Today is the 20th anniversary of my first meeting with Hank
Nov 22, 2016 0:08:52 GMT
istvan, bill, and 3 more like this
Post by Charlie Hall on Nov 22, 2016 0:08:52 GMT
When I acquired an Alesis Quadraverb Plus multi effects processor in 1994 I had no idea what the future held.
It was some months later that I noticed the Quadraverb Plus included a multitap delay function so I thought about using it to recreate the Hank Marvin and Shadows echo sounds. After reading the instruction manual I realised some of the possibilities.
Attempting to program some delay sounds by comparing the sounds by ear with those of the records proved to be all but impossible, but then I realised I could use the built in sampling facility of the Quadraverb Plus to record and playback short pieces of audio. I recorded sections of some popular Shadows tunes that included damped notes. By editing the sampled start and stop times to the beginning of the attack of a note and at the beginning of each separate audible tap I was able to measure the delay intervals to an accuracy of around 10 milliseconds.
It soon became evident to me that the delay times alone were not sufficient to recreate the sounds. I needed a way of measuring the output of each head and some way of working out the feedback arrangement that was set up in the echo units by design. Luckily I learned of a local audio firm that had thrown a broken oscilloscope into a skip. A friend rescued it for me so I repaired it and time calibrated it precisely. Playing the samples through a specially devised filter and then on to the scope, it was possible to measure the delays to an accuracy of 1 millisecond and also observe the relative outputs from each head. I was even able to detect hundreds of reverb taps in some cases. However, some tunes were very difficult to get accurate delay times from, these included FBI, Midnight, and Big Boy. It took some time to work out that these tunes used all 5 playback heads of the first Meazzi Echomatic that Hank used.
It would be many years later during the later development of the Hall & Collins Signature Echo that the relative head outputs that various supposedly knowledgeable people talk about are very much a fallacy in the case of passively coupled heads, because the frequency responses of each head can differ greatly and so the perceived output depends on the frequency of the note being measured. Also, the feedback frequency responses are again different to that of their respective main outputs, and different head selections change all of this yet again. None of the EFTP program patches nor patches written by anyone else have or can take any of these factors into account and all third party multi effects units will have the same limitations.
The frequency responses of the delays were initially set by ear, and later on these settings were fine tuned by taking measurements from actual echo units whereby I measured the response from one of the heads. My prior knowledge of tape recorders was also invaluable. Many years of research with different echo units enabled me to duplicate reasonably accurately the sound of all the echo units that I had located for research. I am grateful to Peter Bower for the use of his Roland RE301 unit, Alan Jackson for the use of his various Binson and Dynacord units, and Paul Midgley for the use of his Long Tom and Meazzi tape units. Apologies in advance to anyone else I may have overlooked.
In 1996 my program patches were reviewed in “The Hank Marvin Echo”, a Hank and Shadows fan club magazine published by the UB Hank Guitar Club. As Hank Marvin was sent these magazines regularly he read the review and contacted the UB Hank Guitar Club asking for more information. I supplied a demo recording and some information which was then sent to Hank. I thank Roger Newell for his help with this.
In the meantime I had acquired an Alesis Q2 which promised far better performance than the Quadraverb Plus so I set to work preparing the Q2 with all the program patches that I thought Hank might be interested in.
After several weeks a meeting was arranged with Hank at the headquarters of Arbiter P. L. C. in Hendon, London on 22nd November 1996, which is exactly 20 years ago today, where he was due to demonstrate the new Japanese Hank Marvin Strat for Guitarist magazine who were going to review the guitar. When Hank tried the programmed Q2, he seemed to like it and so I got on very well with him. I was surprised when he expressed in no uncertain terms that he does not like added reverb with echo. However, it is known that the studio did add reverb in some cases. The trick is being able to distinguish where reverb was or was not used.
It is interesting to note that there is a trend for adding reverb to echo, with the thinking seemingly being that reverb fills in the gaps of the echo taps, which is therefore totally against what Hank had originally told me. The use of reverb is often done with echo patches that do not properly replicate the desired characteristics of the original echo units. Even EFTP programmed units fall short in this respect, some more so than others.
There is an important difference between echo and reverb, quite apart from the obvious differences with the echo taps and the hundreds of taps heard with reverb sounds. Echo patterns decay linearly due to the feedback from the heads, while reverb decays exponentially (non linear). It should then be no surprise that reverb is a poor substitute for filling in the sound gaps that are heard with the original echo units.
In early 1997 Hank wrote to me by post to say he thought the patches were authentic and to ask some basic questions, and that he would interested in using my programmed Q2 unit for his next tour. I offered to send him some programs free of charge that could be loaded into a Quad 2 at his studio in Australia, and this was done. I removed all the reverb from Hank's patches that I had originally programmed added reverb into. I am also grateful to Peter Alden for his help with preparing the documentation that was sent to Hank.
Shortly before Hank came back to England in March 1997 for the rehearsals for his next UK tour his technician contacted me to arrange for me to attend the rehearsal studio the day before full rehearsals were due to start. By that time I had teamed up with Peter Alden to run the project as a business as I had my family business to run as well. We were with Hank for a whole afternoon, with me setting up his Quad 2 units for the echo sounds for each tune. In most cases, echo effects that replicated closely enough the sounds of the original recordings were set up. We made further visits to the studio as rehearsals progressed.
Hank used the Quad 2 on all of the tour dates. Soon there were various reports from fans that Hank was using the new unit and some noticing that Hank's on stage Roland RE301 units were gone, with one report stating that it was the “best sound for years”.
My research carried on, with many of the program patches being continually improved, which Hank used after play testing them.
Today, I feel that my work with echo sounds has gone as far as I want to take it, having spent countless nights without sleep with the research, especially with the Hall & Collins Signature Echo.
I hope this has been of some interest.
Regards,
Charlie
It was some months later that I noticed the Quadraverb Plus included a multitap delay function so I thought about using it to recreate the Hank Marvin and Shadows echo sounds. After reading the instruction manual I realised some of the possibilities.
Attempting to program some delay sounds by comparing the sounds by ear with those of the records proved to be all but impossible, but then I realised I could use the built in sampling facility of the Quadraverb Plus to record and playback short pieces of audio. I recorded sections of some popular Shadows tunes that included damped notes. By editing the sampled start and stop times to the beginning of the attack of a note and at the beginning of each separate audible tap I was able to measure the delay intervals to an accuracy of around 10 milliseconds.
It soon became evident to me that the delay times alone were not sufficient to recreate the sounds. I needed a way of measuring the output of each head and some way of working out the feedback arrangement that was set up in the echo units by design. Luckily I learned of a local audio firm that had thrown a broken oscilloscope into a skip. A friend rescued it for me so I repaired it and time calibrated it precisely. Playing the samples through a specially devised filter and then on to the scope, it was possible to measure the delays to an accuracy of 1 millisecond and also observe the relative outputs from each head. I was even able to detect hundreds of reverb taps in some cases. However, some tunes were very difficult to get accurate delay times from, these included FBI, Midnight, and Big Boy. It took some time to work out that these tunes used all 5 playback heads of the first Meazzi Echomatic that Hank used.
It would be many years later during the later development of the Hall & Collins Signature Echo that the relative head outputs that various supposedly knowledgeable people talk about are very much a fallacy in the case of passively coupled heads, because the frequency responses of each head can differ greatly and so the perceived output depends on the frequency of the note being measured. Also, the feedback frequency responses are again different to that of their respective main outputs, and different head selections change all of this yet again. None of the EFTP program patches nor patches written by anyone else have or can take any of these factors into account and all third party multi effects units will have the same limitations.
The frequency responses of the delays were initially set by ear, and later on these settings were fine tuned by taking measurements from actual echo units whereby I measured the response from one of the heads. My prior knowledge of tape recorders was also invaluable. Many years of research with different echo units enabled me to duplicate reasonably accurately the sound of all the echo units that I had located for research. I am grateful to Peter Bower for the use of his Roland RE301 unit, Alan Jackson for the use of his various Binson and Dynacord units, and Paul Midgley for the use of his Long Tom and Meazzi tape units. Apologies in advance to anyone else I may have overlooked.
In 1996 my program patches were reviewed in “The Hank Marvin Echo”, a Hank and Shadows fan club magazine published by the UB Hank Guitar Club. As Hank Marvin was sent these magazines regularly he read the review and contacted the UB Hank Guitar Club asking for more information. I supplied a demo recording and some information which was then sent to Hank. I thank Roger Newell for his help with this.
In the meantime I had acquired an Alesis Q2 which promised far better performance than the Quadraverb Plus so I set to work preparing the Q2 with all the program patches that I thought Hank might be interested in.
After several weeks a meeting was arranged with Hank at the headquarters of Arbiter P. L. C. in Hendon, London on 22nd November 1996, which is exactly 20 years ago today, where he was due to demonstrate the new Japanese Hank Marvin Strat for Guitarist magazine who were going to review the guitar. When Hank tried the programmed Q2, he seemed to like it and so I got on very well with him. I was surprised when he expressed in no uncertain terms that he does not like added reverb with echo. However, it is known that the studio did add reverb in some cases. The trick is being able to distinguish where reverb was or was not used.
It is interesting to note that there is a trend for adding reverb to echo, with the thinking seemingly being that reverb fills in the gaps of the echo taps, which is therefore totally against what Hank had originally told me. The use of reverb is often done with echo patches that do not properly replicate the desired characteristics of the original echo units. Even EFTP programmed units fall short in this respect, some more so than others.
There is an important difference between echo and reverb, quite apart from the obvious differences with the echo taps and the hundreds of taps heard with reverb sounds. Echo patterns decay linearly due to the feedback from the heads, while reverb decays exponentially (non linear). It should then be no surprise that reverb is a poor substitute for filling in the sound gaps that are heard with the original echo units.
In early 1997 Hank wrote to me by post to say he thought the patches were authentic and to ask some basic questions, and that he would interested in using my programmed Q2 unit for his next tour. I offered to send him some programs free of charge that could be loaded into a Quad 2 at his studio in Australia, and this was done. I removed all the reverb from Hank's patches that I had originally programmed added reverb into. I am also grateful to Peter Alden for his help with preparing the documentation that was sent to Hank.
Shortly before Hank came back to England in March 1997 for the rehearsals for his next UK tour his technician contacted me to arrange for me to attend the rehearsal studio the day before full rehearsals were due to start. By that time I had teamed up with Peter Alden to run the project as a business as I had my family business to run as well. We were with Hank for a whole afternoon, with me setting up his Quad 2 units for the echo sounds for each tune. In most cases, echo effects that replicated closely enough the sounds of the original recordings were set up. We made further visits to the studio as rehearsals progressed.
Hank used the Quad 2 on all of the tour dates. Soon there were various reports from fans that Hank was using the new unit and some noticing that Hank's on stage Roland RE301 units were gone, with one report stating that it was the “best sound for years”.
My research carried on, with many of the program patches being continually improved, which Hank used after play testing them.
Today, I feel that my work with echo sounds has gone as far as I want to take it, having spent countless nights without sleep with the research, especially with the Hall & Collins Signature Echo.
I hope this has been of some interest.
Regards,
Charlie
. It's a significant landmark for most of us trying to attain the sounds associated with Hank given that he adopted the EFTP for his own live performances and recording. At last we have a better reason than Kennedy's assassination to remember November 22nd for. 
