Disturbing revelations from a friend:

[Cogs]

So the other guitar player from a band I used to be in calls me last week. He moved out of state & I haven't seen him in years. We got to talking gear, of course. Now, when we used to play together we had similar tastes in equipment: Strats & Les Pauls (w/an occasional Tele thrown in) & Fender amps (Super Reverbs, Twins, & a Vibro King that blew fuses like crazy- EL84 reverb driver). We might have used some effects at one time or another, but we were in a blues band & oftentimes we just plugged straight in. Here in the NW some blues-nazis will shun you if you don't, & you can lose a few gigs that way.
He says that nowadays he's using Vintage Noiseless p'ups in his Strat. I was shocked! He used to be such a purist! When I expressed my disappointment & concern for his sound, he replied, "Well, my sound is in my hands anyways". lol! I know I've heard that somewhere before!

[Doc W]

That's pretty funny. Why would you lose gigs if you didn't plug straight in? Wouldn't blues-nazis want you to be ultra-pure and not even use electric guitars?

[NeoFauve]

Bummer.

Interesting how some guys from the northwest think they can makes the rules regarding music that comes from way down the Mississippi.

Makes about as much sense as a Strat pickup being both Vintage and Noiseless.

[Bluesbreaker59]

That's pretty funny. Why would you lose gigs if you didn't plug straight in? Wouldn't blues-nazis want you to be ultra-pure and not even use electric guitars?

Same way around here... If the "wrong" person from the local blues nazi club sees you using pedals, they automatically think "he's a rocker"...

BTW, I got accused of using "too much shit" by a harp player once. I had a reverb tank, tremolo pedal, and a tuner with a Tweed Deluxe and a LP Goldtop with P90's... That guy never got out of his basement, while my band gigs 3-4 times a month.

I really hate blues nazis, they will always leave you off of festivals if they think you have any musical interests beyond blues.

[Offshore Angler]

71818 - I'm telling you, I am so digging my VN's. I use them in the surf band even!

I've maintained for a long time that hey got a bad rap when people installed them onto 250K pots. With the 1M tones and 500K volume they are really cool.

With the volume backed off to about 8 or so, they have a nice vintage tone, open up the volume and they morph into a P90-esque(ish) thing. It's like having two sets of pickups for one.

Like I said, I think they got bad press because of what I said above, and the pedal-pushers who leave the volume wide open never got to hear them pulled back into sweetness.

[Totally bored]

We have Blues Nazi's around here also. They are pretty much Jerks. If you use a pedal they freak out etc.etc. I'll use what I like thank you very much. One clan of them host a couple open mics in the area and they are such know it alls. I avoid any Club/Open Mic or Jam with Blues Nazi's. Life is to short to hang around with Idiots.

[Offshore Angler]

We have Blues Nazi's around here also. They are pretty much Jerks. If you use a pedal they freak out etc.etc. I'll use what I like thank you very much. One clan of them host a couple open mics in the area and they are such know it alls. I avoid any Club/Open Mic or Jam with Blues Nazi's. Life is to short to hang around with Idiots.

Well, that's because we all know only the very best bands host open mic nights, LOL!

[Gris]

Yeah, I have also HEARD that they are OK w/ hotter pots. And, if I were a true bar gigger, I'd probably use em, at least in one guitar. What are they anyway? Buckers in SC clothing?

[Doc W]

I have played blues for years and have never heard of this! Either I have lived a very sheltered life or I am more insensitive than I thought.

Playing "vintage blues" through period equipment is certainly one approach and one that I think is quite respectable. I have a friend who is into 50s hot rods (cars, not guitars) and he and his buddies only use parts and speed equipment manufactured before 1960. It is a really interesting approach to the hobby and they make some amazing cars. However, they are not fascists about it; it is just something THEY do and they can appreciate other tastes and the pride others take in their own cars.

In the early 60s, folk purists did not like the idea that blues players played electric instruments. Bill Broonzy, for example, returned to playing acousitic guitar even though he had a been a key influence in the development of what we now regard as the "blues band." I have read that when Muddy Waters went to England the first time, he had a similar experience. Audiences were expecting a much more rural and less urban style of blues and were not happy that Muddy had moved on to an electric sound.

[thegeezer]

I love Robben Fords tone, I was wondering if the Nazis have a problem with that?
Jerry

[Don]

I have a friend who swears by them in his Tele. I don't like them in my guitar, but he sounds just fine.

[jerryjg]

They arent that bad if you like the artificial appeal of alot of glassy sound. Not really vintage sounding. Guess he just got tired of the 60 cycle hum. I made a one Strat with Duncan Classic Stacks, some of the very best noiselss out there, just for recording. Alot quiter, and they really do have this nice, if not historically accurate sound. Thats my opinion.

[thegeezer]

I have the Virtual Vintage noiseless by Demarzio they lack depth and warmth. I have had other players try my guitar and we all agree, give me the hum that's what master volumes on guitars are for.
Jerry

[phantomman]

I played with some traveling blues boys a while back. At the audition they asked if'n I had another amp besides the RI '65 Twin I had brought along. They also weren't too thrilled about my guitar either......LPB CIJ '65 Strat wif gold bling an' neck binding. My pedals were of no concern as I only use one small (read: unobtrusive) box. So for the live dates I brought along my blonde Spankmaster Reverb, my hot-rodded 2TSB MIM '57 RI, an' my flametop R9. Worked fine an' they loved the esoteric vibe. The pay was good an' I had a swell time but I still think they sniff too many corks......

[Cogs]

I love Robbin Fords tone, I was wondering if the Nazis have a problem with that?
Jerry

Oh, Robben doesn't play blues. No way. You learn music theory & all the soul just evaporates.
But they go to his shows & try to hob-nob & get their pix taken w/him.

[Cogs]

I played with some traveling blues boys a while back. At the audition they asked if'n I had another amp besides the RI '65 Twin I had brought along. They also weren't too thrilled about my guitar either......LPB CIJ '65 Strat wif gold bling an' neck binding. My pedals were of no concern as I only use one small (read: unobtrusive) box. So for the live dates I brought along my blonde Spankmaster Reverb, my hot-rodded 2TSB MIM '57 RI, an' my flametop R9. Worked fine an' they loved the esoteric vibe. The pay was good an' I had a swell time but I still think they sniff too many corks......

Well, the Seattle blues scene is probably a little different that a lot of places because, after all, it IS the home of Jimi Hendrix, even though he left here & never looked back.
But because of that a lot of stuff is permissable that would cause some hand-wringing in other quarters. We were using wahs & Tubescreamers at one time & that raised some eyebrows & we got "talked to". So we did this one gig at the local Eagles Hall & all we brought were our BIG boxes & plugged straight in. At that time I had an ES-350 that was a pretty cool guitar but couldn't really handle high volumes, so I rarely used it at any gigs. We were the darlings again after that. I remember one conversation w/a "blues" official about the gig & I said, "What was so cool? I played all the same licks I always play."
WBS-
Washington Blues Society -or-
Walls of Bull Sh*t

[phantomman]

Walls of Bull Sh*t

LOLOL!

I usta feel the same way about country music.

Little Texas cured me of that. 'Specially the music video for "God Blessed Texas" (who doesn't like the Dallas cheerleading squad......?).

[Kap'n]

Fortunately I was able to play my microscopic 'blues phase' in DC c. 1992 or so. All the real hotshots had left the town (Principato) or left the building (Gatton and Buchanan). I had an appreciative audience at the few open mics I did, but sensed both the Blues Nazi syndrome and MAWG syndrome creeping in simultaneously.

Fortunately, I shed that before I got pegged as one.

[DanTheBluesMan]

... and MAWG syndrome creeping in simultaneously.

Fortunately, I shed that before I got pegged as one.

uh, what? MAWG? Misantrophic Angry White Guy?

[Kap'n]

Middle-Aged White Guy. But that works too.

[jerryjg]

i thought you were talking about 'Mica'wber ( middle income Caucasun artist), Keefs Tele, and people wanting you to either be roots blues or sound like the Stones blues-rock.

[waxbytes]

Mmm... So where would Albert King's flying V fit into this scene?
Or would the the Blues Nazi's have told him it was "not authentic"?

[Kap'n]

Mmm... So where would Albert King's flying V fit into this scene?
Or would the the Blues Nazi's have told him it was "not authentic"?

Albert and Lonnie are the only folks who are permitted to play V's.

The fall into the exception clause of Rule #32, Thou must not play guitars with points.

[NeoFauve]

I think that non-pointy headstock on Albert's Dan Erlewine V was the result of a plea agreement regarding an accumulation of unpaid Pointy Fines.

[NTBluesGuitar]

Well, the Seattle blues scene is probably a little different that a lot of places because, after all, it IS the home of Jimi Hendrix, even though he left here & never looked back.

Also, as we all know, Seattle was smack dab in the middle of the blues migration from the plantations to N'awlins up the Mississippi through Memphis to Chicago.

[Cogs]

And henceforth became known as the Home of Electric Grunge.
Seriously, though- because of Jimi Hendrix, Seattle guitar players in the blues scene are probably allowed to be a little more flamboyant than most places. The only other city I can think of that draws a "type" would be Austin, TX.

[NTBluesGuitar]

The only other city I can think of that draws a "type" would be Austin, TX.

You're referring to the 'weird' type, then!

[Offshore Angler]

Back to the OP.

Funny story.

About a week and a half ago the Wray Guns did a free performance at a musical gathering with several Strat owners and whatnot there. I was told by two people of the cork-sniffing ilk, that my Strat was "the best sounding Strat I have ever heard." I have witnesses. It, of course, was my white one with the VN's. Through a Fender blackface. Go figure. Would it have hurt them to say "your" sound instead of giving all the credit to the guitar?

[NeoFauve]

I'd call that stuffism at work.

[Franklin]

The last time I auditioned for a Blues band I brought my amp, a tuner and an OD. My actual pedal board was at my band's rehearsal space. The singer guitarist mentioned that one of the jokers showed up to audition with a huge pedal board with like 10 pedals on it. I guess that disqualified him as a real Blues player.

[hudpucker]

"Purists" don't bother me at all; intolerant 'purists' do though.



What tools they are, IMO.

[redb]

The last time I auditioned for a Blues band I brought my amp, a tuner and an OD. My actual pedal board was at my band's rehearsal space. The singer guitarist mentioned that one of the jokers showed up to audition with a huge pedal board with like 10 pedals on it. I guess that disqualified him as a real Blues player.

doing it wrong

[phantomman]

Doing it right......

[hudpucker]

Two Twins (though nice) ain't gonna get you no grit....

[phantomman]

Au contraire......with a coupla carefully-selected stomp-boxes I git everythang I need. At any volume level I choose.

(one amp is a back-up for the other, should it ever be needed)

[Cogs]

Mmmm, JBLs...

[redb]

Doing it right......

cool painting.

[hudpucker]

Au contraire......with a coupla carefully-selected stomp-boxes I git everythang I need. At any volume level I choose.

(one amp is a back-up for the other, should it ever be needed)

Stomp boxes?! Stomp boxes!? Don't you know that only soul-less wankers need to use stomp boxes? Why, if it was good enough for Blind Melon Chitlin' it should be good enough for us! Tone is in the fingers anyway and.....and....








Yeah, I'm kidding.

[phantomman]

ROTFFLMFAOPIMFP!

"Blind Melon Chitlin'" indeed.

Haven't heared him mentioned in a while.



Good one, Hudpucker!

[ch willie]

Great photo, PM.

I love the blues, but I'm no purist, nor would I want to be. I understand their need to preserve a certain kind of blues. On the other hand, I'm more attracted to the blues rock that came afterwards. Like a lot of folks, I found the blues through Clapton, Page, Hendrix, etc. So for the blues strains I like to play, I don't mind using a pedal or two. Guess I'd be SOL with the purists.

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