than avoid it, for recording!! In my
mind, it's as big of a part of the Atlantics as the rolling toms and
the echo.
JS: Again, interesting comments and observations. I will give it
some thought and talk about it with the guys and Martin and we may
look at 'Embracing' it, as you say.
I must say though that sometimes on stage my vox is just so sharp and
trebly that it sounds awful to me.. on stage that is. Some nights I
just can't get it right. It seems to vary with the different venues
too.
I think the biggest difference is that we now use mainly Vox amps
but back then most of our stuff was done on Fender which of course
had a much sharper sound than the vox.
.
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It's definitely worth a shot contacting them. However, it's
unlikely they'll be able to help much for a couple of reasons: as
seen in my email exchange with Jim, he simply doesn't remember many
details, and who can blame him - it's been over 40 years! Also, the
other original guitarist, Theo Penglis, is not in the current
lineup, so you can't contact him to ask him. Still, Jim was the
lead guitarist on all of the big hits (Bombora, The Crusher, War Of
The Worlds, Giant), so if you can get him to remember how he set
things up, please share with the rest of us! It's worth contacting
him just to chat a bit, like Phil said, he's a really nice guy. in
fact, all of them are. I talked with Bosco Bosanac, their bass
player, over the phone for a good half an hour some six years ago -
and it was his idea! (kinda expensive, though, at least back
then...) Good people.
Ivan
--- In , Phil Dirt <phildirt@r...>
wrote:
> From my links:
> You can email the band and ask. They are very nice folks.
>
> Phil
>
> --- ipongrac <ipongrac@g...> wrote:
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> --- In , "mono_tones_1"
<rockverb@h...>
> wrote:
> > on recommendation form this list i recently bought the Atlantics
> > complete cbs recordings vol. 1 - great cd, thanks for the tip.
> >
> > anyone who can shed some light on the gear they use, or how the
> got the
> > sound.
> >
> > sounds like a tad reverb and a lot of tape echo, but that's not
> what i
> > am intersted it in. what guitars/amps/settings, both for lead
and
> > backing is what I am curious about.
> > my initial guess is strat with mid/bridge pup for lead,
> with "midless"
> > amps settings
> > I read they used a blond bandmaster, and I saw a pic that had a
> blond
> > piggyback and what looked like an AC30 behind the lead
guitarist -
> but
> > that's about what I could find.
>
> There's an Atlantics website done by a surf fan, Rev. Willis - you
> can find it here:
>
>
>
> Anyway, there's a whole bunch of info about the Atlantics on
there.
> I would point you to the interviews section. I gave a copy of an
> interview by Stephen McParland to the Rev., and he scanned it and
> put it on the website. At the bottom of that page is a rough
> transcription of an email exchange that I had with Jim Skiathitis,
> one of the guitarists in the Atlantics, where he talks more about
> their gear. (I pasted the relevant parts below).
>
> Answering your question is pretty much impossible. I've not been
> able to reproduce their guitar sound, as much as I've tried. Both
> Jim and Theo had a very unique guitar style, seemingly mostly
coming
> from their right, picking hands, and their tones are unlike
anything
> else in surf music. I think in the early days they used a lot of
> bridge pickup settings, with some middle pickup on occasion. In
the
> later period, covered by the CD Vol. 2, I think they used a lot
more
> neck pickup (by then the lead guitar was played through an AC30,
> unlike all the earlier recordings - all the lead guitar stuff on
> Vol. 1 was a '63 Bandmaster, blonde with wheat grill cloth). I
> think that both of them picked close to the neck, and tended to
have
> a more staccato attack, rather than a smoother, flowing style of
> Hank, for example. That's about the best that I can do. Maybe
they
> sound like nothing else also because of the recording techniques
and
> quality, which are not terribly good, but which definitely impart
a
> unique 'color' to their sound.
>
> Anyway, here's the excerpt of my email exchange (from maybe five
or
> six years ago):
>
> JS: In the very early days we only used the Fender amp for leads
and
> probably also used reverb more then. But after we got our Voxes,
(we
> had two ac30's), one was a piggy back, we started to use the voxes
> more and more because we liked the warmer sound of the vox. we also
> used less and less reverb and more and more echolette.
>
> IP: Interesting! When you used a Bandmaster, was Theo using an
AC30?
> Did you buy the Voxes later, or were they given to you as part of
> the endorsement?
>
> JS: We actually bought the Voxes ourselves but I am just trying to
> remember what we used to do. I know for awhile we only used the
> Fender for leads and one Vox (the piggy back) for rythym. Theo and
I
> used to swap sides all the time depending who was playing lead.
The
> piggy back was not a very good lead amp. I am sure we only used it
> for rhythm until we got the other vox which I used all the time
for
> lead...(I think...???)
>
> We were also one of the first groups to use a stereo effect on
stage
> with our amps. We split our lead into 2 amps, one on either side
of
> the stage. So we used the Vox AC30 and the Bandmaster for that and
> the other Vox was the rhythm...I am sure there is more to all that
> but I can't recall at the moment.
>
> IP: Did you move away from reverb because it doesn't sound quite
as
> good with AC30s (which is what I found), or because you just
wanted
> a different sound?
>
> JS: I think that we basically wanted a different sound. Everybody
> was using that bubbly reverb sound. Especially for surf music. It
> was in fact that real American/Californian sound synonymous with
> surf music. So we just wanted something else. I think also that it
> was just a matter of blending our great love of The Shadows and
> their sound with this new style of music that was emerging.
>
> JS: We actually had 2 Klempt Echolette echo machines and in some
> songs we joined them up and ran one into the other.
>
> IP: Do you remember which ones? I'm guessing "War of the Worlds"
> and "S.O.S(Stomp on Stomp)", at least.
>
> JS: Yeah you've guessed perfectly. I can't remember all the songs
> but certainly "War of the Worlds" and "S.O.S" were 2 of them.
>
> Now even with all the technology some days we just can't seem to
> capture the exact sound that we are after or that is actually
coming
> out of our amps.
>
> IP: It's funny, isn't it? I think those sounds were simply the
sound
> of all the 'primitive' recording equipment, which colored the
sound
> quite a bit, unlike the modern equipment which is very pure and
> neutral. However, being all tube recording gear, it probably
colored
> it in ways that we quite like today!
>
> JS: That schreeching treble that you're talking about is certainly
> there when we play live but I think we probably try to avoid it
for
> recording.
>
> IP: Hmmm, well, let me rephrase that - I believe it was the treble
> that gave your sound the agression and drama, and I totally dig
it!
> I don't think it was unpleasant in any way. I think that's what
made
> you stand out. I often think of it as analagous to (or even an
> evolution of) Hank's tone from '60-'61 - stuff like Man Of Mystery
> and The Frightened City. I think it was beautiful, and you should
> definitely EMBRACE it, rather than avoid it, for recording!! In my
> mind, it's as big of a part of the Atlantics as the rolling toms
and
> the echo.
>
> JS: Again, interesting comments and observations. I will give it
> some thought and talk about it with the guys and Martin and we may
> look at 'Embracing' it, as you say.
>
> I must say though that sometimes on stage my vox is just so sharp
and
> trebly that it sounds awful to me.. on stage that is. Some nights
I
> just can't get it right. It seems to vary with the different
venues
> too.
>
> I think the biggest difference is that we now use mainly Vox amps
> but back then most of our stuff was done on Fender which of course
> had a much sharper sound than the vox.
>
>
>
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived
> messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
>
>
>
> SPONSORED LINKS
> Guitar music
theory
> Stringed
instruments
> Guitar music
book
> Guitar sheet
music
> Guitar technique Guitar
music
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
>
>
> Visit your group "SurfGuitar101" on the web.
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
> Service.
>
>
> ---------------------------------
Maybe we could do a SG101 group interview? Get a bunch of questions
together and do a couple back and forth emails? Perhaps they could
contact Theo for us and share the questions with him?
Anyone up for that? The skimpy Randy Holden interview we did is
getting kind of lonely all by itself on the interview page on my
website.
BN
On 9/1/05, ipongrac <> wrote:
> It's definitely worth a shot contacting them. However, it's
> unlikely they'll be able to help much for a couple of reasons: as
> seen in my email exchange with Jim, he simply doesn't remember many
> details, and who can blame him - it's been over 40 years! Also, the
> other original guitarist, Theo Penglis, is not in the current
> lineup, so you can't contact him to ask him. Still, Jim was the
> lead guitarist on all of the big hits (Bombora, The Crusher, War Of
> The Worlds, Giant), so if you can get him to remember how he set
> things up, please share with the rest of us! It's worth contacting
> him just to chat a bit, like Phil said, he's a really nice guy. in
> fact, all of them are. I talked with Bosco Bosanac, their bass
> player, over the phone for a good half an hour some six years ago -
> and it was his idea! (kinda expensive, though, at least back
> then...) Good people.
>
> Ivan
>
> --- In , Phil Dirt <phildirt@r...>
> wrote:
> > From my links:
> > You can email the band and ask. They are very nice folks.
> >
> > Phil
