Why did Hank change to TVS?

[petercreasey]

I know that Hank changed to the TVS for the Reunion tour and wondered why he changed from the Quadraverb. I do know that there were sound issues with the Quad on the Final tour. There were at the same time changes in amplifiers to the JMI this I understand due to the reliability issues of equipment from the Pinnacle/ KCP stable.With the depth of knowledge in the forum I was wondering if anyone had any background information.
I also wonder what would have happened if the late Eric Snowball had been involved by supplying his excellent ESE machine, alas a dream that can never come true

[Didier]

I know that Hank changed to the TVS for the Reunion tour and wondered why he changed from the Quadraverb. I do know that there were sound issues with the Quad on the Final tour. There were at the same time changes in amplifiers to the JMI this I understand due to the reliability issues of equipment from the Pinnacle/ KCP stable.With the depth of knowledge in the forum I was wondering if anyone had any background information.

Hank still used a pair of Q20 (EFTP programmed) for the 2004/2005 Final Tour. In 2004 he used a KCP amp with no relability problems, but in 2005 he started with Pinnacle amps which failed. He ended the tour with a Matchless amp head (backstage) associated with a Pinnacle amp used as a passive cabinet.
I attended two concerts of the Final tour : Brighton (2004) and Paris (2005), in both cases there was no sound issues with the Q20, but there was some during the Cardiff concert which was filmed for the DVD. During the first part of the concert the Q20 input level was improperly set, which led to some overload distortion which is particularly noticeable on Hank's opening and ending chords on Kon-Tiki.

During the Final Reunion tour with Cliff (2009/2010) Hank used the TVS3 instead of the Q20, and JMI amps. Obviously Hank (and Bruce) used what they have been offered...

Didier

[roger bayliss]

I think it probably came about through Gary Taylor I remember Hank and Paul Rossiter were with Gary at a Studio and Gary was playing some of the early hits through the TVS and Hank remarked about how close it sounded to his early days. So he must have been convinced of the TVS after hearing Gary demo it. Paul Rossiter will probably have the full story but I recall Paul mentioning it a few years back.

[dave robinson]

For me, Hank's best modern day sound was the first time he used EFTP with the Matchless amp around 1998/9.
True he changed amps and went onto the TVS3, but never sounded anywhere as good as the afore mentioned in my opinion.
The TVS3 can do the business, but failed to impress on the Reunion tour for whatever reason, maybe the operator, as was the case with the distortion on the Quad in 2004. Through all of this I have somehow managed to be able to plug in and play on my current kit and achieve what was missing for years, so painstaking though it may have been, it's all OK now. I don't use any fancy EQ gadgets, just my amps (Vox AC30 / AC4 or Mesa Boogie ) Vox Tonelab/ESE ECHOMATIC or Etap Eccamatic for echo and one of my Strats. Played live they sound as close as it ever was. Recording for perfection is another story, as Spike & Paul will testify.

[Didier]

The TVS3 can do the business, but failed to impress on the Reunion tour for whatever reason,

I remember reading somewhere (maybe by someone from TVS) that Hank was not interested in using the TVS3 settings which gave the closest early sound...

Didier

[Gary Allen]

Hank answered this question in August 2012-Guitarist magazine,Its on this site somewhere.

[fenderplucker]

Hi Everyone,

Hank's introduction to the TVS3 was much as described by Roger. We were down at his studio recording some Shadows tunes to see if they sounded much different to our "bedroom" recordings (they didn't) and Hank overheard Gary playing Frightened City and made the comment that it had captured his "old" sound perfectly. Somewhat strangely, as Didier mentioned, when he started trying one out later on in his studio he wanted me to take off the wow and flutter, resulting in a more modern sound. He subsequently purchased a couple of units for the Reunited tour with Cliff and used them in that configuration, which was a bit of a pity since the W&F contributes significantly to the old Meazzi sound.

With regard to live vs recorded sound, I think that the right equipment will deliver the right sound (whether the live Kingston sound or the more refined Abbey Road recorded sound) regardless, as does the TVS3. Indeed I seem to recall some very favorable comments from Dave and a number of others when he had a TVS3 for a short time and used it live (something like the best early Shadows sound he ever had). Many others have also used the TVS3 live with similar results. Why the apparent variability of the live performances by Hank? In addition to the lack of W&F in his echo patches, I think it is largely due to two other main factors. One is the tech who was selecting the patches setting the input level too high on the TVS3 for some tunes, leading to rather compressed and distorted echoes (just as would a Meazzi). I set it up for the Perth concerts and most agreed that it sounded much better than the O2 recording, for example. The second factor is how well Hank's sound is reproduced through the PA. When I joined them in the rehearsal room for the Perth concerts, they were just using the amps for the guitars (i.e. no PA) and the sound was brilliant- very Kingston, though somewhat tempered by Hank's more laid back and less aggressive modern playing style. However, when I was in the audience for the concert the sound through the PA was somehow more "polite", as though the sound system and/or engineer had removed some of the bite and chime of the TVS3 and JMI amps.

So to get back to Peter's original question of why the switch from the Q20's to TVS: Hank wanted to get closer to his early recorded sound to add some authenticity for the Reunited tour. For the same reason he also changed pickups to CS54's.

Paul.

[petercreasey]

Thanks for that insight Paul, very interesting, I must say that I couldn't go along with Didier's comment that Hank would use what he was given, good to know that he made a careful judgement on quality before purchasing rather than just endorsing what he was given. The choice of the TVS being because the sound was better than the Quadraverb in Hank's view.

[dave robinson]

Thanks Paul, I'm certain that you have hit the nail on the head with that explanation - no dis-respect to Hank intended but if the unit isn't used as Paul intended, which is the choice of the owner, thus not achieving the wonderful sound that it's capable of producing, then it comes under 'pilot error'.
I heard the TVS3 first hand and the sound that we all love and recognise is instant.

[Hank2k]

Paul thanks for the very informative post,

Can i please ask as a side step whether there would be any chance in the future of getting Hank to try and play the stuff the old way with a TVS3 etc in his studio just for posterity sake? Maybe a video aswell (you dont ask you dont get)