Robben Ford & ES-335 :-)

[pit_s_xroad]

Hi there...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq6ueLpWP9k

...just found in the tube... Robben Ford playing INDIANOLA
with a wonderful ES-335... I have found a few other clips
of him playing that tune with different guitars... none does
sound so lovely like this Gibby... what do you think...?



PIT... :salude

 

[TomGuitar]

He gets great 335 tone. Always loved his playing.

 

[CocoTone]

Now why doesn't he play a 335 more often?? That tone was phat!!

CT.

 

[slideboy]

his 335 tone was awesome...his Tele tone was awesome...and now his Les Paul tone is awesome...I believe that there is a common denominator here imho he has THE BEST Blues phrasing of the past 20 years. One of my goals is to someday attend one of his workshops in California. :jim

 

[CocoTone]

Yeah,,his hands.

CT.

 

[Average Joe]

I agree he get great sounds out of any guitar, and that semi is no exception. I've wondered why he stopped using semis after Inside Story/Yellowjackets. Those are among my favourite sounds of his.

Otoh I simply adore his tele sound on the Tiger Walk album, so I guess it's all good

 

[CocoTone]

he really needs to buy another Strat.

CT.

 

[kingsleyd]

Robben didn't have a 335 for a long time. He said something at one point not too long ago about not being able to afford a good early-60s version.

Looks like he found one. :salude (or borrowed one, which he's been known to do in the past)

As for preferring the tone of one guitar vs. another, given a certain level of quality it's pretty much in the ear of the beholder. And how ya feel on a given day.

BTW, a bunch of Tiger Walk was done on his '53 (or '54, don't remember which) goldtop Les Paul.

 

[jimmymack]

Speaking of Robben, and 335's, his good buddy Chris Cain was playing a 335 on his earlier albums, he may be playing LP's now.

Any fans?


I love his 335 tones and his playing.

 

[djdersh]

Robben is pictured with an ES-355 on the cover of Vintage Guitar October 2007. He played it exclusively at the workshop I attended. He sounded exactly like Robben plugged straight into a Deluxe Reverb. No effects whatsoever. Chris Cain prefers his ES-335, but I've seen him wail on his Les Paul and SG. Both these guys are virtuoso musicians and have an easily recognizable, unique signature tone.

 

[tonedrip]

Robben is pictured with an ES-355 on the cover of Vintage Guitar October 2007. He played it exclusively at the workshop I attended. He sounded exactly like Robben plugged straight into a Deluxe Reverb. No effects whatsoever. Chris Cain prefers his ES-335, but I've seen him wail on his Les Paul and SG. Both these guys are virtuoso musicians and have an easily recognizable, unique signature tone.

Interesting , he was playing an old Epi Casino through a Deluxe Reverb at the clinic I attended in the Fall of last year....and he sounded just like Robben also. For me it was concrete proof that tone is in the hands

 

[posulliv]

He said something at one point not too long ago about not being able to afford a good early-60s version.

Looks like he found one.

I think that's probably a '68 with an added stop, he talks about getting one in a circa 2007 article.

 

[emmadet]

the 1960 model he used to own and plays here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA06F7niviQ

is for sale here in Denmark. Asking price something like 25.000. I may get a chance to try that out during summer. And btw funny to notice how he wears the guitar way lower on the 2007 video. "It's all about the rhythm, and your extra hipness you can keep to a minimum!"

 

[Mcloudnine]

That's sweet. I wish I had his chops and his hair :lol

 

[LiveOak]

Great posts about one of my favorite guitarists, thanks! I love his tone, no matter what guitar is in his hands at the time.

 

[blueline]

I agree he get great sounds out of any guitar, and that semi is no exception. I've wondered why he stopped using semis after Inside Story/Yellowjackets. Those are among my favourite sounds of his.

Otoh I simply adore his tele sound on the Tiger Walk album, so I guess it's all good

Actually Robben did not stop playing semis after "Inside Story". When I first say Robben and the Blueline back in 1996, he had with him a bunch of guitars including 2 teles, 2 signature models and a 60s 355 with the vibrato removed. You could still see the shadow of the vibrato on the body. I can tell you while he sounded great on all the guitars, he sounded the best on the 355. He played "worried life blues" on that 355...awesome, I think he also recorded this song with the 355. When I saw the band the next year, he played the 355 on more songs including "Don't let me be misunderstood". I was so inspired by the sound of that 355, I went on a quest to find one. I never saw Robben use that 355 after that time. He used that Tele....but it had no where near the tone of his 355.
As far as recordings go, on the first Blueline album, he states that he used a 59 345 sunburst on the song "Brother". However, Robben says he used the 355 extensively on the "Handful of blues" album. Check out that album for the sound of the 355.

It was clear to me that while it is all good, some guitars sound better than others even in the hands of the masters.

 

[Litcrit]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..............zzzzzzzzzzzzz

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.................zzzzzzzzzzzzz................zzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[AtomEve]

I don't get it. Hesitant, never cuts loose, riffs it to death.... Has dexterity but not my bag by any stretch.

duh duh duh da duh da day dunt. over and over and over....

Sorry to be a wet blanket. :wah

 

[hipbluescat]

It is called taste, maturity and style!

He has it but uses it for the song he plays not to prove what he does not need to!

This is art not a sport of how many notes you can play per second.

blueline thanks the infor of on the axes he uses

my motto when you play it, play black and real baby, not white cause white just ain't right!

 

[Litcrit]

It is called taste, maturity and style!

my motto when you play it, play black and real baby, not white cause white just ain't right!

Taste, maturity and style? "Black and real"? Robben Ford? LOL!

Here's the REAL THING.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5eWYubIAiA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTMfSBRvfiw&feature=related