Robben Ford Discussion

JohnnyZ · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 4:33 pm Post subject:

Interesting insight on guitar positioning there, Aeolian. Never thought of the many tone variances created by simply moving the ol' axe around and giving it some air time... Cool

Never could understand how guitar players (and I mean that in the most loosest terms) can play with the thing hanging at their knees. Then again, you don't hear much more from them other than a 3-chord power-chord borefest... Laughing

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Aeolian · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 8:11 pm Post subject:

frank0936 · Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2005 6:53 pm Post subject: slingers

I agree with you that Robben seems to have moved his guitar position a bit, but it was Robben who said he played it high and that's why the 335 was uncomfortable. I think that quote is on the "Paris New Morning" DVD. I've never had a chance to hear a 336, but it just looks good! I wouldn't spend the kind of money they want for one without playing it, though. Are there any recorded examples of Robben playing this one? Anyone?
Frank

juspasinby2003 · Senior Member Joined: 18 Dec 2003 Posts: 255

greg · New Member Joined: 12 Jun 2005 Posts: 4 Location: CA

frank0936 · Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 10:31 am Post subject: 336

Thanks, Juspasin and Greg. I'll still have to hear one (and break out that "But Honey! It's an investment!" thing again), but it is a great looking axe. I have heard the Hamers, and I agree they sound great, but there's a reason why you see Gibson and Fender so often.
Frank

Bluewail · Member Joined: 16 Mar 2004 Posts: 9 Location: Pacifica, CA

There is a local SF Bay Area (monster) player names Bob Coons who owns Robben's old 335 and BTW does it proud.

WheelchairBandit · Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 1:59 pm Post subject:

Robben used a Yamaha SA2000 for a lot of the leads on the first Yellowjackets album.This is a very high end 335 clone that has inlays like a 345.Robben ran it through a solid state Yamaha G100 2x12 amp,which is why his tone is so clean and clear compared to his tone on "The Inside Story" where he was using the Mesa Boogie.

My guitar teacher,Ruben Diaz,used the identical setup when Robben got him the job playing with the Yellowjackets on a European tour after Robben left the band.Robben had been Ruben's tutor at Guitar Institute BTW.The only thing Ruben used different in his setup is that he had Rivera (who designed the Yamaha amp and is Ruben's cousin or something like that)make a clean boost pedal for it,which he left on all the time.

Also,before Robben got his Super 400,he used a rounded cutaway L5-CES.He said he didn't like it because he had too many problems with the bridge moving around on it.

WB.
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Jim R · Newbie Joined: 09 Oct 2005 Posts: 2

Hello all,

I'm very late to this discussion... I stumbled onto this forum completely by accident. Fortunately, the Google search that led me here brought me directly to this thread, which I find very interesting.

I'm an amateur jazz musician and vintage Gibson fanatic. I became aware of the Charles Ford Band somewhere around 1975, a period when I was very interested in blues, guitars, and blues guitarists. I saw Robben perform in local clubs a few times in the late 70's.

In the mid-80's, after I had gotten more into jazz, and progressed as a guitar hound, I answered a newspaper ad for some instrument (can't remember what it was). I got into a discussion with the seller, and told him I was interested in finding a vintage Super 400. He says "Oh, do you know Robben Ford? He's thinking about selling his". After I'd finished wetting myself, I got Robben's phone number from him. To this day, I wonder why I never even got this person's name. Anyway, I called Robben, went to visit him at his place on Balboa street in SF, met Mike Osborn, talked to Robben about his recently-acquired '58 Strat and '58 ES335 (his girlfriend at the time was also a '58, he said ;)), and I remember him mentioning a call from Miles Davis! To me, it was all a blur. I was trying so hard to think of what to play as I examined the guitar (with Robben sitting there listening- and even wanting to play a duet when I began playing the changes to "Bluesette") that I had a hard time enjoying the experience and making intelligent discussion. Oh, and I bought his Super 4.

The guitar was wonderful, of course. The neck had been cracked at the headstock, but was professionally repaired. Robben hated the original marbled pickguard (this was a '64, so it was one of the last from the marbled guard era), and said he had thrown it away years before. As a result, his right hand had worn a hole through the finish- and almost through the top. I bought a p.g. from Tom Van Hoose to cover it up.

Until recent years, I had always been one to continually try different guitars. Always searching for something different, a different model, a different pickup, etc. I think of it as the "Duke Robillard syndrome" (based on an old interview he did for Guitar Player mag). A few years after I bought Robben's Super 400, I had an opportunity to get a nice old D'Angelico New Yorker. I couldn't afford to buy it outright, so the 400 was part of a multi-guitar trade I made with a dealer in Seattle. Some years later, Tom Van Hoose told me that Robben had regretted letting go of the 400, and hoped to find it again. All I could say was that it had gone to Seattle. I have no idea what's become of it.

Aside from the 400, the '58 335 and the Strat, the only other guitar that I remember Robben owning was a Guild Bluesbird. I never saw him use it- I just remember reading or hearing about it (I think it may have been a radio interview that Robben did in the 70's). I think this was one of Robben's first guitars. A Bluesbird, for those who don't remember, was a 3/4 scale archtop with a body size and shape similar to a Les Paul. Single coil pickup. I believe it was semi-hollow like a 335. I still have my first electric guitar, a Guild M-65 "Freshman" which has the same body as a Bluesbird, except it's completely hollow.

The only other gear-related thing I recall about Robben's early days was that he played the Super 400 through a 4X10 Bassman. I was thinking this would have been around the time of the Charles Ford Band (original Arhoolie) recording, but I don't know that for certain. Maybe I'll educate myself by exploring this board further.

Thanks for letting me share some nice memories. Smile

diatonicdude · Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2005 10:49 am Post subject:

Hi Jim,

and welcome! What a fantastic story!! I even felt the excitment for you Embarassed

.

You, know, if you ever fancy dropping in again and sharing a story like that, please do.

All the best,

DD
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Jim R · Newbie Joined: 09 Oct 2005 Posts: 2

Wow, six and a half years have gone by... Surprised

Just thought of this thread, and decided to come back and see if there was any activity. Anybody here?

Here's the Super 400, as photographed by me with a crappy camera (and the print having faded) 25+ years ago...

A couple of corrections, by the way. Robben's Bassman wasn't a 4X10, it was a piggyback with a 2X12 cabinet.

Also, a recent interview indicated that his Guild in those early years was a Starfire, not a Bluesbird.

Apparently he bought an L5 in San Francisco in 1970 for $1,250, and later traded it in on the Super 400 (in L.A.).

There's some sort of pay site where a live 70's performance (with the Super 400) with Jimmy Witherspoon, filmed for a PBS show, can be seen online. There's just a snippet of it on Youtube, where you barely get to see Robben in the background: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGRWIzdqSDQ