crunchee Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 Anybody catch tonight's episode (the 1964-1968 one) of PBS' Country Music documentary series? During the Buck Owens section (at about the 40-minute point of the more-or-less 2-hour program), there was a couple of photos of Buck in the studio...one photo included a back view of what looked like two mid-Fifties' five-knob Narrow Panel Tweed Bassmans (the model added a knob in 1957 for the middle tone control to make it a full six), or possibly Bandmasters...the speakers can't be seen in the photo, so I dunno if there's four speakers there or three. The second photo had Buck sitting in a chair in the studio, playing his white (or blonde) maple-necked '50's Tele with a very interesting looking Narrow Panel Fender Tweed amp in the background. Again, guessing from the size, it might either be a Tweed Bassman or Bandmaster, and it has a Tweed-type nameplate above the grillcloth that's just about the right size for either model amp, but it's too far away in the photo to read. Curious thing about it, is that this amp appears to have been recovered in black Tolex, and has a gray-silver grillcloth and tilt-back legs! Judging from Buck's haircut (which kinda looks like a flat-top buzz cut), I'd place this photo in the mid-'60's. If anybody recorded this episode of the documentary, check it out; and if you can do a screen grab of those photos please do so, as I don't have the technology! It kinda makes me wonder whatever happened to those amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutchman Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 I believe he played thru a Tweed Bassman that had been recovered in Black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubs_42 Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 That doc is chock full of history, cool guitars, and amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shankyboy Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 1 hour ago, bubs_42 said: That doc is chock full of history, cool guitars, and amps. Heck yeah! I get excited every time I see a row of those great old Fender amps on stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchee Posted September 23, 2019 Author Share Posted September 23, 2019 2 hours ago, bubs_42 said: That doc is chock full of history, cool guitars, and amps. Interesting that it was mentioned that Buck recorded and had his recordings 'mixed' with AM radio (which was light in the bass and heavy on the treble) in mind, so they'd stand out and sound good on the radio. Ric Ocasek supposedly mixed The Cars' recordings and played them back through car audio speakers as a reference, for the same reason. Ric had the advantage of stereo FM radio in his day, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fractal Posted September 24, 2019 Share Posted September 24, 2019 10 hours ago, crunchee said: Interesting that it was mentioned that Buck recorded and had his recordings 'mixed' with AM radio (which was light in the bass and heavy on the treble) in mind, so they'd stand out and sound good on the radio. Ric Ocasek supposedly mixed The Cars' recordings and played them back through car audio speakers as a reference, for the same reason. Ric had the advantage of stereo FM radio in his day, too. Studios always have bookshelf-like monitors (usually NS10s) and car-like monitors (usually Auratones) so that the mixing engineer can hear the mix on home-like systems and car-like systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Shark Posted September 24, 2019 Share Posted September 24, 2019 I always wondered if Tom Scholz secretly went out to the "van" and listened to his Jensen 6x9 coaxials as the final mixdown monitoring. Their stuff always sounded so great in the car. Styx was another band that sounded a little better than the rest in my car. Strangers in the Night by UFO comes to mind too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomteriffic Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 I didn't bet my mixes on them, but a trip out to the van was always part of the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakeboy Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 On 9/23/2019 at 11:37 AM, crunchee said: Interesting that it was mentioned that Buck recorded and had his recordings 'mixed' with AM radio (which was light in the bass and heavy on the treble) in mind, so they'd stand out and sound good on the radio. Ric Ocasek supposedly mixed The Cars' recordings and played them back through car audio speakers as a reference, for the same reason. Ric had the advantage of stereo FM radio in his day, too. I do this on every album I record. I check my mixes on earbuds, High-end cans, a medium stereo, studio speakers, medium headphones, and lastly, in the car. Cars are notorious bass traps. If I can get acceptable mix in all of those, I am happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchee Posted September 26, 2019 Author Share Posted September 26, 2019 Here's a Vintage Guitar Magazine article that gives more detail about Buck, his gear and playing, and his recording process: https://www.vintageguitar.com/3458/buck-owens-and-the-buckaroos/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.