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CarstenKuss Group: Musicians Posts: 362 Joined: Nov. 1999 Posted: Mar. 30 2000, 15:29 In the instruments list, there's a "Glorfindel Guitar". Does anybody know what that is? Does it have anything to do with the character "Glorfindel" in J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy trilogy "The Lord Of The Rings"? -------------- -Carsten- Back to top

Wojtek Group: Members Posts: 52 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: April 06 2000, 11:49 Hi! I've just thought out! Guitar is one of Mike's favourite instruments. Tubular bells too. So "guitar" can mean "bells". Glorfindel horse had a little bells attached to its harness. So "Glorfindel Guitar" means "(Tubular?) Bells" But there are also on "Amarok" description "long, thin pipes" (or sth like that). So what are those pipes ? bye-bye Back to top

CarstenKuss Group: Musicians Posts: 362 Joined: Nov. 1999 Posted: April 06 2000, 16:02 Wow, that's interesting, Wojtek! Now, does Mike really dig so deep into "The Lord Of The Rings"? That would be fascinating to me. Or is there just a common root to both usages of the word "Glorfindel"? -------------- -Carsten- Back to top

CarstenKuss Group: Musicians Posts: 362 Joined: Nov. 1999 Posted: April 06 2000, 16:10 "Long Thin metallic hanging Tubes" [sic] surely means "Tubular Bells". I think Mike wanted to avoid that name. Maybe to make clear that "Amarok" is something completely new. -------------- -Carsten- Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: April 15 2000, 21:45 I think I have the solution... Mike described it as 'the first effects box', 'a funny wooden contraption' - something that was brought into the studio (although he doesn't say by who). Tom Newman has said that it was a fuzzbox that somebody made for Mike. Wherever it came from, it's some kind of effects box. He plugged the guitar into it in order to get the bagpipes sound in Part 2 of Tubular Bells. My guess, from knowing that, is that is is some kind of fuzz device, maybe with compression as well (although a heavy fuzz will give compression in itself...). I assume the glorfindel guitar on Amarok was played through this box, or something programmed to give a similar sound... And yes, it was named after Glorfindel from Lord of the Rings Back to top

Wojtek Group: Members Posts: 52 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: April 20 2000, 06:56 Korgscrew said: "And yes, it was named after Glorfindel from Lord of the Rings" My question is: Why it was named after Glorfindel? (I think my explanation (look at firs reply to topic)is not much probably ) Back to top

GMOVJ Group: Members Posts: 273 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: May 18 2000, 04:02 I was reading this in the Article Section : Mike Oldfield on Amarok H & SR Magazine March, 1991 "The 'Glorfindel guitar' comes from 'Tubular Bells' - David Bedford gave me a little effects box he called a Glorfindel box which was a total mess inside, the engineers were very amused by it." Glorfindel Guitar is a guitar trough this box and long thin metalic pipe are TB. But your joke is funny Wojtek Cheers GMOVJ -------------- Cheers, GMOVJ [URL=http://tubular.fodplanet.com]http://tubular.fodplanet.com[/URL] - The french speaking mailing list Back to top

CarstenKuss Group: Musicians Posts: 362 Joined: Nov. 1999 Posted: May 19 2000, 14:42 Interesting! ... This leads us to the next question: where, on Amarok/TB, does this guitar appear? -------------- -Carsten- Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: May 19 2000, 19:47 Like I said before, the Glofindel box was used on the guitars to make the bagpipe sound on TB (and probably on other parts as well that I don't know about). I haven't listened out for it, but I wouldn't really know where it's used on Amarok... Back to top

Wojtek Group: Members Posts: 52 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Feb. 09 2001, 16:01 Fast answer, isn't it? CarstenKuss wrote: '"Long Thin metallic hanging Tubes" [sic] surely means "Tubular Bells". I think Mike wanted to avoid that name. Maybe to make clear that "Amarok" is something completely new.' I think Mike just wanted to make Amarok most low-sale album as it possible (because of his dislikness of Virgin). Tubular Bells is something well-known, so he decided to call it in other way. Second reason is that Virgin wanted Mike to make Tubular Bells 2, so maybe he said "You want TB? you'll have none!". Back to top

Willem Unregistered Posted: April 18 2004, 15:29 Glorfindel appears in LOTR indeed. I'm about to explain how I think of this and to do just that I have to translate back to English from the Dutch copy of LOTR. I apologise for my bad English. I read the boot back in 1999. Before, I was always curious what the Glorfindel guitar is supposed to mean. During the reading of chapter XII of part I, first book I got blown away by being confronted with the inroduction of an elf named Glorfindel!!! This could't be accidence. This is the first thing that is said about Glorfindel: "His language and clear loud voice took away all the doubts in their (hobbits) hearts; He belongs to the elves. Nobody could find such a beautiful voice in the whole wide world" Now we read chapter I of Part I, 2nd book. Here Tolkien describes the folks gathered at Elrond's place. This is said about Glorfindel: "Glorfindel was tall and present; his hair shines as gold, his face young and handsome, fearless and full of happiness, his eyes clear and vivid, and his voice sounds like music, his head revealled wisdom en his hand is powerful" This ,of course, is a general discription of how all the elves look. Beautiful beyond a human's imagination. Absolutely perfect. "His voice sounds like music" This makes clear for me that the Glorindel guitar has a very specific, beautiful sound which no-one has heard before. That's the connection between the glofindel-guitar and the beauty of the elves and their voices. What do you say about my theory? And by the way, does anyone know where it appears on the album (or any album?) W75 Rondje 31 Laag willem@ommadawn.demon.nl Quote Bass guitar can really talk if you want it to, and say things.  -Mike Oldfield- Back to top

Willem Unregistered Posted: April 18 2004, 15:29 Glorfindel appears in LOTR indeed. I'm about to explain how I think of this and to do just that I have to translate back to English from the Dutch copy of LOTR. I apologise for my bad English. I read the boot back in 1999. Before, I was always curious what the Glorfindel guitar is supposed to mean. During the reading of chapter XII of part I, first book I got blown away by being confronted with the inroduction of an elf named Glorfindel!!! This could't be accidence. This is the first thing that is said about Glorfindel: "His language and clear loud voice took away all the doubts in their (hobbits) hearts; He belongs to the elves. Nobody could find such a beautiful voice in the whole wide world" Now we read chapter I of Part I, 2nd book. Here Tolkien describes the folks gathered at Elrond's place. This is said about Glorfindel: "Glorfindel was tall and present; his hair shines as gold, his face young and handsome, fearless and full of happiness, his eyes clear and vivid, and his voice sounds like music, his head revealled wisdom en his hand is powerful" This ,of course, is a general discription of how all the elves look. Beautiful beyond a human's imagination. Absolutely perfect. "His voice sounds like music" This makes clear for me that the Glorindel guitar has a very specific, beautiful sound which no-one has heard before. That's the connection between the glofindel-guitar and the beauty of the elves and their voices. What do you say about my theory? And by the way, does anyone know where it appears on the album (or any album?) W75 Rondje 31 Laag willem@ommadawn.demon.nl Quote Bass guitar can really talk if you want it to, and say things.  -Mike Oldfield- Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: April 18 2004, 18:21 That's likely the connection, though the name comes, I believe, either from the glorfindel box's creator or David Bedford (who called it the Glorfindel Sound Machine when he used it on one of his albums), rather than Mike himself. I believe that, in the case of Amarok, it actually refers to a patch on Mike's GP-8 guitar processor - I think it was Tom Newman who mentioned how Mike had a patch programmed to recreate the sound of the glorfindel box. In fact, he mentions it in the article which GMOVJ quoted (I'll quote the whole lot again so you can see it in context): Quote The 'Glorfindel guitar' comes from 'Tubular Bells' - David Bedford gave me a little effects box he called a Glorfindel box which was a total mess inside, the engineers were very amused by it. Now I use the Roland GP-8 for the same sort of sounds. . It's basically one of those silly items in the list, a lot like those discussed in the Tubular Bells instrument list topic. I believe the 'glorfindel' sound is probably just the main distorted guitar sound on the album. Back to top

Holger Group: Members Posts: 1506 Joined: Feb. 2003 Posted: April 18 2004, 18:43 The quotes Willem gives are quite interesting, it could be that they actually thought the sound the Glorfindel box made was as beautiful as the 'real' Glorfindel's voice but I think it is more likely that it is an ironic reference, seeing as how the origin of the Glorfindel box seems to be rather dubious (I seem to remember some reference being made to its creator as a "stoned hippie"), and that it was obviously a mess inside, and so it is perhaps not exactly like "nobody could find such a beautiful voice in the whole wide world".   Back to top

Willem Unregistered Posted: April 20 2004, 03:33 Hmmm.... Holger may be right about this. Doesn't sound odd to me... Now I still like to know which guitar sound is the glorfindel sound. I think it's a terrible fuzz sound or sounds like a bagpipe... Back to top

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