Hi,

New guy here looking for some recommendations for amp settings for the Surf Sound. I'm using a VOX AC15C1 and a Fender American Deluxe Strat. I also have a Squier VM Surf Strat with the Lipstick pickups.

I tried a search with no results. Any help is much appreciated.

Last edited: Nov 20, 2014 13:48:11

Ralf, is the tone-stack in an AC15 that much different than an AC-30? I'm curious because lots of music has been surf'd with an EL84 power stack (and a Strat).

Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

Sp8ctre, noticed it's your first post also.
Welcome to SG101.

Is the AC15 new to you or have you had a chance to get a handle on the interactions of the controls? (I seem to recall that the Cut control on a Vox works kind of counter-intuitive.) Looking at an AC15C it appears to have the same controls as an AC30, so it might be just a matter of getting yourself what Ralf was describing as a loud & warm but clean sound. Not sterile, the amp should be working a bit. No reason the Vox shouldn't surf at all generally. If that's what you have, play it. Maybe someone who regularly gigs with one will come along in terms of specific settings.

Here's a thread by someone who does just that very well and there's a sound clip or two.

Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

Well, I'd use the Strat vs. the SG (with all respect to Dave A). It's kind of a subjective thing. You want it punchy because you don't want it thin & want to avoid your Strat's bridge pickup sounding that way. You might try just setting the bass & treble on 6, turn the mids all the way down, and then get that balanced to what you're hearing in your head. Then add some midrange punch to the point that you've really got some meat in there without going all crunchy (notice all the subjective terms?). Vox & Fender amps both have a pretty musical audio curve to them unlike, say, a Marshall with a big mid hump.

Different speakers, pickups, etc., are going to affect how much midrange before it's not articulate. If it gets too shrill on the high end, then back off the treble a little (don't pay attention to the numbers, use your ears). One thing I've noticed is that I get much more pleasant articulation out of my Strat pickups by lowering them rather than having them up high. They are way lower than typically seen from the factory. Several folks here passed along that tip to me awhile back. It really is a trial and re-trial procedure but sometimes a best friend might just be a Phillips screwdriver.

The other thing I do on my EL-84 amp is to not run it like it's got a master volume - I turn that sucker up as far as I can and then treat it like a regular amp. (In the house I dial the MV back to about 7-8 otherwise I can't turn up the Vol enough to make the pre-amp happy.) The power stack is part of the tone, for me anyway. Damn, more subjectivity. The tones I've heard that I love aren't clean because the amp is completely loafing & sterile - the amp is definitely working.

Errata: I'd never bother with all this if still gigging in a variety situation & only gonna do a couple surf tunes a night. The audience won't care; it just has to sound surfy which is a) something they recognize and b) has a bunch of reverb on it.

What's an example of a surf tune that has the tone you're looking for?

Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

SP8CTRE wrote:

A few of my favorite surf tunes are Bombora by The Atlantics, Penetration by The Pyramids and Baja by The Astronauts.

You'll be in good company here with those tunes. I'm a huge fan of The Atlantics as well as Martin Cilia's solo work. Then again, there are some folks right here I've become huge fans of and the list just keeps growing. Unlike many other internet fora, there are some notable numbers of very talented musicians here so stick around.

Have you hooked up with North Sea Surf Radio yet? It can get in your blood & they have their own sub-forum here as well; individual show DJ's are members here as well. Frankly, no other genre really has anything like it. (Shameless Marketing Alert: Even a relatively modest donation can get some phenomenal compilations of music.)

Time to crash/early call, so on goes the NSSR for the reverb lullabies.
Again, welcome to SG101.

Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

surfbeatslbc wrote:

HallmarkSweptWinger wrote:

No result?
There must be ANY result.
Whatever,
So the answer is: Get an other amp.
…and an other guitar. Get a Jazzmaster or a Jaguar.
Use the search function in this forum. Your questions are surf beginners questions and for the most people here very boring.

Ralf, I know you're well respected here, but that attitude is a little harsh, no?

Yes, there are people that are somewhat new to surf, and you as a member of the community as well as an artist should probably welcome them rather than cut them down. Newbies may want to buy your albums, and then expose their friends to your music who may in turn want to buy your albums, etc...

Also, plenty have played surf on Strats (Dick Dale comes to mind).

It really wasn't an unreasonable question and he said he'd searched. I know I've read some threads mentioning AC15's, and other sound alike amps, but don't recall any mention of specific settings, so it seemed reasonable to me, but then again, I'm another relative surf newbie, maybe I shouldn't be here either.

Of course newbies are welcome! No question, man!
Sometimes I am spontaneous ...and honest, thats it. I like honesty. People should be more honest generally. I dont want to harm somebody. Why should I? So thanks also for your honest reply.
Cheers!

Twang cheers!

Ralf Kilauea

www.kilaueas.de

https://kilaueas.bandcamp.com/album/touch-my-alien

Spec,
ypu didn't mention your reverb. get a surfy bear FET reverb and dial it in! Save yourself $500.

Squink Out!

LeeVanCleef wrote:

JObeast wrote:

Spec,
ypu didn't mention your reverb. get a surfy bear FET reverb and dial it in! Save yourself $500.

I was going to mention reverb as well. Good spring reverb is essential to a convincing surf sound.

Thanks for all that info. I will start doing some searching. It just so happens that I work in the electronics field and I restore a lot of 50's tube stereos so soldering and electronics won't be a problem.

Hi, I used a cc1 with a stock mexican strat. It's not perfect but after 1-2 days I found my 'smiling face' setup with it. It wasn't clean, but one of my favorite surf bands use booster full time, so.. there's no rules

I don't remember the settings, I used the onboard reverb with 0.000001

But it depends on your guitar, playing, taste..

original compositions (low-level demo stuff /out of tune, etc) myStuff not my best, but i don't like to be in a musician community without anything to show