New Monday #10
Happy Monday!
Two things this week: we released a new plug-in, the Puff Puff mixPass, and Dickey Betts, the guitarist from the Allman Brothers Band, died at age 80.
The Puff Puff mixPass
Our latest is a dynamics processor. Using waveshaping, the Puff Puff adds harmonic content to "puff up" the apparent volume of a signal. It's not a compressor or a limiter, rather the opposite, but it has a similar effect: it makes things LOUD.
It also has controls to add character to things—distortion, overdrive and all sorts of fun sonic garbage.
I also made a video using it to enhance an Allman Brothers Band live recording. More on that below...
Dickey Betts and the Original Band
Forrest Richard Betts... a great player and a great songwriter—he wrote a lot of the best-known Allman Brothers Band songs, including their biggest hit, Rambling Man.
80 years is a pretty good run for anyone, but especially for a rock star who has had... adventures.
The original Allman Brothers Band line-up, brothers Duane and Gregg, drummers Butch Trucks and Jai Johnny Johanson, bassist Berry Oakley, and Dickey Betts, are generally considered about the best rock band the US ever produced.
The evidence is a bunch of live recordings from The Fillmore East, which was a concert hall in NY city that was open for a scant four years but is still remembered for the quality of the performers it attracted, and especially for the Allman Brothers performances. Their 1971 album Live At Fillmore East made the band's career, and the album is one the best live rock albums recorded.
The original lineup of ABB was a spectacular band. They had the power of Marshall amps and the listening skills of a top-tier jazz group. They had two fantastic guitarists, a killer rhythm section, and the most authentic-sounding white blues singer imaginable.
The Allmans played The Fillmore East a number of times, including the two nights that were recorded for the live album. They also headlined the closing, last show at The Fillmore East on June 27th, 1971.
The Allman Brothers Live - a bootleg
Duane Allman died young and left a huge legacy that, while well deserved, has somewhat overshadowed Dickey Betts. Dickey was a great player, perhaps not as adventurous as Duane, but technically probably better. Duane actually remarked a number of times in interviews that he thought Betts was the better player of the two. We hear about Duane Duane Duane, but what about Dickey?
We have this: I found a bootleg from that last performance at the Fillmore, and pulled out a bit that features both Duane and Dickey rocking out with the band and also in solo segments. It's amazing playing, to my ear better than anything on the great live album.
The guitar sounds are phenomenal as well: both are using Les Pauls through cranked-up Marshalls, and it's the damn voice of rock 'n' roll. Dickey is over towards the left, Duane is on the right.
Duane is amazing, but Dickey SCREAMS on this recording.
Fixing with the Puff Puff and friends
I ran the recording through a couple of our plug-ins. The guitars sound great, but the drums are lost, so I did what I could. I made a video of how I enhanced it, and also I put the finished recording up for the world.
I used the AIP, the El Juan, and the Puff Puff. It’s a deep dive.
Duane died about four months after that last Fillmore gig, Berry Oakley a year after that. The band persevered, with Dickey Betts assuming the mantle of leadership for a decade. Butch Trucks and Gregg Allman died in 2017. The last living member of the original powerhouse that was this fantastic group is Jai Johnny "Jaimoe" Johanson, age 79.
The original members remain family, naming their kids after each other.
RIP Mr. Forrest Richard “Dickey” Betts.
Have a great week. Celebrate your friends.
Warm regards,
The guys at Korneff
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