Prescription: More 594 Soapbar

[László]

I’ve got a fever and the only prescription is...more 594 Soapbar!



Damn, this thing sounds so fantastic. It sounds great with all my gear, but I’ve got a favorite tone chain to use with it that’s my sonic idea of a caramel sundae:

594 Soapbar >> light overdrive optional >> Fulltone Tube Tape Echo >> PRS DG30 Custom Amp.

I set the tape echo with repeats to 1/4 note tempo, with the repeat volume low, and the tape treble moderate, right in the middle. That way the guitar stands out against the background of the less trebly tape repeats, but it’s still gooey and warm. Something great happens with a tape echo with any guitar, but this is heaven.

Oh man, what a sound! Epic.

I’ve been over the moon ever since the guitar arrived a couple of months ago, and it just gets better and better the more I play it and understand what it does.

Faux digital tape echoes sound very good indeed, but nothing sounds quite like tape. If you haven’t had the chance to use an Echoplex yet, it’s definitely something to mess around with (my first experience with one was 45 years ago, so...yeah, I know, I get it, I’m OLD).

On the topic of vintage style magnetic tape delays, I understand that T-Rex is planning to come out with a miniaturized analog copy of the old Binson Echorec, a delay that was/is a mainstay of players like David Gilmour. If it works as advertised, it’ll be a must-have for me, too.

 

[bluefade]

The Ventures made great use of the echo machines, back in the day...Walk-don't-run 64 is a great example of that!

 

[László]

The Ventures made great use of the echo machines, back in the day...Walk-don't-run 64 is a great example of that!

One of the first guitar pieces I ever learned was that tune! Now ask me if I had the slicked back hair and white shoes...

OK, probably...

The most fun thing about that video is the fact that none of their guitars were plugged in, and they didn’t have wireless back in the day, either...

That said, I’m not at all sure they weren’t just using reverb cranked to hell on that tune instead of echo. Anyone’s guess, of course, but could have been added during the recording process?

 

[g.wizz]

I hear mostly reverb drenched guitars, but what's with the gum chewing?

were they advertising a new brand or flavor?

 

[Bill SAS 513]

Love watching the crowd in these old videos...thanks for posting, Les

 

[shinksma]

Mentioning "Walk Don't Run" is very current for me: I have been on a mini surf binge recently, and that song was the first surf song I actually took time to learn. I actually found it quite difficult to get the swing of the song, at first, and I appreciate the technique required to get that surfy sound via picking and termolo use.

It has lots of reverb, but it also has some delay (bold my emphasis):

“Joe Boles used a 2-track Ampex recorder,” Wilson recalls. “He was a very good engineer who had recorded a couple of Number One hits — ‘Come Softly to Me’ and ‘Mr. Blue’ — for The Fleetwoods. Joe always used a tape-based delay effect. When you're using a 2-track tape player without a board, there's a lot less going on in the recording process, but Joe had plenty of tricks up his sleeve. He'd even mike the pick sound when you were playing! We were so impressed with him that we recorded our first two LPs there.

“There weren't many decisions to be made in the mix; whatever effects Joe would put on the guitars and drums were added during the recording process,” Wilson continues. “The bass and drums were on one track, the rhythm and lead on the other. We did have a lot of input on the sound of the record. In particular, I remember us asking for lots of reverb on the lead guitar.” No one involved remembers what mics might have been used on those sessions.

http://www.mixonline.com/news/profiles/classic-tracks-ventures-walk-dont-run/365844

 

[Tosca]

Dear Les,
These posts of yours on the 594 Soapbar are making life difficult for those of us who are still waiting...more or less patiently. At least I can now pass the time researching tape delays.
Thanks.

 

[P90s]

I’ve got a fever and the only prescription is...more 594 Soapbar!



Damn, this thing sounds so fantastic. It sounds great with all my gear, but I’ve got a favorite tone chain to use with it that’s my sonic idea of a caramel sundae:

594 Soapbar >> light overdrive optional >> Fulltone Tube Tape Echo >> PRS DG30 Custom Amp.

I set the tape echo with repeats to 1/4 note tempo, with the repeat volume low, and the tape treble moderate, right in the middle. That way the guitar stands out against the background of the less trebly tape repeats, but it’s still gooey and warm. Something great happens with a tape echo with any guitar, but this is heaven.

Oh man, what a sound! Epic.

I’ve been over the moon ever since the guitar arrived a couple of months ago, and it just gets better and better the more I play it and understand what it does.

Faux digital tape echoes sound very good indeed, but nothing sounds quite like tape. If you haven’t had the chance to use an Echoplex yet, it’s definitely something to mess around with (my first experience with one was 45 years ago, so...yeah, I know, I get it, I’m OLD).

On the topic of vintage style magnetic tape delays, I understand that T-Rex is planning to come out with a miniaturized analog copy of the old Binson Echorec, a delay that was/is a mainstay of players like David Gilmour. If it works as advertised, it’ll be a must-have for me, too.

Hi Les, my favorite guitar is a custom 22 maple neck, rosewood fretboard with soapbars. The only issue is the bridge pickup which is a little thin to my ears. Prefer a HB for the bridge. Would a 594 with soapbars address this at all or would i have the same issue. No local access to try this out in person.

 

[László]

what's with the gum chewing?
were they advertising a new brand or flavor?

In 1964, the cool girls chewed gum like that. It was a different time.

At least I can now pass the time researching tape delays.

There are only 4 on the market. The Fulltone TTE that’s a clone of the original tube Echoplex but with a better motor, better parts, and designed with the help of Mike Battle, who created the original; the Fulltone Solid State one that’s a clone of the Echoplex EP-3, same concept, but brighter top end; and the two T-Rex tape echoes, that have a digitally controlled motor, one being less feature-laden than the other.

The T-Rex ones are a little less vintage in sound, but still very good, and because the motors are digitally controlled, they have tap tempo that’s accomplished by the motor’s speed changing.

The Fulltone models change the repeat tempo by moving the heads with a lever, like the old Echoplex.

There isn’t a bad choice in the bunch. The Fulltones, like the originals, are designed to be user-serviced, have 2 motor speeds, and are pretty easy to adjust. I have no experience with the T-Rex stuff other than hearing it demo’d.

The TTE is a little on the warm side - less top end, and you can overdrive the input as with most tube gear, the SSTE is a bit brighter with the EP-3 grit that guys like Page used, the T-Rexes have less grit. I went with the TTE to get the gooey tube tape thing happening, because I’m that guy, and I used the originals as a kid.

Would a 594 with soapbars address this at all or would i have the same issue.

Having had a CU22 Soapbar, and now this one, the answer is...I have no idea! Swami Les is not capable of predicting other players’ reactions. The pickups on my CU22 Soap were brighter, but I didn’t think they were thin.

The Bryan Ewald demo on the PRS site sounds like my guitar, take a listen?

 

[Tucson Thump]

In 1964, the cool girls chewed gum like that. It was a different time.

Doublemint! Especially twins.

Did you happen to see the 1965 LP release of "Play Guitar With The Ventures"?

 

[P90s]

In 1964, the cool girls chewed gum like that. It was a different time.



There are only 4 on the market. The Fulltone TTE that’s a clone of the original tube Echoplex but with a better motor, better parts, and designed with the help of Mike Battle, who created the original; the Fulltone Solid State one that’s a clone of the Echoplex EP-3, same concept, but brighter top end; and the two T-Rex tape echoes, that have a digitally controlled motor, one being less feature-laden than the other.

The T-Rex ones are a little less vintage in sound, but still very good, and because the motors are digitally controlled, they have tap tempo that’s accomplished by the motor’s speed changing.

The Fulltone models change the repeat tempo by moving the heads with a lever, like the old Echoplex.

There isn’t a bad choice in the bunch. The Fulltones, like the originals, are designed to be user-serviced, have 2 motor speeds, and are pretty easy to adjust. I have no experience with the T-Rex stuff other than hearing it demo’d.

The TTE is a little on the warm side - less top end, and you can overdrive the input as with most tube gear, the SSTE is a bit brighter with the EP-3 grit that guys like Page used, the T-Rexes have less grit. I went with the TTE to get the gooey tube tape thing happening, because I’m that guy, and I used the originals as a kid.



Having had a CU22 Soapbar, and now this one, the answer is...I have no idea! Swami Les is not capable of predicting other players’ reactions. The pickups on my CU22 Soap were brighter, but I didn’t think they were thin.

The Bryan Ewald demo on the PRS site sounds like my guitar, take a listen?

I will listen but I'm a little troubled by the assertion that you don't know everything. I think what you meant is that you DO know the answer but I am supposed to find this out on my own,right?

 

[bodia]

Hi Les, my favorite guitar is a custom 22 maple neck, rosewood fretboard with soapbars. The only issue is the bridge pickup which is a little thin to my ears. Prefer a HB for the bridge. Would a 594 with soapbars address this at all or would i have the same issue. No local access to try this out in person.

I have a SC594 that I put HB sized Kinman noiseless P-90s in. I like it a lot, but I still may put an HB back in the bridge.

 

[László]

I will listen but I'm a little troubled by the assertion that you don't know everything. I think what you meant is that you DO know the answer but I am supposed to find this out on my own,right?

Haha! No really, I have no idea!

The CU22 Soapbar is one of my favorite all time PRS models in stock form. I like the bridge pickups on both guitars. Unfortunately, I haven’t got the CU22 here any more to A/B. And part of the way a pickup sounds in a guitar is the guitar itself. The 594 is different in a lot of ways from that CU22, from body, scale length, materials, to bridge, wiring configuration, and hardware.

They’re just different creatures. So it’s anyone’s guess. I really like my 594 Soapbar, it sounds good to me. You’ve probably listened to that demo I did with mine, but I don’t remember which pickups I used for both parts. I know I used the bridge for the lead tone, with volume around 7-8.