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Why shrill, thin guitar tones in 1960s songs?

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  • Why shrill, thin guitar tones in 1960s songs?

    I've been listening to a lot of 1960s garage rock lately, and while listening to two songs with bright, shrill lead tones ("Psychotic Reaction" and the Kinks' "Milk Cow Blues") I wondered why are the lead tones of that era often very thin, bright, and sometimes shrill?
    In the past I always assumed it was the amps they had available but as I've learned more over the years I know that, for example, a typical tweed Fender is not harsh & shrill like that.
    So...is there some equipment knowledge I am lacking ( a good possibility!) or was it just the fashion at that time?

  • #2
    a strat bridge pup through a bright amp is gonna be thin at less than cranked volumes, even a lp bridge pup into a bassman at low volume can be thin. clapton was one of the first ones to turn an amp up really loud in the studio with mayall, usually things were much more controlled. big tweed amps turned up loud can be really meaty. blackface amps were out by '64 and in general much thinner sounding

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    • #3
      Many big rock bands used crap gear back then because that's all there was available to them.
      aka Chris Pile, formerly of Six String Fever

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      • #4
        Cuz Edward didn't come along and school everyone on juicy guitar tone until '78.

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        • #5
          Well, they were writing the book on recording, too. My guess is that they were just capturing what was there. I mean, Helter Skelter is pretty shrill, too, but it was perfect for the time.
          Administrator of the SDUGF

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          • #6
            you have to think of the era and how musicians played to live audiences. What was used on stage is what was used to record. Also in that era, the number of tracks that could be recorded was limited. Most studios didn't have more than 4-8 tracks to record onto, so most recordings were capturing the band live as they played.

            There is a saying with country players, " brightness is next to godliness ". This started in the 1960s. The VOX AC30 was the first amp to receive the " more bright " treatment ala Top Boost. With amps that are not inherently loud, they were easily lost in the band if they didn't have their sonic space focused in a frequency range that they could win in. Pa systems of that era had less than 100 watts and were all tube amplified, so vocals were the only thing that was generally amplified through the PA.

            Now imagine a thinner sounding amp, at a significant distance from a microphone ( no proximity effect, or direct sound ) and the EQ needed to make the guitar have a sonic space that would guarantee it can be heard, that is what you are hearing. In the late '60s, multi-tracking was becoming a thing, recording tricks such as overdubbing were well established, and getting bigger, more direct sounds was easier and probable.

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            • #7
              They werent using stereo, doubling, chorus thinkening, and every other trick to get a guitar to sound on tape how it sounds in a room yet.

              Those guitars werent as thin in person
              “For me, when everything goes wrong – that’s when adventure starts.” Yvonne Chouinard

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              • #8
                Also, the destination format was tube amplified radio, record players and tape reels. You are probably hearing the original masters dumped onto a digital source for play back through a modern digital system, which removes all the warm elements the masters were designed to compensate for.

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                • #9
                  Are we all sure it was equipment and not at least partially the "it" sound of that moment? You could cut glass with some of those tones!
                  I'm not saying all the points made above aren't true, Im just wondering if, in addition to all of that, there was also an affinity for that nasty treble edge? Or is concensus that is what you got from the equipment of that era if you didn't roll the volume way up?

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                  • #10
                    Thin? Me thinks not...

                    Originally posted by Bad City
                    He's got the crowd on his side and the blue jean lights in his eyes...

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                    • #11
                      Thin? Not really...1976

                      Originally posted by Bad City
                      He's got the crowd on his side and the blue jean lights in his eyes...

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                      • #12
                        Guitar equipment has come a long way...

                        Recording gear even further.
                        The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.

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                        • #13
                          Dude, I am talking about 1964-66!

                          Unless you are arguing with the VH fan boys, in which case I am totally on your side. Mountain, Cream, Black Sabbath and many others all had thick, thick tones well before Eddy. Of those, I'd say West's tone is the one EVH was copying the most. Not his style, but the tone.

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                          • #14
                            People were still playing with horn sections and pianos at the time. The idea of what constituted a "good" tone to someone who grew up playing in those situations is different than what we think of as "good" tone.

                            I know that when I play with keys, horns, or a lot of voices I use skinnier, plinkier tones that fit the songs, but sound like dog poo on their own.
                            Ain't nothin' but a G thang, baby.

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                            • #15
                              Folks generally recorded at much lower levels in the 60s.
                              Except for fuzzboxes after '66 or so, 99% of guitar tones were pretty clean.
                              .
                              "You should know better by now than to introduce science into a discussion of voodoo."
                              .

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