I love the old school guys too but the sound that Mark gets is the holy grail to me. He seems to always be on the verge of feedback but never gets it. Jason can achieve this too. It just doesn't sound anything like a 'classic' brown Chicago tone through a Bassman or other harp friendly amp. I know he has the chops but his set up has to have a lot to do with it as well. Anyone know what he uses in the way of gear? Here's an example.
Last Edited by Jehosaphat on Apr 05, 2013 9:45 PM
appears to be a black face fender quad reverb? he is working a volume pedal to keep the feed back under control the amp is loud! i have seen robben ford but not mark, he seems to stay up north
Quite bothersome to have to use the pedal all the time. Doesn´t his entire sound come across a very "electric", meaning not very warm tube distortion? But if that´s what you like, that´s what you like.
Both brothers great instrumentalists both lousy singers, a pity.
I believe Mark Ford uses pretty much the same set up as Andy Just. Which is a Fender 4X10 amp (usually a Blackface Super Reverb or Bassman) with a Digitech Valve FX rack mount unit, which is no longer made. The mIc is usually a Shure Green Bullet for Mark I think and Andy Just uses a JT30 with a CM/CR element in it.
Last Edited by Kingley on Apr 06, 2013 7:52 AM
what came first, the chicken or the egg? some very sugar blue sounding riff's there i would guess mark got those riffs playing with his brother i would guess sugar developed his style completely independent perhaps there paths have crossed early on? maybe thru paul butterfield, which you can hear an influence. even more so with mark than with blue. ---------- tipjar
Apart from Paul Butterfield who was a huge influence on all the Ford brothers. I read somewhere that Mark Ford's harp style was much more influenced by guitarists. Mark would have most likely heard of Sugar Blue fairly early on, but I don't think he would be cited as a major influence by him.
He's blowing technique direct into technique connected via technique through a technique amplifier. At least that is what I am always told when I ask about particular mic--effects-amp set ups.
---------- Go ahead and play the blues if it'll make you happy. -Dan Castellaneta
@Reedsqueal Lol Surprised that he is playing through a guitar amp. Sounds like all pedals to me. Still if i knew what i was talking about i wouldn't of asked tthe question^
@jehosaphat - my reply is tongue in cheek but in essence that is what I run into when I ask about a particular setup & sound. I understand your "holy grail" - everyone has one I suppose.
I totally agree that it is chops/technique -- up to a point. I recall a post I made here some time ago asking about David Barrett's set up. I got the "it's the technique" speech. I pushed the issue slightly with some counter points, but it didn't get very far. I believe that the people that preach technique and technique only, would have to put an iota of credence into equipment and how it can effect your sound/tone, no matter the technique.
---------- Go ahead and play the blues if it'll make you happy. -Dan Castellaneta
the gig was close to home,and they were recording my guess is that robben was using his dumble amp chances are mark is using ceramic speakers in that amp how many players do that? ---------- tipjar
This band kicks butt no matter what they are using. Have seen Robben live several times and his playing is always top notch When you can play that well the singing ain't all that important
I'd suggest getting one month's subscription to www.bluesharmonica.com. That way you can watch the interviews with Andy Just and many others. It's more than worth the money. Andy Just talks about and demos the rack mount effects unit that both he and Mark Ford use. It'll also show you just how much of that sound is the gear and how much is the player.
Last Edited by Kingley on Apr 07, 2013 12:25 AM
i tried at one time to subscribe to blues harmonica.com i was unsuccessful. i sent dave an email never heard back from him. the moral of this story.....you need to do every thing you can to make it easy for people to send you money. i could buy a jt 30 on ebay with like 2 clicks of the mouse how easy is that?. here is another example... i would like to send adam a dollar tip he has links everywhere on this site but,where is his link to gotip?....yes i could type a search on google, or he could post a link in an obvious place that is easy to find on this site. 2 clicks easy money. he could also have a link on his you tube channel, where he gets hits constantly. lots of people buy on impulse, make it as easy as possible. just sayin.
1847 -Sorry to hear that. I've never had a problem getting emails from Dave Barrett or subscribing to his site. Just the opposite in fact. I've found Dave to be very helpful indeed and intent on making things as easy for people as possible. I think in the very early days of his site they had a few issues, which seem to have been cleared up now. The only thing I can think of is that maybe your email was caught in a spam filter for some reason.
When subscribed to Barrett's site, don't forget to checkout The Bassman Chronicles. IMO worth it, even if you don't own a Bassman. ---------- Go ahead and play the blues if it'll make you happy. -Dan Castellaneta
One of the coolest harmonica related memories I have is meeting Mark Ford at SPAH in Dallas a few (or many?) years ago (thanks- Tom Ellis). I got a tour of his effects rig backstage, but I have forgotten the details.... I do clearly remember what a gracious guy he was .... and what a KILLER show he did with a pick up band and and what I would not have thought was a harp friendly Fender amp. I wish there was more Mark Ford recorded material, he has his own thing and I love it. He was one of my big early influences, along with Howard, Sugar Blue, Popper, and Jimmy Z. ...and some other blues guys named Walter.
I like his playing more and more. Curiously, but I think I slowly goes to the similiar rig idea: digital FX into tube amp. Best of two worlds. ---------- Excuse my bad English. Click on my photo or my username for my music.
Boris, I have been using a tube driven multi effects unit (Peavy Tubefex - no longer made)for 15 years, going into various tube amps, most often a Bassman re-issue. It took a while to tweak patches I liked, but it was worth it. A pedal board offers more control of individual effect, but the Tubefex and it's rugged footswitch offered an easy, reliable way to vary my sound. Vid and audio are not great, but here is a clip of a few effects with my 'big & loud' Bassman rig.
rosco1 Nice playing and nice work with effects! Impossible to completely understand the tone quality, but seems you have a nice tone. ---------- Excuse my bad English. Click on my photo or my username for my music.
Mark, Andy, and Rosco all have a amped blues tone that I REALLY like. Jason Ricci gets close, but it is more compressed. Is the x-factor the digital piece??? ---------- Mantra Customized Harmonicas My Website
HarpNinja -- digital x factor?...maybe...the processor I use has tubes and a huge assortment of choices as to how much overdrive, distortion and crunch available. Add that to my tube amps natural overdrive and you get a lot of cool sounds if you can tame the feedback. All it took was 10 years of f@#*!n with it to get it figured out...and now I play mostly acoustic when I play - figures.
i agree the x factor is the digital effects combined with the preamp tube in the unit. also the fact the amp is cranked very loud that unit has a noise gate built in. that's maybe what is keeping the feedback out. somewhat like the kinder box? i keep playing the mark ford cuts i really like his playing. ---------- tipjar
I really like how Noise Gate inside my Line6 POD HD works on fighting feedback. I also like Master volume pot to overdrive amp input. Also EQ is nice. If it's impossible to overdrive amp itself I use "Vintage Pre" model and have overdriven tone. Not perfect with all amps, but very convenient for most situations, including playing straight to PA. ---------- Excuse my bad English. Click on my photo or my username for my music.
the more i listen to this, the more i like it! i am trying like hell to not use expletives but fucken eh....these guys smoke! did i say that out loud? -------- tipjar
