F.B.I. and Wonderful Land

[AlanMcKillop]

[JimN]

what a great clip of wonderful land (although mimed) and with brian and jet too - it's simply amazing what youtube throws up!
bruce's choice of chords always amazes me - playing the middle eight up the neck. he is a master - very underrated.

That's what Bruce has always done on electric guitar - often making use of four-note chords on the inside strings only . The intro to Guitar Tango sounds a lot better played like that, with the two E strings deadened rather than with a full barre chord. I had the privilege of watching Bruce play that intro on my J-50 at the Sunday-night-in-the-bar session at Tilburg a couple of years ago and picked up that little tip...

However, I don't hear those seventh/eighth position chords on the record of Wonderful Land, played on Cliff's J-200. They sound more like open/first/second/third position chords to me, making ful use of the resonance of the super jumbo. You're probably seeing one thing but hearing another on that Dutch clip!

JN

[Martin Page]

what a great clip of wonderful land (although mimed) and with brian and jet too - it's simply amazing what youtube throws up!
bruce's choice of chords always amazes me - playing the middle eight up the neck. he is a master - very underrated.

That's what Bruce has always done on electric guitar - often making use of four-note chords on the inside strings only . The intro to Guitar Tango sounds a lot better played like that, with the two E strings deadened rather than with a full barre chord. I had the privilege of watching Bruce play that intro on my J-50 at the Sunday-night-in-the-bar session at Tilburg a couple of years ago and picked up that little tip...

However, I don't hear those seventh/eighth position chords on the record of Wonderful Land, played on Cliff's J-200. They sound more like open/first/second/third position chords to me, making ful use of the resonance of the super jumbo. You're probably seeing one thing but hearing another on that Dutch clip!

JN

Yes, I've noticed Bruce using the four-inside-string chord on The Savage's middle eight. He plays the F7 at the sixth fret using the open C7 shape.

Martin.

[abstamaria]

So middle and bridge pick-ups. Will try that.

I see Hank uses a very different tremolo technique too. Which supports what someone noted earlier on this forum; Hank did not hold the tremolo bar all the time in the eraly days. If we're to emulate that sound, then we musn't also, I suppose.

[Mark Burton]

That's what Bruce has always done on electric guitar - often making use of four-note chords on the inside strings only . The intro to Guitar Tango sounds a lot better played like that, with the two E strings deadened rather than with a full barre chord. I had the privilege of watching Bruce play that intro on my J-50 at the Sunday-night-in-the-bar session at Tilburg a couple of years ago and picked up that little tip...

JN

Oh yes..... remember it well but who was that singer

[ecca]

"If we're to emulate that sound, then we musn't also, I suppose."

Ridiculous.

[Shad1]

Yes It's a 'mistake' in the middle eight - but Hank realises it and duplicates it before refinding himself later. No big deal.

Malc.

[abstamaria]

When Hank is playing FBI in this clip, his hand flashes out to the tremolo bar and then lets go to return to the strings. It does not seem, at least to a rank amateur as myself, that he waggles the trem bar much (as he has less time to), so this must affect the played note and therefore the overall "sound." That early style probably also means he can use the tremolo only for the end notes or when there is time between picking. But then he was a young man then and probably much faster I am now (or ever was anyway).

Indeed it seems that in Wonderful Land clip (is that a year later?), he seems to be holding on to the tremolo bar instead of letting go.

In his instructional on YouTube, taken just a few years ago, Hank says he uses the tremolo bar for each note and demonstrates this. So his style seems to have evolved through the years (more and more tremolo bar), but his playing there in that recent video (again to this amatteur's ears) sounds very different from the original recordings. But he is after all Hank Marvin, an artist, with full license to vary his style and evolve, as he should.

For someone like me, relying almost entitrely on perseverance (to make up for lack of inborn talent!) and struggling with each note, every little bit helps, so I try to catch each nuance on these old videos and of course value the advice given so freely by the experienced hands here on ShadowMusic. Many thanks.

By the way, the sound of FBI in that video seemed to me very vintage Shadows. Very vintage Vox. Thank you for pointing the videos out. I have shared the links with the local Shadows fans.

Best regards to all.

Andres

[AlanMcKillop]

Hi Andres,

As you've noticed, Hank did play in his early days without holding the tremolo as he does now (and has done for many years). It allows him to pick closer to the bridge p/u and get a little more edge to his sound, but I reckon it's harder to play that way.

Although he has a 'vintage sound' (it was a live studio recording), it is different to the recorded sound and of course, that we slip up in the middle, but hey, it's live music and even the best players make mistakes.

[Mark Burton]

What is the 'accepted' pick-up for FBI ?

Single coil strat type .........