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PART 11 "ODDS AND SODS" a.k.a. INTERMISSION TIME" (Peter Green, picks)
Well, after the last Beatles article, the poo really hit the fan! Alan Greenwood was right on in this regard. Anytime you talk about a subject that is so close to the hearts of our dear readers as the Beatles' are, controversy is not too far behind! So much of the information is "folklore" now, even though 30 years ago, it just wasn't considered as being THAT important. The people involved back then just did their job without getting too "anal" about stuff like amplifiers, etc.. You wouldn't believe the faxes, calls and letters we have received on this "holy" subject! Everybody has a different idea of what really went down. I knew that this was going to happen, so I just grit my teeth and let it rip. I'm still collecting more information on the Beatles', as there are a few more books coming out regarding the group and their equipment. The authors of these upcoming chronicles were kind enough to call to let me know about them. I try to do all the research I can using any reliable source that comes along, and some of these sources turn out to be British guys who know some of the "key" players involved in this scenario personally. Also interesting to note: These British people are fanatical readers of VG! The big problem here is there are three distinct areas...the first two areas are what we could refer to as the black and white "zones". Typically, the black and white zones are what is clear. The third area is the one we like to call the "grey-zone". This "grey-zone" holds a lot of mystery and mystic. Think of our attorneys for a second, what's their job? To figure out what is very clear-cut and visable. Their job becomes more difficult when they have to define that ugly "grey-zone"! That's what will make or break a case or a lawsuit. What we're going to do is tear through this third unknown "zone" to get the real facts. It might take some time, but we will break through all of this as quickly as possible. The research continues until the right information reaches out into the light! Stay tuned...I desire to give you everything I can come up with that's factual and not what is called "folklore".I was originally planning to have Stephen White complete his next installment to his previous article last month, but due to scheduling issues, this will be slightly postponed. Stephen is going up to Seattle, and time did not permit him to finish it in time for the deadline. Meanwhile, I would like to make a couple of comments and corrections relating to information presented in the second "Blues" article (see "The Glory Years" Part 5). It was stated that Peter Green's infamous Les Paul was wired "out-of-phase" when the neck humbucker was turned around so that the adjustable pole- pieces were facing "southward". Technically, this is NOT quite correct, because the magnet was not turned upside-down itself. This practice would make the guitar sound a little brighter when the neck pickup was used alone and it would also affect the guitar's tone when both pickups were used together. This is what may have given him that special timbre. It is a real possibility that this could result in a bit hollower sound. Sorry for any confusion there. I know that Steve Howe of Yes turned his ES-175's bridge pickup around because he liked the warmer tone that resulted (his bridge pickup's pole-pieces were facing "north" or towards the guitar's headstock). As everyone knows, his sound was very different for a"rock" player at the time. Another thing I said was that Peter wasn't a Marshall user. I meant that he normally didn't use them on a regular basis, that is, when he played "Live". He was supposed to have ultilized a Marshall amp on "The Supernatural". I never said that he didn't use Fender amps, either, because I saw him use them from time to time. In those days a lot of British groups rented gear when they toured the States because it was less of a hassle not having to lug their own stuff over here. Besides that, many British players loved Fender amplifiers because that's what they grew up listening to. As you may know, the first Marshalls were patterned after a Fender Bassman design! Yes, I did see Fleetwood Mac playing through Dual Showmans and Twins at the Filmore West. What IS gospel, is that Peter Green sounded great through anything...because of his heart and soul communicating via his fingers. I can get the same tone from my favored Jim Kelley amps as I can from my Peavey Classic 30 amp with the one twelve-inch extension cabinet. Until my `Wreck (a Liverpool) arrives, The Peavey will work just fine for any gig or session. I bought this set-up so I don't waste my good old military 6V6 tubes. These tubes are really hard to find, I don't want to burm `em up ( a Kelley amp uses a quartet of 6V6's, incidentally). EVERYTHING will be retired when I get the Liverpool and a Komet. Speaking of tone, I wanted to share an interesting experience with you this month.
Okay, about fifteen or so years ago, Johnny Smith held a seminar in the college I was was attending at the time. He blew us completely away and was one of the most cordial guys I have ever met. After school, I got into the musical wholesale business. In my daily rounds on the telephone, I happened to call Johnny's Music Store in Colorado. He was so gracious to send me what he considered to be his favorite picks. They were a large jazz-type teardrop shape, which sounded very rich and warm. These picks were made of some type of nitro-cellulose which was a heavy gauge but they somehow felt "thinner" but firm at the same time. Needless to say, I fell in love with them! I had only six of these picks, and I played them until they were virtually non-existant; I would just wear them out until they disappeared! Eventually, I was out of these picks, so I was basically forced to switch to those black Gibson jazz picks. Not even close! I would of cut off my ear to have ONE of these "Johnny Smith" picks again, I was that addicted to them! Johnny sold his store, and decided to go fishing, so I couldn't get any of his stash! That was about nine years ago. After many calls to try to locate Mr. Smith, I gave up my hopes of ever having those picks again. It is truly amazing what a simple thing like a pick can do to affect your style and tone, not to mention your technique! Your pick seems to become a part of your arm's (and ear's) habit of playing.
About two years ago, I was on a business trip in Stockholm. In one of the stores there, I seemed to had found a pick that looked very familiar! It was white, and the same shape as the infamous "Johnny Smith" model. When I picked it up and flexed it, it was almost identical in "feel", but was a bit lighter in gauge. I asked the store's manager where he had gotten them. He told me to call a guy across town which I had known for some time. Bingo, I finally tracked down the original manufacturer! Much later, I finally called the manufacturer out of my frustration of not being completely satisfied with any other substitute. The gentleman I spoke to had been with the company for about twenty years. When asked about the "Johnny Smith" model, a bell went off in his head, and he sent me some samples. When the samples arrived, there was quite an assortment of colors in this nice, fancy bag. I tried them one at a time, by color, to hear the differences in attack and tone. I finally realized that the pigment that they put in the nitro-cellulose had a profound effect on the sound of the pick. All the picks used in my tests were of a "heavy" gauge and the tolerances were REAL tight and uniform. I used a very fancy micrometer to check the size of these beauties before actually using them in a playing situation.
I had the opportunity to do extensive tests on a myriad of picks, made out of every shade of nitro-cellulose you can imagine during the last six weeks, received from every manufacturer you could think of. I got a very odd collection of the most bizarre colors you've every seen; Imported Italian abalone-like nitro to a confetti mixture of five colors put together in one pick. This is not to mention EVERY other solid color, too! In other words, I had it all! To do this test, it's best to use your preferred gauge so you have the same "feel" that you're accustomed to. After that, it's all a very simple process of listening to the smallest nuances on the attack of the string. I found that the solid-white was virtually the same "attack" as the confetti style pick. I found that the white pigment gives you the warmest, richest and full sound, where the imitation-shell type pick has the sharper brighter attack on the initial plucking of the string. Shell is kind of thin sounding when compared to the white one. Ironically, the black pigment they use in the Gibson picks are the darkest sounding...Hmmmmm!! Every color I tried had a personality of it's own, and this can become a critical part of your final sound. Of course, everybody has their own idea of what suits them the best, so you be the judge. After 31 years of playing, It never ceases to amaze me what I learn on a seemingly daily basis. We're always in "process" when it comes to getting something new from something that seemed to be "old hat" before. So, if you really want to have fun, look very closely at your pick! Now, I know all too well that there are other types of picks made from any material you can imagine; coconut shell, wood, agate, copper and the list goes on. The tests I did were narrowed down to the nitro-cellulose material, and of the same gauge, so that there were hardly any variables which could bias the listening part of the tests.
The funniest thing happened after these tests. I was talking to a friend of mine about the results I had noticed with the picks, when he said "Hey, Dean, I have a surprize for you!" About three days later, I got this care package from him. When I looked inside, there was this dusty old bag of picks that were labeled "#347 Heavy Gauge". They had seemed to be a yellowish off-white color, but they were the same picks as the "Johnnys" I had been searching for! Upon the first note, I struck the gold mine! When I called him back to report the results, I asked him just where the hell he had found them. He told me that these picks had been sitting in a warehouse for twenty years! These picks had been "aged" in their bags, which explained their yellowed hue. I'll tell ya, this "aged" controversy is really making the rounds, huh? Anyway, I asked this gentleman just whether he might have any more of these. When he looked, he told me he had found 15 gross (144 to a gross, so you figure out the total)! As you might guess, I won't be running out of these picks for my entire life now, and I keep thinking to myself, "God, all I wanted was one!" Life can be very surprizing, that's for sure! I want to thank all the manufacturers for supplying me with their picks for my tests, and you all know who you are!! Until next month, happy hunting!
Copyright 1995 by Dean L. Farley
Reprinted from "Vintage Guitar" February 1995 issue.