Getting Vintage Sound

[millring]

[Russell Letson]

I agree about dead strings--I remember thinking that a lot of the wandering-troubador guys (the ones with LP cover photos taken on railroad tracks or against brick walls in alleys) never changed the strings on those nice old Gibsons.

I confess that I couldn't hear all that much difference in the A/B comparisons on offer--but then, my ears are 50 years older than Josh's. And I'm not listening through studio-quality cans but through respectable Advent amplified computer speakers.

BTW, what he calls tape "wow" I call "flutter"--though, if I recall correctly, they're both the result of variations in tape speed across the heads.

[Cosmic Wonder]

Mike

[Marshall]

I think it's fun to get into the head of Josh a bit. I've always been impressed with his recording technology adeptness. This looks under the hood some.

[Marshall]

And I kinda like the Josh Turner D'Angelico guitar too.

[Marshall]

There’s a Vintage Guitar Show in Elk Grove, IL tomorrow. 9;00 to 3:00. I plan on going. The 4 Amigos show hasn’t come here since before the Pandemic. I have mild interest in an old Yammy. The neck and scale seem to be more to my liking. I ‘m giving up on carbon fiber guitars. I’m interested in a nice beater that I don’t have to worry about damaging in inclement circumstance.

[PaulKay]

I agree that dead strings combined with a floppy pick will allow one to twack away and get a "less bright" tone.
But what he didn't suggest is to simply use plain ol' nickel strings. They are, in my mind, dead acoustic strings right out of the box.

Mike Dowling uses heavy gauge electric strings on his resonator. As do I.

[RickW]

I loved that video. Josh is one of those rare people who really learns things. Not, dick around for 5 minutes, but rather spend meticulous hours trying stuff. Recording is one of those things that the only way to learn is to keep testing and testing. People get so bent out of shape trying the latest, spiffiest gadget, the latest plugins, the most expensive interface or microphones, and I doubt that most spend the time doing that experimentation to see what works.

Not that I’d put lip stuff on my strings. But then, if it works…why not.

The young man gets great sounding tracks, recorded in his living room. On cheap mics. The subtle differences there were great. That’s the art, right there: listening.

[Russell Letson]

Sept 30, 2023 13:53:32 GMT -5 PaulKay said:

Mike Dowling uses heavy gauge electric strings on his resonator. As do I.

I recall Mike saying he uses a very light set on his El Trovador, which is why I put a 46-11 set on my M-1--and it sounds great. (Though I don't play any slide.)

[Marshall]

OK. Went to the show. Saw zackly what I was looking for: a 70s Yammy big body; FG335. Neck angle was good. I could play up and down the fat neck. Old strings on it. And the guitar needs to be cleaned up, which I can do. And the price was $220. So, I now have a beater guitar with a neck I really like. I can sell my Rainsong for nearly 10 times that.

It’s a small guitar show. Mostly electrics. Some fancy guitars too. But mostly middle of the road. Willies is there.

[PaulKay]

Oct 1, 2023 0:11:26 GMT -5 Russell Letson said:

Sept 30, 2023 13:53:32 GMT -5 PaulKay said:

Mike Dowling uses heavy gauge electric strings on his resonator. As do I.

I recall Mike saying he uses a very light set on his El Trovador, which is why I put a 46-11 set on my M-1--and it sounds great. (Though I don't play any slide.)

When I ordered my El Trovador from National a few years ago, I ordered it through Mike since he was an authorized dealer.
In the process of specifying what options I wanted, he suggested Elixir heavy electric strings (12-52) as an alternative to "resonator sets" (which are typically 12-52).
He said he liked them because it warmed up what is normally a "tinny" toned instrument. That recommendation is pretty much specific to resonators.

I should mention that it also had the side benefit of interacting better with Mike's hot plate pickup.

[Russell Letson]

Ah--I see different senses of "heavy" operating here. In the acoustic archtop world, "heavy" means at least a 13-56 set, or for old-school players even a 58 low E. 12-52 is "heavy" in the electric world. (And the GHS and D'Addario resophonic-slide sets are more like archtop spec or mediums with beefed-up trebles.)

I can't recall how standard lights sounded on the M-1, but the 46-11 Thin Cores drive it very well, with the additional virtue of being easy on my aging fingers.

[drlj]

Heavy, medium, & light as designations get twisted and bent quite a bit. I use Straight Up Heavies on two guitars, but the strings are actually a bit lighter than the average medium set and the total tension is 167lbs. D’Addario mediums are about 180lbs of tension.
Kenny Smith, a fantastic flat picker whom I forgot to list in that other thread, uses an electric nickel set of D’Adarrio mediums(EJ-22)on his guitars. They, too, have an overall tension of about 170lbs.
I have learned to look at a lot of things other than the labels light, medium, or heavy.

[Dub]

Here is a PDF document containing all the information I’ve been able to collect on string tension. I, too was surprised at some of the numbers.

String Tension.pdf (49.84 KB)

[epaul]

Thanks for that post/find, John. Fascinating. Especially the "in the box" processing. A complete mystery. But, fascinating. Both Josh's mastery of the box and all the details, big and little, here and there, open and obscure, the programmers put inside the box.