help needed identifying a tele - Robbie Robertson (of The Band) - Page 6

FredDairy · June 1st, 2008, 04:41 PM

I haven't been on the board for a few months but this post is interesting as hell! Sure it rambles on and is going in circles but Elliot Easton is here? Awesome!

Elliot, I used to post on the GDP under the name billP.

IMO Robbie's best tone comes from 1966 on the rosewood board Telecaster. That thing is SCREAMIN'. But I'm willing to bet it's not the guitar, it's the hyped up situations they were playing under with Dylan, and the big Fender Bandmaster amp he was cranked through. Pure aggression through a 60s black face Fender amp.

I've got a duplicate of Robbie's 60s Telecaster color and neck down to a T and a '52 reissue. I can't sound like Robbie on either one of em, but I can make them both sound the same. Which is just the sound I make. I bet Robbie would sound like Robbie on both my teles too.

Telemarkman · June 1st, 2008, 04:58 PM

Welcome back FredDairy

.

I've been missing you, and I agree on what you say

.

olewichita · June 1st, 2008, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Telemarkman

Well, maybe you're closer to the truth than you realize Elliot. Robbie once asked his early mentor, Roy Buchanan, how he was able to do his tricks. Roy answered: "Because I'm half wolf!"

and it freaked young robbie out... another one of my favorites quotes is that roy showed robbie his pinched harmonics the "wrong" way! robertson also talks in detail about roy's arrival with the hawks... robbie was cocky and had the attitude of "oh you want to dance and play i'll show you gunslinger..." after which roy unleashed his fury of detuning the strings bending the neck etc. on him... robbie said it was like being under attack by a black belt martial arts master with nunchakus... hehehe... btw, roy's stay with the hawks was only for a few months... ronnie hawkins asked his cousin dale hawkins if he could "borrow" roy for a while to show robbie the ropes... he thought robbie had potential but needed some guidance... it worked... tj

Telemarkman · June 1st, 2008, 06:55 PM

Yeah, those stories are what rock'n roll is made of ...

milocj · June 1st, 2008, 06:59 PM

FredDairy,
Is small cabinet (1964-66 I think) Bandmaster what Robbie used in the early years of The Band? I've only seen a couple of videos and a later one looks like he has a tall cabinet drip-edge piggyback of some sort. Others look like he may have a tweed Bassman. I've always wondered what various amps he used at which stages.

FredDairy · June 1st, 2008, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milocj

FredDairy,
Is small cabinet (1964-66 I think) Bandmaster what Robbie used in the early years of The Band? I've only seen a couple of videos and a later one looks like he has a tall cabinet drip-edge piggyback of some sort. Others look like he may have a tweed Bassman. I've always wondered what various amps he used at which stages.

Sorry I shouldn't have posted that being that I'm not totally sure. I haven't watched the live with Dylan in '66 clips in awhile. It was a black face fender piggy back amp and I'm assuming it was a bandmaster. It coulda been a bassman, and I guess it coulda been a showman or a dual showman for that matter. I'd have to get a good look at it. You can tell the bandmasters and bassmans apart by the size of the amp heads.

FredDairy · June 1st, 2008, 08:14 PM

You can see the amp at the end of this clip. The head looks like a Bassman head but the cab looks really big. Bigger than my '65 Bandmaster cab. Probably just an illusion with it being tilted back and the grill being so shiny and clean, you don't see that too often anymore!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Zg1Q5pPkwGE

milocj · June 2nd, 2008, 11:23 AM

That looks like it could be a Bandmaster to me.
Mine might be almost that shiny and clean

FredDairy · June 2nd, 2008, 02:11 PM

milocj, that Bandmaster looks real good. Makes mine look like an old hag.

milocj · June 8th, 2008, 11:11 PM

I just saw "Classic Albums...The Band" and Robbie briefly plays his old (I'm assuming) natural finished Telecaster with the maple fingerboard in a couple of the new interview clips. The guitar has a humbucker in the neck and no pickguard. You can see in the area under the pickguard that there is still black paint, along with a small ring of white paint or primer around the black.

It was at least a black guitar that was stripped, or a white one that was painted black and then stripped. That should help track down some things.

Oh yeah, at least one old studio clip shows a BF Showman.

MandyMarie · June 9th, 2008, 06:11 AM

Bill, that picture is killin' me! GREAT SHOT!

June 1st, 2008, 04:41 PM	#201 (permalink)
FredDairy Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: chicago Posts: 708	I haven't been on the board for a few months but this post is interesting as hell! Sure it rambles on and is going in circles but Elliot Easton is here? Awesome! Elliot, I used to post on the GDP under the name billP. IMO Robbie's best tone comes from 1966 on the rosewood board Telecaster. That thing is SCREAMIN'. But I'm willing to bet it's not the guitar, it's the hyped up situations they were playing under with Dylan, and the big Fender Bandmaster amp he was cranked through. Pure aggression through a 60s black face Fender amp. I've got a duplicate of Robbie's 60s Telecaster color and neck down to a T and a '52 reissue. I can't sound like Robbie on either one of em, but I can make them both sound the same. Which is just the sound I make. I bet Robbie would sound like Robbie on both my teles too. __________________ The Stacks The Reluctant Aquanauts

June 1st, 2008, 08:14 PM	#207 (permalink)
FredDairy Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: chicago Posts: 708	You can see the amp at the end of this clip. The head looks like a Bassman head but the cab looks really big. Bigger than my '65 Bandmaster cab. Probably just an illusion with it being tilted back and the grill being so shiny and clean, you don't see that too often anymore! http://youtube.com/watch?v=Zg1Q5pPkwGE __________________ The Stacks The Reluctant Aquanauts

June 2nd, 2008, 02:11 PM	#209 (permalink)
FredDairy Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: chicago Posts: 708	milocj, that Bandmaster looks real good. Makes mine look like an old hag. __________________ The Stacks The Reluctant Aquanauts

June 9th, 2008, 06:11 AM	#211 (permalink)
MandyMarie Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Indianapolis, IN Age: 28 Posts: 2,532 65 Photos	Bill, that picture is killin' me! GREAT SHOT! __________________ our wacky little hillbilly band

June 1st, 2008, 04:58 PM	#202 (permalink)
Telemarkman Friend of Leo's Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Norway Age: 61 Posts: 4,719	Welcome back FredDairy . I've been missing you, and I agree on what you say .

June 1st, 2008, 06:55 PM	#204 (permalink)
Telemarkman Friend of Leo's Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Norway Age: 61 Posts: 4,719	Yeah, those stories are what rock'n roll is made of ...

June 1st, 2008, 06:59 PM	#205 (permalink)
milocj Tele-Meister Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Michigan Posts: 387 3 Photos	FredDairy, Is small cabinet (1964-66 I think) Bandmaster what Robbie used in the early years of The Band? I've only seen a couple of videos and a later one looks like he has a tall cabinet drip-edge piggyback of some sort. Others look like he may have a tweed Bassman. I've always wondered what various amps he used at which stages.

June 2nd, 2008, 11:23 AM	#208 (permalink)
milocj Tele-Meister Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Michigan Posts: 387 3 Photos	That looks like it could be a Bandmaster to me. Mine might be almost that shiny and clean

June 8th, 2008, 11:11 PM	#210 (permalink)
milocj Tele-Meister Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Michigan Posts: 387 3 Photos	I just saw "Classic Albums...The Band" and Robbie briefly plays his old (I'm assuming) natural finished Telecaster with the maple fingerboard in a couple of the new interview clips. The guitar has a humbucker in the neck and no pickguard. You can see in the area under the pickguard that there is still black paint, along with a small ring of white paint or primer around the black. It was at least a black guitar that was stripped, or a white one that was painted black and then stripped. That should help track down some things. Oh yeah, at least one old studio clip shows a BF Showman.