Co-author of perhaps the most melodic and delicate piece of Crafty repertoire that the short lived but absolutely brilliant Robert Fripp String Quintet performed live at their remarkable shows back in the early 1990s – John Sinks was not just a musician, composer, or Crafty Guitarist – he was all three of those things certainly, but he was also, so, so much more – guitar tech extraordinaire for King Crimson / Robert Fripp, John worked in the industry for many, many years and gained an amazing wealth of audio knowledge that he shared freely and with great kindness to all he came into contact with.
I was fortunate enough to be on a Guitar Craft course during the same week as John was and the following remembrance examines an afternoon spent in John’s company – which changed my entire life dramatically and sent me down so many new and exciting “musical paths” that I am still exploring today so, so many years later.
When I learned on January 15th, 2020 that John has passed away back on December 29, 2019 (may he rest in peace) I was immediately moved to try and capture something of the indomitable spirit of the man by recounting my one and only encounter and interaction with him – one of the best experiences I ever had and one that has helped me, encouraged me and informed me every since that day back at the beginning of the 1990s.
At the Guitar Craft course that both myself and John Sinks were at, I do not know however if he was only present in his capacity as Robert Fripp’s guitar tech, if he was attending that course in full as a Crafty Guitarist – or perhaps both – but by sheer chance I ended up in John’s company for one remarkable, rainy wish of a day in Los Angeles, California – as I had rather recounted the following experience in a Facebook post on January 15, 2020 I thought I would present it here in a less raw, more formal setting as part of a blog – rather than in the “unedited not proof read” version that I accidentally-posted-before-I-was-even-done-writing-it original Facebook post.
Here is that post in a much more readable form:
Eulogy – John Sinks – who passed on December 29, 2029
Written on January 15th, 2020 by Dave Stafford – as a remembrance of a gentle, giving person and of an astonishing and unusual day spent in John’s company.
[Written immediately upon reading the announcement from Robert Fripp of the passing of John Sinks late on January 15, 2020:]
This is so so sad.
I have an abiding memory of an afternoon spent listening to John speak at length about RF’s then guitar system’s signal path, speaking to a group of Crafty Guitarists who had accompanied Robert to a secret recording studio in Michael Kamen‘s house in Los Angeles, CA on a very, very stormy, rainy afternoon – and while RF was laying down guitar tracks with Midge Ure (whose album he was contributing to at Ure’s request) in the main studio, outside in the studio’s anteroom, John Sinks held court to perhaps a dozen of us who were on a very short hiatus from a week-long Guitar-Craft -course-in-progress a couple of hours away outside of Los Angeles.
An unforgettable day for myself which began with suddenly meeting Midge Ure – as he and i both ran full tilt – (absolutely bolting since it was such a torrential downpour) through a blinding, stinging rain, running up Michael Kamen’s driveway to get out of the downpour…then ending up out in the studio’s anteroom, hearing both the recording session through the playback monitor as we all sat transfixed listening to John carefully and meticulously, step by step, explaining exactly how Robert’s complex stereo looping guitar system worked.
I had very little technical expertise at that time and I think I learned more about signal flow, signal routing, alternative ways of achieving audio goals – sheer genius pedalboard and rack mount design – that day, certainly more than I had ever known to that date, and possibly more than I have learned SINCE that time – it was an absolute master class in sound design, and even though I did not understand some of it, I would ask questions and John would patiently backtrack through the explanations made so far and clarify the meanings as needed. His patience was amazing and his ability to clearly explain difficult audio or routing concepts was impressive to say the very least.
He made this somewhat specialist and possibly “dry” topic come alive and his enthusiasm was infectious – soon, almost all of us in the room were joining in with questions and observations – making it one of the most interesting and most challenging technical discussions I have ever had the pleasure of taking part in.
And what I learned just from listening to John Sinks speak about Robert Fripp’s guitar system, has helped me and inspired me when I have subsequently tackled audio technical designs of my own making – for many, many years to come and still today.
(Literally as we speak, I am designing a new guitar and synth pedalboard that I could not have made without what I learned that day from John – so his skill and knowledge is still working through my hands as I prepare my own built-from-scratch pedalboard for my upcoming live shows later in 2020 with Mach 17)…the legacy of that day and the value it had to me and for me, technically and philosophically – lives on into the future as I build this new board…
Even still today, that eye-ooening opening master tutorial on looping, guitar signal path options has stood me in great stead as a source for creative, innovative ways of routing audio signals to achieve just about any goal for your guitar sound, whether it be for a live or a studio project, and I owe a real debt of gratitude to the memory of John because in one afternoon, he imparted so much experience, expertise, skill and valuable, valuable information to myself and that small group of Crafty Guitarists who had opted to travel with RF to this rainy day Midge Ure recording session at a secret home studio in Michael Kamen’s house…
I have never forgotten that remarkable afternoon, set to the unbelievable audio backdrop of Robert Fripp playing guitar solos onto tracks for the then-next Midge Ure solo record, listening to John Sinks speak – with passion, at length – about a topic he clearly loved and knew so, so well – it changed my own perception of what a guitar system was and what it could be if one applies intelligence, logic and creative design to the process of getting a signal from a guitar – through a carefully and thoughtfully designed sound system – ultimately to the ears of the listener as beautiful looped, stereo guitar sound – an absolutely amazing experience.
I had never met John before that day – and I never encountered him again after it – but that one rainy afternoon in LA changed me and my perception o how guitar audio CAN be processed – with incredible ingenuity and undeniable creativity – if you just apply logic and patience to solving each audio or routing challenge – until you reach the point where things actually sound the way you intend them to sound – the way you “hear them” in your mind’s eye and imagination.
I went to that session with almost no experience of guitar sound design – and after just a few hours of discussion led by the amazingly knowledgeable John Sinks, I walked away with the basis for all of the audio / guitar sound design I’ve consequently done in the ensuing thirty years or so!!
That day changed everything – and thanks to John’s persistence and patience, I came away from that session with a new and exciting understanding of what is possible for the modern guitarist using technology applied with intelligence and care.
What an absolutely brilliant day that was – and sadly, I never had the opportunity to thank John for taking so much time to explain so very, very much about guitar signal processing – so I am saying it now:
“Thank you John Sinks.”
Thank you for sharing so, so much of yourself with us that day, and for giving so unselfishly of your hard-won knowledge, experience and skill that we who listened that day…might someday benefit from what we learned then – and the value of what i learned that day cannot be underestimated- it changed EVERYTHING for me…in such an incredibly good way.
The patient explanations and the generosity of spirit that moved John to share so very much of himself with a group of complete strangers – also cannot be underestimated. What a remarkable gentleman and a great loss to all who knew him – and even those of us who only briefly encountered John – like myself. But as in my case, that brief encounter was such a positive and uplifting experience that it was an all-encompassing, incredibly, and very practically useful for anyone pursuing the craft of playing the electric guitar well experience …his skill and knowledge were an unexpected and truly valuable , and inspirational – input into my life.
Thank you, John Sinks.
And also thank you for co-composing (with Antonio de Honestis) one of the most singularly beautiful pieces of Crafty Guitar repertoire that will ever exist – the exquisite, delicate, ethereal, melodic and simply stunning one of a kind song that is “Hope”.
Rest now.
pureambient / dave stafford 