String-a-longs

[sheendigs]

Hi There
Everyone knows 'Wheels' . ;D
Do you know the man who created it? Jimmy Torres..check it out:
www.jimmytorres.com/
And he was not happy about Norman petty
www.jimmytorres.com/archive.php
Sheendigs

[Charlie Hall]

Hi Sheendigs,
Nice to read about.
Wheels was written by Norman Petty (Buddy Holly's recording engineer and manager for much of Buddy's career).
The effect on the lead guitar of the Stringalongs version was a Leslie (I think) cabinet belonging to Norman Petty.
Regards,
Charlie

[sheendigs]

Hi Charlie
It seems that he used a Magnatone amplifier.
www.mercurymagnetics.com/images/amps/misc/Magnatone-450.jpg
And here is a note:
The unique guitar sound heard on Wheels was derived through the use of Magnatone Amplifiers. These guitar amplifiers had a true vibrato effect that varied the pitch of a note. Most other guitar amplifiers were equipped with a tremolo effect that rapidly turned the sound off and back on giving a shimmering sound.

Buddy Holly used one..click on the link.
At the bottom one can click on the panels and see what are the controls are..the Vibrato is there: (The year of the amp =1958)
www.gruhn.com/features/hollyamp/PA2289.html

Sheendigs

[Charlie Hall]

Hi Sheendigs,
After reading more I can now see that Torres did write Wheels but Norman Petty put his name on it.
I am almost sure I read that the effect on Wheels was a Leslie cab, but I am unable to find it on the internet, maybe it was in a Buddy Holly article or book. I can see that there were indeed Magnatone amps used by the Stringalongs, I know that those amps have a more authentic vibrato (Duane Eddy used one too), and they work in a similar way to the analogue circuits in phaser pedals, but somehow to my ears the effect on Wheels sounds like there is more going on, as if the lows and highs have the effect at different speeds. It is also possible that the sound of the Magnatone was fed into a Leslie as well, although in reality I don't think they would have bothered to do that when a good enough sounding effect could have already been produced. Magnatone amps were expensive even then, and maybe those amps were acquired afterwards for live playing.
Buddy Holly did buy a Magnatone later on but it was not used on the hit records, if you have heard the New York apartment tapes recorded around the end of 1958/early 1959, you will hear the sound of his Magnatone on those. For live playing, Buddy first used a Fender wide panel Pro amp (this is more likely heard on early demos recorded by Bobby Peeples and while the sound of Buddy's guitar is recognisable as his sound, it is warmer and deeper sounding than the sound on the hit records), then later a tweed Bassman and/or Twin was used, it is probably any combination of these Fender amps on the records. I have seen a reference to a huge heavy speaker cabinet used by Buddy Holly in England, as far as I know, amps were more likely to have been hired even then, rather than flown over for a tour, so it may not have been his own. I also remember the Buddy Holly Appreciation Society from the 60's referring to Buddy's choice of amps as Fender or Ampeg but have not seen any connection between Buddy Holly and Ampeg apart from that.
Regards,
Charlie

[john]

Hi

And George Gruhn of Gruhn's Guitars Nashville TN had Buddy Holly"s original Magnatone for sale a couple of months ago, complete with papers of authenticity.

The price a very cool US $175.000, and yes it was sold. Some dude with very deep pockets now owns a piece of history.
A couple of years back one of Chet Atkins Gretsch's was up for sale at Gruhns complete with papers, it went for US $120.000. It wasn't you Charlie by any chance ?

Regards
John M

[Charlie Hall]

Hi John,
No, I wouldn't pay that sort of money even if I had it.
Regards,
Charlie