A live performance of Midnight from 1961

[piotrek]

Hi there,

I've lately come across this:


According to what it says there, it's a live performance from Denmark in 1961. I believe the most interesting thing about it is what comes as second in this clip, namely Midnight. Does it sound to you like Hank used the bridge pickup for this one? Because to me it sounds nothing like the bridge and much more like the middle pickup.
What do you make of that then?

regards,
Piotrek

[s4wgb]

NICE .Many thanks for posting this.

[Charlie Hall]

Hi Piotrek,
It does sound warmer than the original recorded version. It is difficult to tell whether it was the bridge or middle pickup on this version. The echo is different, and it is possible that is making much of the difference. I have had difficulty deciding whether the bridge or middle pickup (and indeed middle or neck pickup sometimes) was used on other Shadows recordings.
It is known that for live performances, the pickup used is not necessarily the same as on the original.
Regards,
Charlie

[piotrek]

Hello Charlie,

I've just noticed that this is a bit slower than the originally recorded Midnight. So perhaps this impression of a warmer sound is due to the recording tape played slightly slower and therefore causing the track to be slower and the tone to seem 'out of pitch' maybe. Hence the extra warmth of the sound.

regards,
Piotrek

[Charlie Hall]

Hello Piotrek,
I just played the track again and found that it is in C#. I think the original was played in C. So it is unlikely that the recording was slowed down, and if anything, it was speeded up, unless the guitars were tuned higher than they should have been.
Regards,
Charlie

[piotrek]

Hello Charlie,

Thank you for making this clear.
Anyway, I am pretty convinced it wasn't the bridge pickup because back then Hank's bridge tone wasn't so mellow as it is these days. So it must have been either the middle or neck or a combination of the two.

regards,
Piotrek

[Charlie Hall]

Hi Piotrek,
It could have been the middle pickup but I don't think it was the neck pickup. As far as I know Hank never used the in between settings on the older Strats with a 3 way switch, and for live playing this is even less likely because it was sometimes very difficult to set the 3 way so it would stay in an in between position.
Regards,
Charlie

[Fender Bender]

Hi Piotrek

I think that Charlie is correct that it wasn't the neck pickup and highly unlikely to be a split sound either due to 3 way switch.It was a real treat to hear a live version of midnight with a more echoing sound as the original recording which was more reverb then echo and much faster.My guess is that it might have been the middle pickup as this version sound more thicker.

Regards

Louis

[Deleted]

Hi There,
IMHO, this is a very similar Sound to the live "Radio Luxembourg" version of Midnight. which is also Slower than the version on record.
THe Meazzi is very prominent, and adds a wonderfull "Halo" to the Slurs and Slides that Hank Plays. I first heard the "Lux" version in 1961, and searched for about 45 years ,till I found a Copy.

Cheers

Tommo

[abstamaria]

Very nice version, actually. I am tempred to say I prefer it to the "original" recorded version. Andy

[franz]

Hi, guys.
I have just seen this. What a gem! Pickup selection on the early numbers is an obsession of mine, unfortunately. Midnight is unmistakeably played on the middle pickup unlike the record. You can hear that clearly on the lower notes and on the end chord.
Has anyone any ideas about how hank achieved that glassy sound on the record which is unlike any other recording of theirs? Is there some chorus in there perhaps or wasn't it invented at that time?

[Charlie Hall]

Hi franz,
Hank's first Meazzi echo unit was used on Midnight. That particular unit was described by Hank as having a kind of chorus type sound. It was caused by excessive wow.
Regards,
Charlie

[martyn]

No doubt whatsoever in my mind - that's definitely the middle pickup.
Despite the inevitably poorer quality of this live recording, the guitar's sound is still better to my ears than the released studio version - always hated its brittle, thin sound and thankfully I don't believe Hank ever reproduced that identical gritty tone on any other released tracks.

Regards,
Martytn



Cheers,
Martyn

[franz]

Hi, guys,
Thanks, Charlie for the information. I shall now give up trying to emulate the record since i haven't got a Meazzi never mind an early one, and thanks Martyn for confirming what I thought about the Danish recording. My ears are obviously still working.


Cheers,
Franz

[Jono]

Thanks for posting this recording Piotrek.
This is probably the best 'live' recording I've heard.
Regards
Jono