Fender Bender Tone

[admin]

I have been learning the Shadow's Fender Bender and it has taken quite some time to get the tone just right. I am still not sure how Marvin achieved this sound.

I am playing a Fender Stratocaster through a Vox AC30. Thus far what I have settled on is using a slight compression of the Ross variety with a touch of reverb. The pickup setting that sounds best to my ears is position 2, or the bridge and middle pickup at the same time. This allows for the slightly hollow tone and very good definition on the riff between the sliding chords in the introduction and ending to the song.

I would be interested in what you think about this one Goran and also what others have found out about trying to play this interesting track. As in so many Shadows' songs there is more to the ear and the eye than one thinks after the first listen.

[goran]

Hi there

The sound of the shadows in the years of the early hits 1960 through approximately 1963 is often referred to as "That Sound" and much have been written about it. The obvious parts of "That Sound" are - 1. the galloping echoes produced by multi-head tape echos such as the meazzi.
2. The Fender Stratocaster guitar and 3. The Vox AC15/30 amplifier (and of course Hank Marvins technique......)

Goran

This early sound, "That Sound" is not to difficult to reproduce with modern equipment such as amplifier modelling and digital replicas of the tape echoes even if no one has been able to perfectly mimic the sound of Apache.

The later sounds "The Burns era" have distinctively less echo, if any in many cases, have a very odd kind of compression, creating sort of an "aftertouch effect" giving the guitar a very unique sound which I never have heard reproduced by any one, let alone the Shadows themselves in live situations. This leads me to firmly believe that a big part of this later sound (and also in part "That Sound") actually was produced in the studio at Abbey Road, London.

Answering the specific question regarding Fender Bender I have looked into what settings I used myself when I recorded my rendition (which can be downloaded) and came up with these:
- Simulated VOX AC30 Top Boost(on the verge of clipping)
- A little compression
- Neck pup
- Slight stereo reverb added on the recording
- A very slight echo with much of the treble rolled of.

When performing live I don't pay much attention to the individual songs, I use two types of amp settings and maximum 5-6 echo types.

BTW, Fender Bender is a quite tricky song to figure out the fingering for, try my tab for it.

[admin]

Thanks Goran, your comments are very much appreciated. I have experimented further and I now agree that the neck pickup is the better setting especially with a slight echo with less treble present. The compression is also an important dimension to the sound.

I will focus on the parameters that you have noted, Abbey Road sound equipment excepted, in my continued efforts to get close to the sound of the recording.

The timing of the intro, middle and ending chord slides with accompanying riff is critical to keep the song moving forward and is easy to stumble over unless well practiced.

I also believe that some of the compression, can be obtained with the Vox AC30 with the Celestion Blues which, along with the tube rectifier, added compression as well.

I have never spent any time with a Burns and so I am not familiar with the sound of their single coil pickups outside of the Shadows videos that I have heard.

Yes, it would seem that we can give the Abbey Road Studio a little credit too. The magic of many a recording is owed sometimes to accident but often to an inventive sound engineer.

[goran]

Hi
I have only briefly played Burns guitar but I am reasonably certain that the change of sound in -63/64 is not due to the change of guitar as much as the use of the then new top boost AC 30. It is not very hard to make a strat basically sound as a Burns and this view is more or less accepted among the Shadows players.

[royclough]

Goran. Peter Fender Bender tricky one to choose, even a lot of Shadows fans don't recall that one.

It was originally the B side to Equinoxe which was The Shadows first single on Polydor after they left EMI less than amicably.

Be interested Goran, though as Peter knows I am no guitar player ,wish I was, on your thoughts on the album The Shadows At Their Very Best, released on Polydor in the 80's.

They re-recorded a lot of their hits for this album something I thought they would never do, but I believe it was to get back at EMI somehow.

To a lot of the public they would not perhaps know these were re-recordings, did you think they faithfully produced the sound, personally I didn't but as near as damm it as we say here.

[admin]

Roy, As obscure as it may be, Fender Bender is an interesting song to play. I appreicate this extra bit of historical information that puts this song in context.

Goran, your tablature for Fender Bender was invaluable as is the rest of your tireless work that you have shared with The Shadows' community.

[admin]

Goran: I have spent time working with your excellent Fender Bender tab and I have a question about the intro ending to which you have referred.

It may be my timing and perhaps my old ears, however, I hear an extra note played by Hank in this passage.

I have highlighted the portion in the photo below and have placed it next to your interpretation. Your comments would be appreciated.

[goran]

I have scrutinized the original at several tempos and can't find anything than that the original tab is correct.


Cheers

Goran

P.S. my ears are possibly as old but this is what I hear.

[admin]

Thanks Goran. I stand corrected and appreciate your observations.