“Shadows Echoes and Amps From Then to Now”

[Spike]

Hi Boys

Thanks for your contributions here and as Paul mentions at the bottom of the articles:
"Also, if you have any corrections or additional material you would like me to add, please let me know."

Alan and Dave

The Shadows may have used a Watkins or a Roland 201 as I suspect they had, but I think Paul is looking for evidence of where and when these units were used.

It will be good to finally compile the most facts we are able to find so that we have something there to refer to when needed.

Thanks for your contributions!!

Spike

[fenderplucker]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all your comments, I had hoped that the articles would tease out more information and help build a more accurate picture. I will certainly incorporate your information.

If I may just clarify some of the points raised:

Dave, did Hank actually perform with the Watkins at the Sheffield Bailey's Club and if so would you have a rough date?

Alan, I thought that I had seen Hank use a Roland 201, possibly on the 1979 UK tour?, but I couldn't verify it and haven't been able to come up with any confirmed sightings. So, while I had it included in an earlier draft of the article, I subsequently took it out. Do you have any pics or comments of confirmed sightings that would verify its use? Thanks also for the info on the RE-3. I couldn't ascertain of it had just a single head could do multi-tap echoes. The Snowman echo timings do not seem to match any other particular machine in use at the time (though they are in some ways similar to a Roland) and Peterbower commented on Charlie's site that Mark P from Arbiter was told by Hank that he used it on that track. So if you confirm that the RE-3 had only a single echo (even with variable timing) I will remove that reference.

Jim, the first photo to which you refer was indeed a Vox ad from 1982, though you are certainly correct that it must have been taken earlier to have included Jet in it. And thanks for the info on the second photo, I will include it in the caption.

Stuart,thanks for the info on the Binson settings, that sort of data is very rare indeed!!

Thanks again for all the comments, please keep them coming!

Best Regards,

Paul.

[StuartD]

Hi

I can confirm that Hank used a Watkins Copycat at Baileys in Sheffield. It was during, as Dave says, his Hank and John period. It would have been around the time of the Album. His Binson had packed up and for part of that week he used my Binson. On stage, in a one off show at the Palladium as the Shadows - it was the Sunday in the middle of a Cliff Richard 2 week slot - he used an MXR Digital Echo that 'he had taken from his studio because the EC3 was noisy'. This was well afterthe had used the Echoplex. I can't remember exactly when it was but i remember them playing Walk Don't Run. so that should date it approx.

Regards

Stuart

[dave robinson]

The album that was on sale at Baileys night club during that week, was 'Rocking With Curly Leads', I got Hank to sign it.

[roger bayliss]

I recall in a thread started by Phil Kelly back on the last old site it was bought up that HBM had mentioned using a single speaker AC30 on the Apache session and this at first was thought to have been an AC15 but because of the size description given by Hank some of us thought it could well have been one of the first AC30 designs. If I recall the very early designs also used EL34's on the output and Audium speaker. On top of that I do feel that the use of the AC15 for some of those early recordings contradicts what Bruce Welch publicly stated at Shadowmania 2007 .

Also I found a comment by Bruce Welch in a book that states Wonderful Land was 'in the can' for a few years before Norrie Paramour put strings on it on the arrival of 2 track tape. So I think that would put it in the realms of ef86. (see the thread ' Hanks First Meazzi ' )

On a positive note I would congratulate Paul for taking the time to set out this timeline as it helps very much in gaining the overall picture. Very helpful to us all.

[dave robinson]

'Wonderful Land ' was recorded May 12 1961.

[Geoff Alderton LH]

Hi all. Wow what a fantastic document, When is the book coming out? We have had, Beatles Gear, The VOX Book, Pearls and Crazy Diamonds, The Telecaster,etc etc all in hardback with super pictures and enough info to keep the most Anoracks happy for life. It must be a worthwhile investment for someone to produce a 'Shadows Gear' in hardback with all the pics and info in one super volume. Not as heavy as the new Vox Book. There must be one entrepreneur out there who is a Shadows fan.
Keep the postings coming Spike
Regards Geoff.

[fenderplucker]

Hi Geoff,

Thanks for your kind comments. I have thought about pulling it all together into a book that would include a lot of additional material that I have, such as more technical information on the echo units, how the delay times and amplitudes are measured, sound clips on an accompanying CD to demonstrated the sounds of the various units, more information on the various amplifiers, lots more photos, a section on guitars used the Shadows and so on. Do you think there would be enough interest to make it worthwhile?

Best Regards,

Paul.

[rockinscott]

Hi Paul, I think that would be a yes.

Scott

[Tone]

Hi Paul

Great stuff and having helped Ian Evans with his document on Hank/Shads Custom Shop Strats I know only too well how much work goes into these projects.

If you were to publish a book I would certainly buy a copy and so, I suspect, would many others.

Cheers.

Tony