Tenor Guitar: Castles Made of Sand

I was trying to find a final song with tenor guitar to finish out this week’s special and I stumbled upon Reggie Witty’s interpretation of Jimi Hendrix’s “Castles Made of Sand.” Not only does Witty sing and play rhythm tenor guitar, but he plays lead tenor and upright bass. The cut was recorded at Austin’s Sotogrande Sound Lab.

Witty plays a Martin O-18T tenor guitar for both the rhythm and the lead parts. I can’t tell what he has in his right hand while he is playing the lead, but it looks like an E-Bow. Unfortunately, I’m not sure, as I believe an E-Bow needs a magnetic pickup to add its violin bow effect to a guitar lead. Having never used one, I really couldn’t say for sure.

As for the tuning, it took me a while to figure it out and I nearly drove my oldest daughter crazy in my attempt. It appears that he has tuned his tenor a fifth lower than standard tuning as F-C-G-D and a step below Chicago tuning (G-D-A-E). I hadn’t heard this particular tuning before, but it really gives the guitar a different sound. Very nice.

In Search of Iain Matthews: Book Song

Day Three in our search for Iain Matthews who is our Second Week of the Month feature. In today’s episode, we feature a duet between Matthews and Sandy Denny from Fairport Convention’s second album. In the UK, the LP was called “What We Did on Our Holidays”; however, A&M, the band’s US label, rebranded it simply as “Fairport Convention,” as their first album of that same name had not yet been released in the US.

In addition to the albums schizophrenic identity, the UK version’s cover had a photo of a blackboard “assaulted by the members of the band.” The US cover, however, features a fun photo of the band sitting in a pile of leaves. A&M banked that this cover would be more attractive to American audiences and I for one always loved this photo. I can’t say the same for A&M’s cover choice for the next LP, “Unhalfbricking,” which was simply stupid by any stretch of the imagination.

Our choice is the beautiful waltz named “Book Song.” Iain’s and Sandy’s vocals never sounded better. This is one of the songs that I got to know from “The History of Fairport Convention” which included a total of four songs from “What We Did on Our Holidays.”

Penned by Iain Matthews and Richard Thompson, the song highlights the great production skills of American Joe Boyd. “Book Song” is replete with interesting instrumentation that includes a sitar, a backwards guitar, and Claire Lowther’s ‘cello. During the instrumental break, there is a wonderful interplay of Richard Thompson’s lead, a backwards guitar lead, and ‘cello. In my book this is the highlight of this tune.

For those interested, the backwards guitar was recorded on another tape deck and then the tape was flipped and then played backwards and was added to the overall mix. This technique was used by The Beatles; Crosby, Stills, and Nash; Jimi Hendrix; Yes; and countless numbers of other rock musicians.

Today, the effect can be attained electronically without the use of a tape deck; thus giving the guitarist more control over the notes being played.  If you listen to the second verse there are a couple of discordant notes from the backwards guitar which is a necessary evil when reversing a tape and the resultant notes happening when they do. It is not real obvious in this tune, but they are there.  I never noticed this until recently, and that is after listening to this song for over 40 years. So Joe Boyd and the band did a commendable job keeping these issues at a minimum.

The Who: The Relay

A few years ago when I began this blog, a friend of mine with whom I attended all 12 grades of public school asked me a very personal question, “Who is your favorite band of all time?” To which I replied, “You got that right; The Who is probably my overall favorite band of all time.” Today’s Thirty Something Thursday selection comes from the tail end of 1972: The Who’s “The Relay.”

I remember perusing the singles at Gimbles in the Eastland Shopping Center and spotting “The Relay” by The Who. Like its predecessor “Join Together,” “The Relay” and its unusual flipside “Waspman” were single only releases. Realizing that if I didn’t buy this single, I might be missing out on some Who songs that would be impossible to find once the singles went out of print. I laid down my 89¢ and took these two new songs home.

“The Relay” features three guitars by Pete Townshend. The first one you hear is an electric guitar in the left channel that is being run through a sample and hold voltage control filter of an ARP 2600 synthesizer. This processed guitar gives an authentic feel of a relay switch and, in my opinion, makes the song. In the right channel, Townshend plays acoustic rhythm guitar and an electric that is used for accompaniment and lead.

Piano is also begins in the right channel but pans to the left. As typical, the drums, bass, and lead vocals are in the center. Additionally, the backup vocals are double tracked in both channels. The Who and Glyn Johns did an excellent job in producing this record.

“The Relay” was titled as such in the USA, but not so in the UK where the song was simply “Relay.”

At the time I purchased “The Relay,” I assumed that it was the first Track/Decca release for The Who; however, later runs of “Join Together” had also been issued on Track/Decca as well. My version of that single was from the first run of pressings on the Decca label.

Although previous Track releases by other artists had been issued by Atlantic (The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Thunderclap Newman), these would be the only two singles issued on Track/Decca. Solo albums by Pete Townshend (“Who Came First”) and John Entwistle (“Whistle Rhymes”) were also released on the Track/Decca label and were that label configuration’s only two 12-inch releases.

By the end of 1972, the Music Corporation of America merged all of its labels into MCA Records. Further releases on Track by The Who (corporately and independently) were issued on Track/MCA. While it only made it to #39, it was a number one record in my heart.

The Doobie Brothers: Another Park, Another Sunday

Back in 1974, The Doobie Brothers released their fourth album, “What Were Once Vices are Now Habits.” The debut single from the album, “Another Park, Another Sunday,” is one of my favorite songs by The Doobies. Because it only peaked at #32, “Another Park, Another Sunday” fits our Thirty Something Thursday feature.

One of my attractions to this Tom Johnston composition about the loss of a girlfriend was the sound of the guitars. At the time, I wasn’t sure how they achieved this sound. This was before the popularity of phase shifters and chorus effects and it never dawned on me that the guitars were run through a Leslie rotating speaker.

At the beginning, the Leslie is set on the slow speed, but later in the tune, it is played at the fast setting. In the past few months, I got a chance to appreciate Leslie speakers as a friend of mine, Steve Hoffman, inherited one and I had the opportunity to watch him rebuild it. He was a braver man that I would have been for tackling this project which also had him work on the guts of a Hammond organ as well.

While you can get similar effects with phase shifters and chorus pedals, nothing quite matches the sound of an old school Leslie. In addition to the Leslie, listen for the occasional guitar harmonics that adds another flavor to the song. This is no doubt one of the best windows down, cruising songs.

The Raiders: Terry's Tune

It’s Friday and it’s time for our weekly flipside feature. Today we feature an instrumental from The Raiders that appeared as the “B” side to their only #1 record: "Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)." “Terry’s Tune” was composed by the band’s lead vocalist Mark Lindsey, and although I cannot find any definitive reference for the inspiration for the title, I believe it was named in honor of Terry Melcher.

Melcher, a Columbia record producer (and the son of Doris Day), helped redefine the sound of Paul Revere and The Raiders and produced most of their records. He was not, however, the producer of either “Indian Reservation” or “Terry’s Tune.” That honor fell to Mark Lindsey. The single was certified gold in 1971 and later was upgraded to platinum status in 1996.

“Terry’s Tune” liberally uses as organ with a Leslie rotating speaker and a guitar that appears to be equipped with a Parsons/White B-Bender. Invented by Gene Parsons for fellow Byrd Clarence White, the B-Bender was installed in a Fender Telecaster guitar and allowed the picker the opportunity to mimic a pedal steel guitar.

To accomplish this, two channels were routed into the body of the guitar. One in the instrument’s back housed the spring loaded mechanism. The other channel was routed on the top side of the guitar so the mechanism could be manipulated by pulling on the guitar’s strap. When the guitarist pulled the guitar down, the strap button connected to the mechanism changed the pitch of the B string up a semitone – perfect for suspended 4th chords – a neat invention to say the least.

Cream: Cat's Squirrel

Last week I learned about an early guitar effect, which somehow escaped my knowledge over the years. The unit made by Dallas Arbiter was called the Rangemaster and was a treble booster which produced a fuzz tone in the process. This early signal booster/distortion unit was used on countless recordings. In an article that Dennis Harris provided me, a number of songs were listed.

One by Cream from their debut album, “Fresh Cream,” caught my eyes, memories, and ears – the instrumental “Cat’s Squirrel.” I hadn’t listened to this album in decades and all of the memories of this LP came flooding back. The song, which had previously appeared as the flipside to Cream’s first single, “Wrapping Paper,” opened side two.

While the British version was slightly different from the American version, I bought my copy when ATCO was divesting its stock of the Robert Stigwood Organisation’s material that was soon to be released on Polydor’s USA label. Unable to get an ATCO version, I bought the British import.

The album differed from the American release in that the album’s title was graphically different and the UK album included the song “Spoonful,” which had been released in America as a single, but not on the album. “I Feel Free,” which was released in both countries as a single, was included on the American version, but not the original British release. Additionally, as many albums from the UK were printed on a thinner and glossy stock, these releases were prone to finger prints, scratches, and creases more than the American issues.

“Cat’s Squirrel” features Jack Bruce on harmonica and a Fender VI six-string bass. Of course Ginger Baker is supplying the rhythm while Eric Clapton is doubling Bruce’s harmonica. The guitar is being run through the Rangemaster. This song as well as the rest of the album is not mixed to my liking – Robert Stigwood produced it. I prefer the later Cream album mixes by producer Felix Pappalardi. With that said, “Cat’s Squirrel” is on one of the best tunes on the album - “Alright, alright, alright, alright.”

Electric 12-String: Mr. Tambourine Man

In the 50s and 60s (and to an extent today), the record label often retained creative control over new artists and required session musicians to record the studio tracks. That’s what happened with The Byrds’ first single release “Mr. Tambourine Man.” Although the band had learned the tune from a Bob Dylan acetate provided by Dylan’s publisher M. Witmark & Sons Music, they were not originally impressed with the tune; however, it would be come a #1 hit for The Byrds.

In time, they developed their own arrangement of the song (which Dylan actually gave his seal of approval) and cut a number of demos of it and other songs. You can hear these early recordings on the Preflyte album which was released by Together Records in 1969.

Columbia later reissued the album in 1973 and several other labels have released versions of the album and other early tracks over the years. I bought my copy in the early 70s and it is a little rough, but there are some gems on it; however, their original demo recording of “Mr. Tambourine Man” was not one of them.

 

I don’t think Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn in those days) played an electric 12-string on this demo as it sounds more like an acoustic 12-string guitar – but it may be his Rickenbacker 360/12 without the compression that created the jangly sound so familiar to The Byrds’ recordings.

On January 20, 1965, The Byrds entered the Columbia Records studio to record their rendition of Dylan’s tune. Producer Terry Melcher had doubts about the musicianship of the band and hired a session group called The Wrecking Crew to perform the majority of the instrumental tracks. McGuinn was the only member of The Byrds who played on both sides of the single. McGuinn, who sang lead, was joined by Gene Clark and David Crosby on harmonies. Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke did not appear on “Mr. Tambourine Man.”

McGuinn played a mapleglo finish Rickenbacker 360/12 – the same model as George Harrison (although a different finish). He would later add a third pickup to his guitar which inspired Rickenbacker to create the 370/12 – known and the Roger McGuinn model. His playing style is a combination of flat-picking and finger picking. He holds the flat pick with his thumb and forefinger and wears metal finger picks on the middle and ring fingers.

This style allows him to play melody and accompaniment simultaneously and allows him to mimic banjo rolls as well. This style is especially noticeable on “Turn, Turn, Turn.” His jangly style was born in this session as the engineer compressed his guitar to prevent over-driving the equipment.

This technique produced what is now known as the distinctive Roger McGuinn sound. From that day, McGuinn has compressed the guitar’s output to get that unique jangly 12-string electric sound. The line of the song, “In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you” became prophetic, and the rest they say is history.

Montrose: Bad Motor Scooter

Here’s a song that takes me back to my freshman year of college. Montrose’s debut album was released in 1973, and I first heard our bubbling under hit, “Bad Motor Scooter,” during the spring of 1974. The occasion was the night-time format change of WAMX (the former WCMI-FM; 94.1) in Ashland, KY. While the station was primarily a MOR (Middle of the Road) formatted station during the day, at nights Bob Lee (Bobby Leach) brought in his own record collection and played some of the most amazing album cuts after dark.

I had a chance to briefly work with Lee when he returned to WAMX in 1980, but by then the station was totally formatted as Contemporary Hit Radio and was giving the top station in the market, Huntington, WV’s WKEE-FM, a run for the money; but, I digress.

Lee's mix of music in the early years of WAMX turned me onto quite a few rock bands including Montrose. I was familiar with Ronnie Montrose’s work from The Edgar Winter Group’s “They Only Come out at Night” album – which even today is a classic rock album from the early 70s. Shortly after the release of that LP, Montrose left Edgar Winter (and was replaced by Rick Derringer) to strike out on his own.

The band was named after its lead guitarist, and Ronnie Montrose's guitar sound on this album is credited to the effect box that he used – an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff π – a classic fuzz tone that provided a wide range of guitar distortion. In the 1980s, Electro-Harmonix stopped manufacturing its pedals, but due to guitarists and collectors willing to pay exorbitant prices for used Big Muff πs and other E-H pedals, the company began re-manufacturing a limited inventory of pedals during the 1990s.

Beside the band’s namesake, Montrose included Bill Church on bass, Danny Carmassi on drums, and a voice that should sound familiar – Sammy Hagar. It was Hagar’s recording debut, and his vocals would become a mainstay in the rock arena with his solo work, as a member of Van Halen, and participation in numerous side projects including HSAS. By the way, he is credited as “Sam” Hagar on the album.

The author and Sammy Hagar in 1985

The debut Montrose album, while charting dismally #133 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart, served as an influence for a number of bands including Van Halen. The album was produced by Doobie Brothers’ producer Ted Templeton and only two songs received a modicum of airplay: “Rock Candy” and today’s selection “Bad Motor Scooter.” Hagar penned “Bad Motor Scooter.”

In 1980, I remember talking about this album to Bob Lee and how I remembered the amount of airplay he gave it upon its release. I’ll never forget a comment he made. He said that he always thinks of this album when he passes the I-64 exit for Montrose Avenue in South Charleston, West Virginia. To this day, when I pass or exit to Montrose Avenue, I too think of Ronnie Montrose and the band he created - but mostly today's cut. “So get on your bad motor scooter and ride.”

Fairport Convention: Polly On The Shore

It’s been a while since I featured Fairport Convention with a Traditional Tuesday selection, so I am going back to October 1973 to their ninth LP appropriately titled “Nine.” This is one of those albums that a number of folk have deigned to the trash heap. I am one of not of that opinion, as I always liked this LP. Though it doesn’t have the continuity of “Liege and Leif” or a conceptual them as “Babbacombe Lee,” I like every cut on the album.

“Nine” was released at a time when Fairport was without an original member. This was the second album for the band with Australian Trevor Lucas and American Jerry Donahue and the three Daves: Swarbrick, Mattacks, and Pegg. Lucas replaced Simon Nicol on guitar and vocals and Donahue was the first member solely dedicated to lead guitar since the exit of Richard Thompson following the release of “Full House.” Both came from Fotheringay – a band that contained two-time Fairport member Sandy Denny and future Fairporter Gerry Conway.

The Daves had all been with the band for some time. Swarbrick came on the scene as a guest on “Unhalfbricking” became a full member of the band with “Liege and Leif” – the same album that saw the emergence of Dave Mattacks as the replacement for drummer Martin Lamble who was killed in a motorway accident in 1969. Pegg joined with the next LP, “Full House,” and has remained with the band ever since.

The two newer members of the band really shine on our featured cut “Polly on the Shore.” Lucas’ wonderful deep voice was my favorite aspect of Fotheringay. Even though the major attraction for most was his wife Sandy Denny, I tend to be partial to Lucas’ voice on that bands’ only album.

That partiality extends to Fairport cuts like the traditional “Polly on the Shore” where Lucas takes hold of the lead vocal parts. At one time I thought if I ever had a son I might consider “Trevor Lucas” for a first and middle name as I just liked its ring. I have been blessed, however, with daughters.

Here’s two versions of the song – the first being a mono video that syncs the studio recording of “Polly on the Shore” to a live performance.

Here’s the studio version in stereo which has better sound quality than the above.

To “B” or not to “B” Bend

Jerry Donahue is no Richard Thompson, but Richard Thompson is no Jerry Donahue either. Both brought different styles to the band and Jerry’s tasty American influenced country-rock licks gave a new dimension to the lead work on Fairport’s albums. When I first heard Jerry Donahue play, I thought he was using a Parsons/White Stringbender.

Now marketed as the B-Bender, the product was added to Fender Telecasters to give the guitarist the opportunity to sound like he was playing a pedal steel. This intricate mechanism that was partially developed and used by The Byrds Clarence White required extensive routing of a Telecaster to achieve the effect on the B string.

The product was eventually licensed to Fender and they offer a Clarence White signature model Telecaster that features the B-Bender as part of the guitar’s original equipment. Prior to this, it is estimated that co-designer (Byrds’ drummer and machinist) Gene Parsons custom fit 2,000 Telecasters for the mechanism.

I was wrong about how Donahue accomplished his pedal steel influenced licks. While the B-Bender filled a void, it was limited to bending only one string – the B. If you listen to Jerry’s playing, he is bending nearly all (or maybe all) of the strings on his Telecaster. This was all done without any routing, retrofitting, or redesign of his instrument. Jerry’s technique is fascinating and the following video shows how he does it. Jerry is one of the best, but sadly, little known electric guitarists.

Polly Redux

Simon Nicol does a nice job on this 2007 release on Fairport’s 40th anniversary CD: “Sense of Occasion.” I never realized how much Simons vocal register was in the same range as the late Trevor Lucas. Nicol, who rejoined Fairport in 1976, is the only original member.

Bassist Dave Pegg is the only member who has played on both versions of “Polly on the Shore.” Other members contributing to this recording are Ric Sanders, Chris Leslie, and Gerry Conway. Conway guests on “Rosie” and was a member of Fotheringay with Denny, Lucas, and Donahue – it all comes round again.

Slide Guitar Through A Leslie Rotating Speaker

If there was any time since 1994 that I missed being in radio it was this morning. As I was planning today’s post, I was uncertain of what to do until I stumbled upon Todd Rundgren’s “Something / Anything” LP and remembered his 1971 hit “I Saw the Light.”

Todd’s slide guitar part sounded surprisingly like George Harrison’s tonality, as the guitar was being amplified through a Leslie rotating speaker. Rundgren plays all of the instruments, does all the vocals, and recorded the entire double album in his living room studio.

This in turn reminded me of Sheryl Crow’s 2005 song “Light in Your Eyes,” which always sounded to me like a Todd Rundgren/George Harrison ripoff. They lyrics are similar to both “I Saw the Light” and “My Sweet Lord” and the guitar was obviously influenced by the quiet Beatle as Crow herself has admitted.

I believe John Shanks plays slide on this cut, but the album’s liner notes are not clear on this. Neither is it clear that he or whomever is using a Leslie. Since the seventies, chorus effects have all but replaced the bulky, low wattage, and mechanically problematic Leslie rotating speaker; however, there is nothing like the sound of the real thing.

Next , it was obvious that George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” from 1970 would be the logical choice to follow “Light in Your Eyes.” The ending chord on Crow’s “Light in Your Eyes” is a Bm and the beginning chord on “My Sweet Lord” is a F#m. It makes a nice mix if you can start the second song as the first ends as the two together create a Bm9.

To round out the set, I included Badfinger’s “Day After Day” at the beginning. This 1972 classic features George Harrison and Pete Ham simultaneously playing the slide leads through a Leslie speaker. Incidentally, part of Badfinger’s “Straight Up” LP was produced by George Harrison (as was this cut) and part of it was produced by Todd Rundgren. Everything is relative.

What about the connection to radio? Over the years, I typically dedicated an hour or two a week to a thematic oldies show. Much like Pandora.com pulls up songs of a similar vein, I would often play songs that either had a similar lyrical theme or had something in common musically – much like today’s post. I decided on stringing the songs together.

In fact, when I played the songs in the intended order and tightly segued the songs together, they worked well as four song unit. Unfortunately with a YouTube playlist, this is lost with the dead air between cuts. For those that want to hear these tunes in order, I have included the four as part playlist.

Badfinger: “Day After Day”
Todd Rundgren: “I Saw the Light”
Sheryl Crow: “The Light In Your Eyes”
George Harrison: “My Sweet Lord”

Peter Frampton: Black Hole Sun

The start of a new week brings about Monday’s cover song and today’s recording comes from Peter Frampton’s 2006 Grammy winning “Best Instrumental Album”: “Fingerprints.” The cover is Soundgarden’s #1 hit from 1994, “Black Hole Sun.” The recording includes two members of Pearl Jam, drummer Matt Cameron and guitarist, Mike McCready. Cameron, as a member in Soundgarden, played on the original.

Live Version

To understand what Frampton et al are doing in this song, we need to see a live video. The first effect PF uses to get that sustaining synth sound is that gadget that looks like a small stapler. No ma, that’s no stapler – it’s an EBow – short for Energy Bow or Electric Bow. The EBow can create a variety of sounds from a small hand held, battery powered magnetic devise that interacts with the strings and pickups of an electric guitar.The EBow has been around since the 1970s. The latest model is called the Plus EBow (no joke) "plus-e-bow effect" (this is the joke).

The second effect almost mimics a voice, a talk box effect, or wah-wah pedal - it sounds like the effect Frampton used on "Show Me the Way," which by the way was a talk box. The live video shows that it is neither a talk box nor a wah-wah pedal. This particular effect is known by a couple of different names: an envelope filter or auto-wah.

Both terms refer to similar devices that accomplish the same thing - which is to basically provide an automated wah effect – that’s the short, non-technical explanation. It can be used (when the speed is adjusted) to create that wah-wah effect so commonly found on 70s soul and funk records - without wearing out your ankle in process. I used to have a wah-wah, but broke the dang thing using it in bands in the 80s.

On the rhythm guitar, the third effect may be a Leslie rotating speaker cabinet. Well, actually the cabinet doesn't rotate, but the speaker does.  This is class effect found on many Hammond organ tracks and George Harrison slide guitar parts. Soundgarden used a Leslie on their recording; however, a good chorus effect should be sufficient to sound like a Leslie and may be what is used here. A chorus, which can be held in your hand, is a lot smaller than a Leslie cabinet and less prone to electronic or mechanical failure - and much cheaper to replace.  

Besides using distortion and other standard guitar effects, Frampton utilizes his time honored effect – the infamous talk box to round out this instrumental recording.

Soundgarden’s Very Bizarre Original Video

From what I understand, the concept behind this video was solely the producer's; the band had little input into its direction – although it is reported that they were pleased with the final project. It is pretty interesting in a disturbing sort of way.

The Magic of Tape Flanging

While it can be done electronically today, a studio technique that was occasionally used on rock ‘n roll records in the 60s and 70s was called tape flanging. Used as an effect on several hit records, flanging is often described as being "jet like" or like a whooshing sound. One of the landmark recordings that used tape flanging was Small Faces’ “Itchycoo Park” – their only American hit.

The song features flanging during guitarist Steve Marriott’s vocals on the bridge where he sings:

“I feel inclined to blow my mind; get hung up; feed the ducks with a bun.
They all come out to groove about – Be nice and have fun in the sun.”

The effect continues into Kenney Jones’ drum fills. It returns during the ending choruses as well.  The song's flanging is accentuated in a stereo recording, as illustrated below.

The song is our third in our series of recordings this week featuring Ronnie Lane. “Itchycoo Park” was co-written by Lane and Marriott; on the recording, Ronnie plays bass and provides backing vocals. It is also is an example of an absent or obscured title that is not part of the song’s hook. In this case, the chorus is “It’s all too beautiful.” Since “Itchycoo Park” is found once in the song, it is an obscured title. Songs like Robert Plant’s “Big Log” and Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women Numbers 12 and 35” have absent titles as they never appear in the song’s lyrics.

“Itchycoo Park,” which got its name from the stinging nettles found in a park in Ilford where the band had hung out, was a number one record in Canada. It charted at 3 in the UK and was a top 20 record (#16) in the US. The main attraction to the song was the use of tape flanging, which provided a psychedelic feel to this 1967 hit. Similar to phase shifting and chorus effects, which generally process two signals electronically; flanging differs because the delay in those signals is much longer – usually between 40 and 50 milliseconds.

Phase shifting allows one signal (the wet signal) to be processed in and out of phase in intervals that can be controlled with the speed of the effect. The dry or untouched signal interacts with the wet signal to perform a Doppler or circular effect. Mechanically, early phase shifting was accomplished by using a Leslie rotating speaker. Most often used in conjunction with Hammond Organs, George Harrison often played slide guitar through a Leslie speaker.

Chorus effects have a shorter delay at about 10-30 milliseconds and the wet signal is delayed from the dry signal and can provide a fatter sound. When used on a single instrument, a chorus delay gives the appearance that one of the signals is out of tune. On a piano the effect creates a honky-tonk piano sound. At one point in time, I was using both a chorus and phase shifter simultaneously on my Prophet 5’s strings settings to make the sound much fuller. It worked in giving the string sound more presence in a live context.

For completeness sake, I should mention three other related effects: reverb, delay, and echo which can be performed mechanically or electronically. Reverb is a repeat of a signal with a short delay but a long decay of the sound. The effect can be generated digitally, through magnetic tape (as a feedback of the dry signal), or as in amplifiers - the wet signal is sent along a spring. The delay effect which can be produced digitally or via a tape transport is a longer delay of the wet signal than flanging and echo is even longer yet. In all three, the wet signal does not (typically) match or compete with the dry signal. It is used to enhance the dry signal and not to change the overall sound as in phase shifting, chorus, or flanging effects.

Tape flanging, the subject of today's post, is quite unique in its presentation and how it is generated. Flanging is accomplished by having two reel-to-reel tape decks of the song play simultaneously while the two signals are mixed down to a third record deck. The delay caused the jet like whoosh was accomplished by the engineer touching the edge (flange) of the take up reel on one machine to slow down the speed of one deck to create a delay and then he repeated the process on the second deck to return the machines to being in sync. The process of going out and back into sync created the distinctive sound.

It is said that the name flanging originated with Beatles producer, George Martin. Since the engineer touched the flange, George began using the term “flanging” for the process. Apparently, John Lennon popularized its usage outside of the Beatles’ circle of influence, and the rest they say is history.

Miss Toni Fisher: The Big Hurt

While there are competing earlier incidents of the effect being used, it is generally thought that Miss Toni Fisher’s #3 recording of “The Big Hurt” was the first use of flanging on a popular recording. David S. Gold and Stan Ross, owners of Gold Star Studios in Hollywood, acknowledge this claim and it is often cited in various books on studio recording.

The engineers at the session were attempting to create a stereo mix by combining two mono signals of the same recording. The original intention was to mix each deck’s signal down to separate tracks by placing one of the decks out of phase; however, the engineer summed the signals and voila – instant flanging. The whooshing sound which occurs throughout the song can be attributed to minor fluctuations in the speeds of the two master decks. No hand manipulation was used on this recording.

Eric Burdon and the Animals: Sky Pilot

Generally considered a Vietnam War protest song, Eric Burdon’s song about military chaplains is not overtly anti-war, but it is not pro-war either. The flanging effect is more like “The Big Hurt” than “Itchycoo Park,” as the effect is throughout the entire song and not controlled. “Sky Pilot” charted in the US at #14 in 1968. Back home in the UK, the song just barely hit the top 40.

The Doobie Brothers: Listen to the Music

From The Doobie Brother’s second LP “Toulouse Street,” “Listen to the Music” was their first top-40 single charting at #11 in 1972. What’s not to like about this song. It’s positive, upbeat, has a banjo, and features tape flanging. Although uncredited, the banjo was played by Patrick Simmons. The flanging effect here mimics the usage by Small Faces as it is only used on the song’s bridge.

Be careful of sites on the Internet that purport to have listings of songs with flanging effects. As I listened to many of these songs, I discovered that flanging wasn't being used - as it has a unique sound. For example, the Lemon Pipers' "Green Tambourine" is a song found among many of these lists - the effect used on that recording was tape reverb and not flanging.

When you spend 20 years in radio, you learn how to do interesting things such as this and I guess my first experience with flanging happened at WAMX in Ashland, KY in 1979. One night, the fellow who worked the graveyard shift (and went by the name of "The Mole") showed me how to do this with two records. So when I wanted to play around with it, I would put copies of the same recording on both turntables and let them whoosh. In the 21st century, flanging can be emulated digitally through filters and the whooshing sound can be synthesized; however, nothing beats good old-fashioned, mechanically produced tape flanging.

The Talk Box Guitar Effect

Peter Frampton’s 1976 LP “Frampton Comes Alive” gave the first wide spread rock n’ roll exposure to the Talk Box - an invention that had its roots in 1930s technology. Two of Frampton’s three singles, “Show me the Way” and “Do You Feel Like I Do?,” featured the talk box.

The first time I remember hearing a talk box was with Joe Walsh’s 1973 recording of “Rocky Mountain Way” from the “Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get” album. Having not seen what Walsh was doing to achieve this sound, I really didn’t know how he accomplished the strange "Bup-bo" sounds toward the cut's end until I saw what Frampton was using in 1976.

After Walsh, my next exposure was a Pete Drake single that I purchased at a flea market in 1974 – it featured the 1964 single recording of “Forever” backed with “I’m Just a Guitar and Everybody is Picking on Me.” The artist was billed on the label as “Pete Drake and his Talking Steel Guitar.” “Talking Steel Guitar,” how could I not buy this record?

Today’s feature picks up where Drake left off with his guitar humor and features the Talk Box designed by Bob Heil. Stillwater’s 1978 single “Mindbender” is about a fictitious talking guitar. The protagonist croons, “My daddy was a Gibson; my momma was Fender; that’s why they call me ‘Mindbender.’ ‘Mindbender’ – that’s my name. ”

History of the Talk Box

Alvino Rey’s Throat Microphone

As stated earlier, the idea for a talk box type of effect had its roots in the 1930s. The first prototype was used by steel guitarist Alvino Rey. His device was a military issue throat microphone that was used as an output of his amplified his steel guitar. Unlike Drake, Walsh, and Frampton, Rey didn’t manipulate his own mouth to provide the talking sounds. This was done offstage by using his wife, Luise King Rey, singing through the throat microphone that was used as an output device with her husband's steel guitar signal. I have a few of Rey's 78s that I got over three decades ago, but sadly do not have 78 player any longer.

In the accompanying video of “St. Louis Blues,” Rey’s orchestra is joined by the “talking guitar” puppet “Stringy.” The gimmick was to have the sound of Luise Rey’s vocal processed with Alvino Rey’s steel guitar appear as though “Stringy” was singing. While Rey invented his device in 1939, this video is from much later in his career.

I’m not 100 percent sure, but I believe Rey is playing a six-string pedal steel guitar. It has the same design as a Multi-Kord – one of the first pedal steels on the market. I purchased a Multi-Kord steel from a fellow college student, Scott Bryant, back in 1978 for $75.00. It is a horrible little instrument because there is the tendency for the cables to stretch causing the pitch to change unevenly when the pedals are depressed. Later pedal steels used rods to correct this issue. Rey also uses the steel's tone controls to achieve certain effects. My Multi-Chord has a tone button that allowed for very quick wah-wah type by rolling off the bass when the push-button switch is depressed.

The Sonovox Output Device

Simultaneously in 1939, Gilbert Hunger Wright developed a device that his father, novelist Harold Bell Wright, called the "Sonovox." The younger Wright noticed one day that when he scratched his Adam’s apple he could make unique sounds by mouthing the words. He took two small speakers that are not much different from modern headphones, input sound to the speakers, and placed on these on an individual’s throat. The resulting sound would emanate from the persons mouth when he formed the words and gave the appearance that the instruments were singing.

In the 1940 film, “You’ll Find Out,” Harry Babbitt demonstrates the Sonovox with Kay Kyser’s band. I’m not sure how they did this live, as the instruments do not appear to be miked. It is possible that it was prerecorded or there were other instrumentalists backstage that were miked and played on cue. He is not miked either until he sings with Kay. Is it live or or is Bell Labs? With that said, most recordings of that era were done with a single mike and that may be what is happening here. The single mic records were marvelous as correct mic placement allowed for a balance of the instrumentation and vocals.

Pete Drake’s Talking Actuator

In the 1960s, Nashville session musician, Pete Drake took the technology one step closer to today’s talk box. Drake attached an ordinary paper speaker cone that was attached to a funnel’s wide end and a plastic tube on the narrow end. The tube ran to his mouth where he mouthed words while playing his pedal steel. The device was used on a number of recordings, but was impractical for live performances as the volume levels were low. I am including his single “Forever” and its flip side, “I’m Just a Guitar (Everybody Picks on Me).

Pete Drake: Forever

Pete Drake: I’m Just A Guitar (And Everybody’s Picking on Me)

Doug Forbes’ Voice Bag

During the same period, another isolated event occurred that furthered the talk box technology. According to Doug Forbes, he was working in an electronic store in 1963 and a gentleman came in with an artificial larynx that had a tube connected to a buzzer on one end and the other end was placed in the user’s mouth and he or she would mouth words to communicate.

Wanting to try something different for his band, Forbes and his father rigged up a speaker driver and connected the tube to his mouth for a talking guitar effect. After experimenting with various drivers, he finally had a prototype that he placed in a bag that was slung over his back. The bag was made from green sofa upholstery material and trimmed with gold fringe.

The band’s manager attempted to rip off the idea and presented it to Kustom Electronics, the maker of amps and effects, and they produced a version that they called “the Bag.” Kustom marketed “the Bag” at $99.95 in 1968 (a great deal of money then) and it never achieved popularity. I am not sure that there were any recordings of note using “the Bag.”

 Kustom Electronics' "The Bag" from Doug Forbes design

Bob Heil’s Talk Box

The man generally considered as the inventor of a voice effect for guitar that was of suitable for high wattage output for live performances was Bob Heil. In 1972, Heil worked with Joe Walsh’s guitar tech to develop a 250 watt talk box for use on “Rocky Mountain Way.” Similar to Pete Drake’s and Doug Forbes’ earlier designs, Heil’s initial model was cumbersome and impractical for touring. By 1973, he had placed the speaker driver in a smaller fiberglass box making the effect easy for transport. On a side note, Alvino Rey, Gilbert Wright, and Bob Heil were all ham radio operators and the talk box was an extension of their hobby.

Joe Walsh – Rocky Mountain Way

Peter Frampton Makes the Guitar Come Alive

Peter Frampton, who had worked with Pete Drake on George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” LP, was impressed with Drake’s design; however, Drake was not willing to make one for Frampton. Bob Heil heard of Frampton’s interest and he gave him a prototype of his new design as a Christmas present in 1973. When the “Talk Box” was featured on the double live album “Frampton Comes Alive” in 1976, this exposure was viral. The popularity took the device to new heights of awareness. Guitarists all over the world clamored to have one and the rest, as they say, is history.

Peter Frampton – Show Me The Way

Peter Frampton – Do You Feel Like I Do

Bob Heil - 2007 Parnelli Audio Innovator Award Winner

Peter Frampton and Bob Heil Interview - 2009

Build Your Own Talkbox

Here’s an impressive young man that shows you how to build your own talk box so you can feel like Peter Frampton does. By the way for non-geeks, the young innovator mentions a DPDT switch - that is short for double pole, double throw.

Electric Prunes: I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)

One of my favorite songs from the sixties is the psychedelic number by the forgotten band, The Electric Prunes. “I had too much to Dream (Last Night)” became a classic hit that one rarely hears even on oldies radio stations. The song was written by Annette Tucker and Nancie Mantz who were contracted to Four Star Music Publishing. While the writers envisioned a rock tune ala the Rolling Stones, the publisher released a demo with Jerry Fuller singing it as a ballad. Neither songwriter liked the demo. The success of the Electric Prunes rock version, which charted at #11, provides evidence that the writers were correct.

“I had too much to Dream (Last Night)” was one of the earlier uses of backwards recording techniques that continues to the present. While software can render a passage backwards today, it was physically done by reversing the reel-to-reel tape to create special effects and in some cases, hidden backwards messages. The jury is out on whether some of the songs that were accused of backwards masking occurred or the words that seem to be present came about purely coincidentally. ɯǝssɐƃǝ ǝʌıן ʇɥıs ʇo ןısʇǝu pouʇ.

In the case of this song, the backwards parts include all of the lead guitar riffs. This can be mimicked today with an effects pedal that causes the attack of the note to fade in much like it would if you flipped the tape and played it backwards. The most prominent backwards feature is found in the intro to the song and it sounds like a giant wasp is swooping down upon the listeners. The similar sounds found within the remainder of the song were created the same way as the backwards intro – only they are being run forwards.

That amazing sound is explained by Prunes vocalist James Lowe: "We were recording at Leon Russell's house, and you couldn't see the studio from the control room. We were recording on a four-track, and just flipping the tape over and re-recording when we got to the end. Dave [Hassinger - the producer] cued up a tape and didn't hit 'record,' and the playback in the studio was way up: ear-shattering vibrating jet guitar. Ken had been shaking his Bigsby wiggle stick with some fuzztone and tremolo at the end of the tape. Forward it was cool. Backward it was amazing. I ran into the control room and said, 'What was that?' They didn't have the monitors on so they hadn't heard it. I made Dave cut if off and save it for later."

Two Versions of Vibrato (also called tremolo)
used on "I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)"

Physical Vibrato- Bigsby Whammy Bar

 Electronic Vibrato from a Fender Amp with Speed & Intensity Controls

The Beatles “Rain”

While tape effects in commercial recording had been used for years by artists like Les Paul, Ferrante & Teicher, and Ross Bagdasarian (David Seville), the first use of backwards recording was utilized by the Beatles on the flip side of “Paperback Writer”: "Rain." John Lennon’s vocal at the end is flipped to create a backwards message, which is a line from the song.

Geoff Emerick who worked as the engineer also tinkered with the speed of the tape. He recorded the backing track faster than normal – which caused it to be at a slower speed and lower pitch at normal playback speed. Additionally, the lead vocals were recorded at a slower speed. When played at normal speed, the vocals were faster and higher pitched. The Beatles would experiment even further with tape speed and backwards effects – producing even more unique sounds on future recordings. ɐןן ɐʇ ɐuʎʍɥǝɹǝ uoʇ ɐɹǝ ʎon ʍɥǝu ouɔǝ ɐʇ dןɐɔǝs ʇʍo ıu qǝ ʎon ɔɐu ɥoʍ.