ProSoundWeb Community

Sound Reinforcement - Forums for Live Sound Professionals - Your Displayed Name Must Be Your Real Full Name To Post In The Live Sound Forums => The Basement => Topic started by: Russ Davis on March 20, 2014, 02:23:01 PM

Title: Wireless in 1964
Post by: Russ Davis on March 20, 2014, 02:23:01 PM
Amazing performance! This lady should be in the (so-called) Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, NOT Madonna and ABBA.  It's also the earliest performance using a wireless mic I've seen yet...

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/03/20/sister-rosetta-tharpe/
Title: Re: Wireless in 1964
Post by: Dennis Wiggins on March 20, 2014, 06:02:03 PM
Wow!  -->    Great find.   --->   Thanks!

-Wigs
Title: Re: Wireless in 1964
Post by: Riley Casey on March 21, 2014, 10:14:17 AM
Ha ! I just ran over here to post this link and found your thread.  From the look of the bulge in her coat that must  have been quite a transmitter. 
Title: Re: Wireless in 1964
Post by: Jens Palm Bacher on March 21, 2014, 11:42:27 AM
Ha ! I just ran over here to post this link and found your thread.  From the look of the bulge in her coat that must  have been quite a transmitter.
http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/telefunken_mikroport_empfaenger_t201.html
Quite the pack: http://www.technikschrott.de/Sennheiser_SK_1002_Bilder.htm
Title: Re: Wireless in 1964
Post by: Russ Davis on March 21, 2014, 12:14:53 PM
Here's a photo dated 1963, with the same signature wardrobe and apparently rigged with the same wireless setup.  Love that triple-pickup SG!
Title: Re: Wireless in 1964
Post by: Bob Leonard on March 21, 2014, 10:40:20 PM
Not an SG at that time. What you see is a 1962 Les Paul Custom, the guitar that replaced the Les Paul after 1960 as sales decreased. The custom was at that time the only LP of that vintage that used 3 pickups. Available in white or black everything else was a special order from Gibson. There are two (2) dead giveaways. The first is the sideways vibrola tailpiece, and the second is the small engraved plate above the neck pickup which will read "Les Paul Custom" and which covers the routing below the neck joint. The truss rod cover should also read Les Paul Custom. It was shortly after that Les Paul complained to Gibson and would no longer endorse the guitar because of the radical change in design. At that point Gibson renamed the guitar the Gibson "SG", or Solid body Guitar, the guitar most commonly associated with 60's rock and roll and some of the greatest players of all time. Even to this day the SG is regarded as the go to rock guitar for many people due to it's light weight and what can be an instantly recognizable tone. Past problems with the neck joint were resolved by increasing the thickness. Cracking of the neck joint was a common problem for a short period of time, and it is always best to check the neck joint if you intend to purchase an SG. I own a pair of SG's, one with humbuckers, and one with P90's. Both sound and play as good as any guitar I have ever or also own to this day.
Title: Re: Wireless in 1964
Post by: brian maddox on March 22, 2014, 10:23:03 AM
Not an SG at that time. What you see is a 1962 Les Paul Custom, the guitar that replaced the Les Paul after 1960 as sales decreased. The custom was at that time the only LP of that vintage that used 3 pickups. Available in white or black everything else was a special order from Gibson. There are two (2) dead giveaways. The first is the sideways vibrola tailpiece, and the second is the small engraved plate above the neck pickup which will read "Les Paul Custom" and which covers the routing below the neck joint. The truss rod cover should also read Les Paul Custom. It was shortly after that Les Paul complained to Gibson and would no longer endorse the guitar because of the radical change in design. At that point Gibson renamed the guitar the Gibson "SG", or Solid body Guitar, the guitar most commonly associated with 60's rock and roll and some of the greatest players of all time. Even to this day the SG is regarded as the go to rock guitar for many people due to it's light weight and what can be an instantly recognizable tone. Past problems with the neck joint were resolved by increasing the thickness. Cracking of the neck joint was a common problem for a short period of time, and it is always best to check the neck joint if you intend to purchase an SG. I own a pair of SG's, one with humbuckers, and one with P90's. Both sound and play as good as any guitar I have ever or also own to this day.

I had no idea the venerable SG had begun life as a Les Paul. Always good to know People Who Know Things. Good stuff. Thanks Bob...
Title: Re: Wireless in 1964
Post by: Russ Davis on March 22, 2014, 08:53:53 PM
I had no idea the venerable SG had begun life as a Les Paul. Always good to know People Who Know Things. Good stuff. Thanks Bob...

Indeed.  I was hoping Bob would weigh in on this thread sooner or later.  When it comes to vintage gear, he's The Man.

Quote from: Jens Palm Bacher
http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/telefunken_mikroport_empfaenger_t201.html
Quite the pack: http://www.technikschrott.de/Sennheiser_SK_1002_Bilder.htm

Jens: Cool links!  Any idea what battery that transmitter uses?

Orson Welles' 1958 noir classic "Touch of Evil" has a great scene near the end, involving the joys of early wireless miking.
Title: Re: Wireless in 1964
Post by: Bob Leonard on March 27, 2014, 07:05:50 PM
Hey Russ,

Save some money and you can have an LP just like the good Sister is playing.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Mary-Fords-Les-Pauls-1961-Gibson-SG-electric-guitar-/111237923077?pt=Guitar&hash=item19e64c0105
Title: Re: Wireless in 1964
Post by: Russ Davis on March 27, 2014, 08:39:44 PM
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Mary-Fords-Les-Pauls-1961-Gibson-SG-electric-guitar-/111237923077?pt=Guitar&hash=item19e64c0105

$150K?  Pocket change... :)
Title: Re: Wireless in 1964
Post by: Justice C. Bigler on March 28, 2014, 06:51:35 PM
What is the other cable hanging out of her pocket with the transmitter? Is that the antenna?
Title: Re: Wireless in 1964
Post by: Russ Davis on March 30, 2014, 09:56:48 PM
What is the other cable hanging out of her pocket with the transmitter? Is that the antenna?

You are correct, sir.
Title: Re: Wireless in 1964
Post by: Mike Caldwell on April 02, 2014, 07:48:59 PM
Shure had the Vagabond wireless system in the 50's. Frank Sinatra used it for while.

All mic talk aside that was a great video clip and performance!