Robben Ford Discussion

[Daved]

Addressing the radical changes in stage setup which a few fans have noticed...

Because there are so many, so close together on these stages, Robben's notoriously loud Dumble cab was killing Gregg and Willie.

So we experimented with compromises for a few shows till we came up with the current set up.

The Dumble cab is now on its side, with one speaker disconnected (the one closest to Gregg). I have also moved the head over onto the cab so as to open up the view of Steve on the drums.

I have built a baricade out of the FX rack covers (Which I filled with a soft foam a few years back) in front of the cab to make a sound shield for Willie (this is something I commonly do behind the Dumble cab in Robben's regular gig to protect Hilary from the volume coming out of the back). You can see this wall behind Robben in a couple of Gainsters photos.

Robben has also drastically altered his amp settings to a softened place that still works for him on this gig.
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B C-ing U!
( }:-Daved
"This boy's diseased with rhythm!" -Bing Crosby (Road To Rio, '49)

[Aeolian]

Thanks for the explaination Daved. Robben seems like one of those cats with a fairly static set up that he has mastered instead of constantly playing with new things. So it was interesting to see the pictures. I thought there might be something to the crowded stages and Robben having to stand so close to the rig. Does it bother him to not be able to hear himself so clearly?

Are you folks still using the Tonkers? Too bad you're not on the left side of the country. I have a 1-12 Tonker cab built very similar to my "Dumble clone" 2-12, that you would be more than welcome to use. Set on a chair or a folding camp stool I carry around, it sounds more like the 2-12 up at my ears. I've noticed that when Robben uses the Deluxe, he puts it on the floor. Has he ever experimented with raising it on something? Or does that sound weird to him.
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There are no such things as wrong notes, there's only the look on your face.
My Stuff: www.stevekirbymusic.com

[Daved]

Robben does not like the sound of things projected at him. Never ever, under any circumstances does Robben want guitar, even acoustic, coming at him thru monitors. He always wants his cabs on the ground playing at his knees. He doesn't mind standing literally 2 feet from his cab with the sound blowing past his feet and prefers to be no further than about 6-7 feet max from his rig. The only time I angle his cab, is by about one half inch on rare ocassions to lessen reflections off of hard surfaces, NEVER to aim the sound more at his ears.
_________________
B C-ing U!
( }:-Daved
"This boy's diseased with rhythm!" -Bing Crosby (Road To Rio, '49)

[fig]

[Aeolian]

Thanks Daved. In actuality, an upright 2-12 has less vertical dispersion than a 1-12 like a Deluxe sitting on the floor. I did notice in your pictures of the Keep on Running sessions, the 2-12 laying sideways on a riser, which would put more highs at Robben's ears. Seems like he's one of those guys who's played so much on small to medium stages that having the amp blow by his knees is normal for him. The few times I've played through Twins laid back on the legs, it sounded so harsh and brittle, I wondered what my rig sounded like in line. But hearing other folks play it from further away it sounds the same. It just seems that when you're very close to it, it sounds all wrong. Same with stage monitors. The guitar sounds so unnatural though them and it's imposible to control the tone with your hands when it's being butchered by the sound of a JBL wedge. One of the reasons I put 1-12's up at waist level instead of ankle level, is to be able to hear it without having to add in monitors or used an obnoxious amount of stage volume. This is why I would have expected you to maybe leave the cabinet upright and disconnect the bottom speaker so the one that was playing would be closer to Robben's ears. But as you say, Robben is such a journeyman, that he has learned to prefer the tight stage setup.
_________________
There are no such things as wrong notes, there's only the look on your face.
My Stuff: www.stevekirbymusic.com

[bluesman]

I will definitely agree with Daved, Aeolian and hundreds of other guitarists that does not matter how good cab sounds on the floor, it will always sound harsh IN YOUR FACE situation.
BUT NOT ANY MORE thanks to new cab design by Mr. Peter Morris and yours truly. This is a closed back cabinet with interchangeable front and rare plates, baffle is almost in the middle of the cab with special sound halls in it, when reversed (right photo) it kills all nasty high frequencies and you get fat, round, creamy sound. Speakers are the Celestion G12 Centurys with the Superlux guitar mic capsule fixed in front of it siting on the sponge pyramid . The microphone also has polarity switch together wit the mic out socket on the dash plate. Cab weights only 17 kg. Very soon I will record the demos and you can check them out.

[Aeolian]

I saw some band (can't remember who, I think it might have been John Cleary but not sure) in Moes Alley using these or something very like them. The guitar player had two of them on the floor, not tilted up at him, with the speakers facing backwards. And he was playing pretty quiet for stage volume and was probably in the monitors. I thought the main advantage was the built in mikes. A consistent sound into the board night after night. Guy was playing a Strat with lots of quacky funk comps so I couldn't tell you if it cured the "dentist drill" syndrome. But it did sound good and more like hearing a recording though the house PA then an amp miked on stage. A good thing, especially in a dense mix.
_________________
There are no such things as wrong notes, there's only the look on your face.
My Stuff: www.stevekirbymusic.com

[bluesman]

Hello there,

Here is our new baby - EL84 equiped "THE CREAMY 50" head and the CCC 1x15 cab.


and sound sample www.drika.biz/VC3.mp3