|NOCTURNE||EL PESCADORO
Today about 99% of all tube amps use 12ax7 preamp tubes but before the end of WW2 there was a variety but most notable were the OCTAL so called because it's 8 pin configuration. By the mid 50's all new amps had moved in to the small but robust 12ax7. Early Rock and R&B came from young players who like those today seldom have much money so why not buy used. A popular choice was the Gibson EH-150.
In the early days of recording the only studio FX were reverberation or
miking the singer or player true a small PA
system rig and putting in a reverent space
like a concrete room and then mike the room and blending it with the dry sound.
A classic example is the sound of Chuck Berry singing my Maybeline with both the voice and amp capture this way.
So Nocturne has caught the sound in their box. You get both the amp and the verb.
The amp layout is gives you gain, a mode switch with fixed voicing that can work well with not just electric guitar but banjo, upright bass etc. Another switch gives a mellow or bright tone. Finally another adds just a bit of dirt.
The Reverb side you get a wet/dry control, another for voicing to find the sweet spot for your instrument and add swell control to affect the bloom of the verb. Another knob brightens the tone. Finally another imitates the kind of reflective surface. Is it concrete, wood, plaster or even metal.
PA with amp, speaker cab and mic is your Reverb
CONCLUSIONIt is indeed an unusual piece of gear that literally capture the complete ambiance of amp and verb and without precedence. The result is stellar and very rewarding. For Blues. country and all Americana the sound is magic. Why go for a Fender Tweed if you have an equally and perhaps better choice and a chance to actually get 'your' sound and not be a 'me too' guy.
No comments:
Post a Comment