March 14th, 2010 | 
Author: I have a VOX amp with gain, volume, master volume, treble, middle and bass settings as well as digital effects such as delay and reverb. And on the guitar I can select neck or bridge pickups or blend the two.
Here are some thoughts. First, in the 50s, "distortion" was a no-no. So you want a "clean" sound by having a relatively low "pre" or "gain" setting. Then you get your volume by turning up the master volume. Then, the sound should not be overly bright, so I would say have your treble knob about halfway up. Turn your middle knob perhaps a bit past the middle, like at 1 or 2 oclock. Then turn your bass knob up maybe even all the way. Regarding your pickups, you probably want to be on the neck pickup or maybe blend the two.
The next thing is to get that slap echo effect using your delay. Try a fairly fast echo setting like 100ms or so, and experiment with increasing or lowering the delay time until it has the right feel. You only want one slap so have the regen down low (if this option is offered). Then the intensity should be in the middle, so you can hear the echo but it is not dominant. This should get you close.
The thing to remember is that the guitars, amps and effects were very different in the 1950s. The classic "rockabilly" guitars are the big archtops like from Gretch and Gibson. Those guitars have a certain sound that is not easy to duplicate with a solid body guitar with modern pickups.
The amps were much simpler and usually did not have a gain and master volume – that was invented later by Jim Marshall (I think) for rock music. The amps had a mellower tone which we’ve tried to duplicate with the tone settings. Then lastly, the effect of the "slap echo" was done with tape echo since digital effects were still decades away. But by experimenting with your amp and the settings I’ve shown above, you should be able to get in the ballpark.
Posted in guitar amp
I don’t know enough about the equipment to tell you but I think your best bet is to find a sound/audio engineer and have them work with you to get the right settings. It is never just the guitar or amp that produce the sound. I good engineer will show you where to put the settings but in the end the engineer can work some extra magic to make it all come together.
As one audio engineer once told me, "I can make them sound like sh** and I can make their sh** sound good." After all, a good engineer is paid because of his/her ear so get an objective opinion if you can.
References :
Here are some thoughts. First, in the 50s, "distortion" was a no-no. So you want a "clean" sound by having a relatively low "pre" or "gain" setting. Then you get your volume by turning up the master volume. Then, the sound should not be overly bright, so I would say have your treble knob about halfway up. Turn your middle knob perhaps a bit past the middle, like at 1 or 2 oclock. Then turn your bass knob up maybe even all the way. Regarding your pickups, you probably want to be on the neck pickup or maybe blend the two.
The next thing is to get that slap echo effect using your delay. Try a fairly fast echo setting like 100ms or so, and experiment with increasing or lowering the delay time until it has the right feel. You only want one slap so have the regen down low (if this option is offered). Then the intensity should be in the middle, so you can hear the echo but it is not dominant. This should get you close.
The thing to remember is that the guitars, amps and effects were very different in the 1950s. The classic "rockabilly" guitars are the big archtops like from Gretch and Gibson. Those guitars have a certain sound that is not easy to duplicate with a solid body guitar with modern pickups.
The amps were much simpler and usually did not have a gain and master volume – that was invented later by Jim Marshall (I think) for rock music. The amps had a mellower tone which we’ve tried to duplicate with the tone settings. Then lastly, the effect of the "slap echo" was done with tape echo since digital effects were still decades away. But by experimenting with your amp and the settings I’ve shown above, you should be able to get in the ballpark.
References :
Amateur guitarist and former sound engineer (she was right, by the way).
A simpler answer: Bridge pick-up. Turn up bass & treble to around 8, turn down mid slightly. Vol. around 2, master vol at 6 or 8. Use a spring reverb setting and have it high. Close enough for rock n’ roll.
References :