Jimi Hendrix' Gear and Mods at West Coast Organ and Amp

[niknik]

That's fantastic news i wish i had access to this paper.
btw, it's johnny Halliday, not Jimmy, but anyway, i'm not a fan of the old french rocker he he. some are.

here is a quick clip i've made with an SM57 + an SE R1 ribbon mic.
i tried to work with some virtual version of the Tools that Eddie Kramer had, like a pultec, a fairchild compressor, an helios console preamp, things like that. but it's not easy, and it expands the possibilitys. lot to learn.
anyway, i think that it sounds chemical than my usual clips using virtual speaker.

https://soundcloud.com/xplorer80/170618 ... compressor

Xplorer!
your clip is really awesome! Amazing tone and playing! Chapeau!!
I think SM57 modded or not is a must have mic!
Is your recorded signal very different from the master, or not so much? Please tell us more about compressor and eq settings! Also the reverb is very natural!
And yes, your vibe is really incredible.. I need one I need one I need one!

[Xplorer]

Xplorer!
your clip is really awesome! Amazing tone and playing! Chapeau!!
I think SM57 modded or not is a must have mic!
Is your recorded signal very different from the master, or not so much? Please tell us more about compressor and eq settings! Also the reverb is very natural!
And yes, your vibe is really incredible.. I need one I need one I need one!

Thanks man ! Cool to hear that
Well, the original signal isn't far from the final result, it's just enhanced with some pultec eq and fairchild compressor emulations from waves plugins ( nice promotions still now ), as insert fx, and a bit of reverb as send fx in the end, in the master group.
I don't know how i did without stereo compressor and such things until now. On a drum it sounds so much better, it glues the instruments of the mix together while making every intrument distinct and clear among the others. And more punch, sustain ..
It makes me want to record things again.

[niknik]

Really well done Xplorer!
This compressor thing is very interesting, I never explored this way, 'cause principally I am a live player, but your clip really intrigue me!
please excuse my ignorance, but why the compressor has to be stereo?

[Xplorer]

Really well done Xplorer!
This compressor thing is very interesting, I never explored this way, 'cause principally I am a live player, but your clip really intrigue me!
please excuse my ignorance, but why the compressor has to be stereo?

Because it's working on left and right in a stereo mix, live or not, and it enhances the sound, making the high signal lower and the low signal higher, to a degree. Every tunes since very long sine to benefit from it, and eq's. It's like revealing an argentic photo and get it at its best in photoshop, correcting the exposure, the colors ..
I apply a bit of compression on each mono channel, pan them, and then get them all into a stereo group, with a stereo compressor.
But this mix could be much better, i learned more since then.
And you must not abuse of a compressor, be gentle on it, or it kills the mix and the intentions of the player.
On band of gypsies, there clearly was a compressor, and certainly some pultecs, and probably just the same i used.
The fairchild compressor is said to be the rolls royce of compressors, used by the beatles, the rolling stones, certainly by eddie kramer etc.
This emulation has been tested by a well known sound engineer and compared to his original one, for six months, until it had the right sound.
I think i can believe it. He says that now he only uses the emulation and not even the original anymore.
An original costs maybe 10 k, 15k ...

[niknik]

Really well done Xplorer!
This compressor thing is very interesting, I never explored this way, 'cause principally I am a live player, but your clip really intrigue me!
please excuse my ignorance, but why the compressor has to be stereo?

Because it's working on left and right in a stereo mix, live or not, and it enhances the sound, making the high signal lower and the low signal higher, to a degree. Every tunes since very long sine to benefit from it, and eq's. It's like revealing an argentic photo and get it at its best in photoshop, correcting the exposure, the colors ..
I apply a bit of compression on each mono channel, pan them, and then get them all into a stereo group, with a stereo compressor.
But this mix could be much better, i learned more since then.
And you must not abuse of a compressor, be gentle on it, or it kills the mix and the intentions of the player.
On band of gypsies, there clearly was a compressor, and certainly some pultecs, and probably just the same i used.
The fairchild compressor is said to be the rolls royce of compressors, used by the beatles, the rolling stones, certainly by eddie kramer etc.
This emulation has been tested by a well known sound engineer and compared to his original one, for six months, until it had the right sound.
I think i can believe it. He says that now he only uses the emulation and not even the original anymore.
An original costs maybe 10 k, 15k ...

Really interesting
I was planning to purchase an Urei 1176 kit, even if maybe is more expensive than a plugin (I don't know), because my pc is very old, from early 2000's..
do you think it's a good idea? I could use it live too, and maybe in a slave setup..

[Xplorer]

It could be a good idea for the return, live, when you send the live mix to the public, amplified.
I think i've read that JJ Cale used an UREI, but i'm not sure. I'm sure that i've heard this name recently anyway.
But i'm sure he also talked about the millenia compressor, very nice. It also exists as a plugin for only 70 $.
Ps : it would be a good idea to get a more recent pc ... Early 2000 is far away !

[niknik]

It could be a good idea for the return, live, when you send the live mix to the public, amplified.
I think i've read that JJ Cale used an UREI, but i'm not sure. I'm sure that i've heard this name recently anyway.
But i'm sure he also talked about the millenia compressor, very nice. It also exists as a plugin for only 70 $.
Ps : it would be a good idea to get a more recent pc ... Early 2000 is far away !

yes! You are right! Mine is a tube pc!!
Just a little better than commodore64!

[niknik]

Seriously,
Thanx about compressor suggest, I think I'll purchase an urei 1176 kit, and I will try what you said about recording and mix

[Xplorer]

Seriously,
Thanx about compressor suggest, I think I'll purchase an urei 1176 kit, and I will try what you said about recording and mix

No problem
But before buying it, check on youtube what a millenia does on drums, same for a fairchild.

I'm glad i could find these plugins emulating most of what eddie kramer used, it made me understand a few things. Like ... Why did he always talked about this helios console in the okympic studios, and the pultecs, compressor ...
Now i can't do without it.

Edit : if i were you, i'd rather buy a quality laptop, pc, a cubase elements 9 for cheap, a nice soundcard with 10 inputs, and then all the plugins you want for a fraction of the price of the hardware. They do good stuffs now ...
And it'll let you have as many eq and compressor and stuffs that you want on almost as many channel that you need, instead of jut one big box and heavy, for lives.
Much better for the sound, the possibilitys, the weight, the price, etc etc ...

[Xplorer]

By the way, here's this JJ Cale interview, very interesting ! And he mentions the urei among other things :

http://www.puremusic.com/pdf/jjcale.pdf

I loved to endly find the answer to a question i had, directly from the master himself in this interview. I wondered about these overdubbed vocals that he has in many songs ...

About compression, i now realize that tracks like "us and them" features compression, certainly on the drums. Nicely enhanced and constant in the mix.

[Tek465b]

If all you want is to run plugins then you dont need to get cubase. just get a free VST Host..
this one is quite great: http://www.hermannseib.com/english/vsthost.htm

I started looking into modular synth latelly, i tryed 1 or 2 vst plugins and i dont like them, it is more complex.(i probably need to spend more time learning it).. Old analog way is more appealing.

[Xplorer]

Yes but it requires more than just a vst host. Tracks, send fx, insert fx, group channel etc. Cubase is just 99euros.

For the vst synths, try the ME-80, the OP-X Pro , the ppg wave ... They're great quality. The juno 60 virtual version too.
The op-x pro has almost no difference in sound with the original oberheim ob-x , really amazing. They improved the vst stuffs a lot lately !
And get an aftertouch keyboard for the best use.
I wish i had a cs-80 but well ... It's 20k now .....

I'd also recommend a novation sero sl mk II for the best experience of these virtual analog synths, to control them just like on a real one, without a mouse. Easily assignable controls, very smart stuff.
But it gets far from the subject from david now ! Lol.

[FloPoeKo]

Hi everyone,

new to the board so a big hello to everyone here and especially to Dave Weyer. I have a question on the added capacitor on the bottom of the PCB of the "Woodstock Wah": Has the exact value of this capacitor been mentioned already? That would be an interesting thing to know.

Cheers from over the pond,

Florian

[daveweyer]

That cap was a .003 ceramic disk. Tek did a fantastic emulation of what adding that cap to the circuit actually accomplished. Welcome to the forum. It's been a while, I've been out of town.

[daveweyer]

Tazin do you still check this forum topic out?

I have been asked to look at SL 10047, one of the units listed as shipped to West Coast for Jimi's 69 tour.
I do not see either the West Coast sticker or the discoloration of the plastic in the oval shape of the sticker.
Have you verified seeing this amp on any pic or film of Jimi's performances?

As I mentioned at the beginning of this topic, there were two amps which came into West Coast which had different serial numbers than are listed on page 638 of Electric Gypsy publication, supposedly a copy of a document from Marshall. We called Marshall about it when the amps arrived, but I don't see that mentioned in any of the Jimi documentation. Too bad I didn't copy the numbers way back when, but hindsight is always better

I thought you might have some info on whether this amp was actually used by Jimi.