Reverb

Discussion of history's greatest guitar player.

Reverb

Postby albertgen » Sun Jul 10, 2011 8:20 pm

One thing I noticed about Chet is that he was very cautious about using reverb. It seems he used very little if at all. He did like a touch of echo though. Whenever your taped live the reverb comes out much stronger than what you hear in real time, Anybody ever notice that? Al
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Re: Reverb

Postby guitarchuck » Mon Jul 11, 2011 12:03 am

Al,
I've noticed when I recorded myself for YouTube that I had to turn the reverb down and also the echo mix down from what I normally run it at church. I probably still use too much. I also wonder if more is required in a larger area? It's probably good to record one's self to hear what you are sounding like to other people.
In Chet's teaching DVD, he mentions that he has his headphones on so that he can hear himself with a little added echo, so that it sounds good to himself. I don't remember his exact words with out getting it out and watching it again.
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Re: Reverb

Postby albertgen » Mon Jul 11, 2011 1:49 am

Right, I remember Chet saying that. I just think the guitars sound good to us with the reverb but when you are recording somewhere it comes out stronger. I could hardly hear any reverb on Chet's Nashville Now appearances but I could hear a little echo. Al
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Re: Reverb

Postby George Beasley » Tue Jul 12, 2011 7:50 am

I was in a class with Tommy in Feb, and he was showing his guitar rig. He said that reverb was a guitarist's friend. He used two basic setting, with one setting having quite a lot of reverb. He said that when using that setting, he needed to bump up the midrange EQ so the notes would be more defined. He used that for stuff like "Over the Rainbow" and "Moon River".
Thanks,
George
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Re: Reverb

Postby thenorm » Tue Jul 12, 2011 8:04 am

To me reverb, the kind generated by the spring pan, was a poor man's method of trying for the echo you get in a tiled room. That is actually a form of echo but the tiled room is so small there is no audible bounce back like you get when you get natural echo in a larger area.

Once I got a managable delay, be it tape or digital, I never used spring reverb again.
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Re: Reverb

Postby Richard Hudson » Tue Jul 12, 2011 8:44 am

Chet said he liked playing in the boys bathroom where he went to school. He said Studio B was almost as good. The reverb thing can be over done, there's no doubt. Just like a beautiful woman shows just enough to get your attention, but too much is, well, too much. Just a hint of delay is enough also. I loved Chet's nylon string tones on the "Almost Alone" album. Just every once in a while you could hear a faint repeat. Just right.
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Re: Reverb

Postby thenorm » Tue Jul 12, 2011 11:31 am

The RCA Nashville studio did have those big mattress sized steel plate reverb units. Probably worked similar to the spring concept and would give an overall 'big room' sound but without the overtones springs can generate. I remember hearing it on the 'Songs My Mother Never Sang' album by Homer and Jethro. They left in some of the chatter and start-ups that normally get cut from the final mix. They were fooling around and you could hear a 'reverb-ish" quality to it all.
I think Chet really preferred tape echo on his recordings. He had better control.'

George Barnes was on that session I believe. He does an awesome intro on one of those songs the title of which escapes me now... Has Chet and Jethro doing some back and forth talking on the talk-back control room mic. Fun album...
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