How To Play 'Venus In Furs' Tutorial Video

[camforrester]

Hi everyone!

To date I've been another 'lurker' on this forum, always keeping and eye on VU news (especially recently with the upcoming documentary and all!) but I've never had anything post-worthy before...however over the last couple of weeks I took some time to make a video tutorial on how to play 'Venus In Furs' on guitar, and also recorded a fully-instrumented cover version, which is shown at the end of the video.
I also recorded some covers of other VU songs which can be seen on my Youtube channel!

So yeah I just wanted to say hi all, and hope you enjoy these videos!
I'd love to hear any feedback on the new content - I'm hoping to do some more at some point soon, so any input or advice that could help improve future videos would be much appreciated!

All the best,
Cam =)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8tb8elvKY8

[peppergomez]

Thanks, you did a very good job

[camforrester]

Thanks very much! I’m really glad you enjoyed it… Currently I’m deciding between which song to do next; it’s between All Tomorrow’s Parties and Guess I’m Fallin’ In Love...

[Kent532]

Very impressive Cam. Well done, including all the introductory part. Pretty awesome that you had access to some of the instruments they were using at the time. Are you using that Vox behind you ? Do we know what amps they used during the recording ? -I vaguely remember reading about it ... -

[camforrester]

Thanks! I tried to make it as informative as possible without making the background/history part toooooo long lol, just enough. And yeah I’m fortunate enough to own these fabulous instruments after years of saving and trading-up; coincidentally the ‘62 Precision was also used by lots of my other influences from that era such as James Jameson and John Entwistle, The Gretsch Country Gentlemen was also used by George Harrison and David Crosby among many others...so together with the Velvet Underground using them, it was only natural for me to gravitate towards them in preference to other brands.
If you look at the photos from the Scepter studios sessions you can quite clearly see you Lou’s Vox AC100 in the room, I believe the Silvertone amp 1484 would’ve been there also, Plus Lou Reed’s Fender Deluxe...I think John Cale would’ve been using his Vox Foundation bass amp stack also, But I’m not sure which amps they would’ve used at TTG studios as I believe it was around this time that they got their Vox endorsement, and gained some more amp models and other equipment... it may have been after that though, just before the White Light/White Heat sessions.

[nomdeplum]

Nicely done Cam

Better researched than my own off the cuff vid regarding Ostrich tuning.

Also great to see it done with the Country Gent / The Beatles Vox and … is that a Vox Continental re-issue I see in the background? : )

Let us know if you're up for a collab re research.

[camforrester]

Thanks Brian!
Yes I saw your video through your thread on here whilst I was filming, and it was the only one I’ve ever seen of anyone else using the correct tuning for VIF. The fingering you use is slightly different to me, but Lou Reed himself changed his guitar melody a lot over the years (especially so during the ‘93 reunion where he completely abandoned the jarring m7b9 chord in the verse, not to mention his radically different vocal phrasing ), so what I play is perhaps a ‘best of’ compilation of my favourite changes that he used in different performances.
The amp I have is a Vox ‘Valvetronix’ AD120VTH modelling amp, so it’s not quite the original sound, but it does a very good job at replicating it. I’m thinking of having a custom-built head made to the original AC100 spec, and re-dressing the cab with the black grill cloth and vertical Vox logo to further replicate the AC, plus welding together a chrome swivel stand for it...but we’ll see . The keyboard is a Nord Electro 6D, but indeed it does look similar to the new Vox continental.
Always up for collaborations of any kind mate, let me know if you had anything in mind! Currently trying to get together a VU tribute band (a seriously authentic one), but having trouble finding any interested musicians - the main goal with these covers/videos was to help attract more interest. If you or anyone you know might be interested please get in touch!

https://www.joinmyband.co.uk/classified ... 73376.html

[nomdeplum]

Nice work re Waiting for the Man.
I recently did a video on both guitar parts.

(Again, some small differences but mostly the same.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=028jA35Os7s

And another where I figured out Cale's closing base run.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2A_xatt1gY

Nice rig rundown. I've been waiting to happen across an affordable Kent Copa.
It seems to be the guitar that Reed used to play Venus in Furs.

Unfortunately we're separated by 60 miles of water and ~200 miles of land.
Otherwise, I'd be down.

A lot of my interest is research based.
Not sure where it's going but would love to join up with others.

PM me in any case, we can have a chat.

p.s. Check out my recent post re Reed's 6182 Gretsch.
I think I may have answered an important question re guitar lore.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=145996

[camforrester]

Thanks man!
Just seen your vids, great job also!
Yeah in Cale’s bass solo at the end of IWFTM he varies the playing on each phrase, more of an off-the-cuff improvisation rather than repeated... but completely agree with what you played in ‘There She Goes Again’, also it was without doubt the Gretsch he was playing as you mentioned. Planning to do another video on that song sometime.

I don’t think he used the Kent on any studio recordings to my knowledge, I’m pretty sure Andy gave the band some money to invest in better equipment quite soon after meeting them, as in the early ‘66 footage (Psychiatrist’s meeting & factory rehearsals etc.) you see Lou playing it through his Fender Deluxe amp, but quite soon after you see him with the Gretsch and Vox AC100 (Symphony Of Sound film and EPI etc), and the album sessions were after all of that, plus the sound of that guitar is unmistakable.
I think you’re quite right about his early Gretsch 6182 being the ‘Ostrich’ guitar though! Makes absolute sense, I’m sure in those early days he most likely didn’t have many guitars to his name.
Ah that’s a shame, and typical...I was actually living in Dublin until September last year!

[nomdeplum]

Bizarre you lived in Dublin. Were you here long?

I don’t think he used the Kent on any studio recordings to my knowledge, I’m pretty sure Andy gave the band some money to invest in better equipment quite soon after meeting them

Honestly: I used to think the same but Adam Ritchie's photos of their performance in Café Bizarre reveal they had the Gretsch even then along with the Fender Jazz bass.

https://www.adam-ritchie-photography.co ... ge_id=1153

There are other photos – taken after the Café Bizarre – of them playing in the Cale (Viola), Morrison (Bass), Reed (guitar) formation where Reed is playing the Kent. (Check out the links below)

https://www.gettyimages.ie/detail/news- ... tent=77643

Dated 1966

https://lettresexpres.files.wordpress.c ... horev1.jpg


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