IvanP
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 10331
southern Michigan
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Posted on Aug 04 2016 07:40 PM
Just for fun, I thought I'd record some Astronauts using a Strat - to prove once and for all that the Strat can do ANYTHING, including sounding like a Jazzmaster!
Gear used: 2012 Am Std Strat (completely stock, 12-gauge Rotosound Purple roundwound strings - the middle pickup throughout), Gomez G-Spring, '90s Vibroverb RI into a '60s Bassman 2x12 cab loaded with reconed EVs.
The songs are: Hot Doggin', Baja, Surf Party.
Josh, this one's for you! 
— Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube
Last edited: Aug 04, 2016 20:17:08
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Noel
Joined: Mar 15, 2011
Posts: 8528
Back in Piitsburgh, Pennsylvania, where I grew up.
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Posted on Aug 04 2016 08:32 PM
Sorcery! 
Very cool, actually. The Strat middle pickup is pretty versatile.
— This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.
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IvanP
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 10331
southern Michigan
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Posted on Aug 04 2016 11:04 PM
 Indeed, Noel! Actually, I was able to get a very convincing DD sound out of this setup without turning a single knob or changing the pickup setting, but by only changing my pick attack.
— Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube
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blueruins
Joined: Mar 05, 2010
Posts: 362
Mauna Lani, HI
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Posted on Aug 04 2016 11:31 PM
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IvanP
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 10331
southern Michigan
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Posted on Aug 04 2016 11:32 PM
This 2012 Am Std Strat is an incredibly inspiring and fun guitar to play. I bought it used (less than a year old and completely mint) three years ago on eBay, for only $855, shipping included. Quite a deal, I think. When I play it, I just can't put it down. It's probably the guitar I play at home the most, even though it's the least valuable US-made Strat I own. But it's just a phenomenal guitar. Some people complain about the Fat '50s pickups, but hey, I think they sound pretty good in the above video!
If you're looking for an affordable but still very high quality Strat, you really can't go wrong with these new American Standards. Highly recommended!
— Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube
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devinomatic
Joined: Feb 02, 2016
Posts: 61
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Posted on Aug 04 2016 11:45 PM
Sounds great! I can see why that guitar begs you to play it; seems very pleasing to the ears.
My jaguar in almost every way feels more comfortable and navigable to my stubby little girl scout cookie hands, but there's something so lively about the sound of a strat that I usually find myself playing it more often.
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Badger
Joined: Nov 16, 2013
Posts: 4536
Wisconsin
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Posted on Aug 05 2016 06:56 AM
This is very timely, besides being a joy to listen to. The middle pkup is actually my favorite, and have been thinking about flipping the 57/62 in my 60's to the bridge for the Fat50 that's currently there. I use the middle pkup A LOT.
Also, those EV's sound great out of that classic tone stack on top of them. Just for the tank heads, knobs on the Gomez were at.... ?
— 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.
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CrazyAces
Joined: Jul 31, 2012
Posts: 4052
Nashville, TN.
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Posted on Aug 05 2016 07:43 AM
As I say too often - It's the driver, not the car, and in this case we have a champion "driver" so I'm not surprised at all that Ivan can get the Astronauts' sound on a strat.
Sounds killer, awesome job!
Cheers,
Jeff
— http://www.facebook.com/CrazyAcesMusic
http://www.youtube.com/user/crazyacesrock
http://www.reverbnation.com/crazyacesmusic
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james14000
Joined: Apr 14, 2015
Posts: 148
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Posted on Aug 05 2016 08:07 AM
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ColtsSurf
Joined: Apr 03, 2008
Posts: 477
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Posted on Aug 05 2016 10:21 AM
Very cool Ivan. That Strat sounds great. I really appreciate hearing gear demos from someone who knows how to play surf. They are too few in number!
— Paul
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derekirving
Joined: Nov 03, 2011
Posts: 660
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Posted on Aug 05 2016 12:30 PM
@ivanp every time I think I'm going to get a Topanga (affordablty, captures 6G15 essence and portable) instead of a standalone reverb tank, I get sucked back in..... strat sounds great and nice tone to boot !!! I had a '64 tank and dearly miss it - I'm not a surf player but I'm a reverb freak..... ~Derek
Last edited: Aug 05, 2016 12:39:50
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SixStringSurfer
Joined: Sep 23, 2014
Posts: 1400
Memphis, TN
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Posted on Aug 05 2016 12:47 PM
Ivan, that sounded absolutely amazing! The next time someone says a Strat can't be used for surf, I will show them this video. Just curious, what were the knobs dialed to on the Gomez?
— MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale. New Singles "Finish Line" and "Paradiso" on Bandcamp and website.
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Badger
Joined: Nov 16, 2013
Posts: 4536
Wisconsin
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Posted on Aug 05 2016 12:55 PM
While this was a genuine treat, it's been getting done by Strats for a very long time.
— 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.
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ecv
Joined: Apr 08, 2016
Posts: 35
London
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Posted on Aug 05 2016 02:19 PM
Do you remember what the settings were on the Vibroverb?
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Surfersaurus
Joined: Feb 10, 2010
Posts: 352
Australia
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Posted on Aug 06 2016 12:26 AM
What about a reverse challenge - play a Strat song on a traditional Fender offset guitar..
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Badger
Joined: Nov 16, 2013
Posts: 4536
Wisconsin
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Posted on Aug 06 2016 07:30 AM
Capital idea!
— 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.
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IvanP
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 10331
southern Michigan
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Posted on Aug 06 2016 02:13 PM
YES! Any takers?
(Funny, my YouTube video has four thumbs down (though ten thumbs up)! I guess some people didn't care for my sacrilege - or just didn't think it sounded very good - or I played very well!)
— Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube
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IvanP
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 10331
southern Michigan
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Posted on Aug 06 2016 02:16 PM
SixStringSurfer wrote:
Ivan, that sounded absolutely amazing! The next time someone says a Strat can't be used for surf, I will show them this video.
Yay! Thank you!
Just curious, what were the knobs dialed to on the Gomez?
Depth - 5, Mix - 5, Tone - 6
ecv wrote:
Do you remember what the settings were on the Vibroverb?
Vibrato Channel: Volume - 5, Treble - 8, Bass - 6.5.
— Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube
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IvanP
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 10331
southern Michigan
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Posted on Aug 06 2016 02:23 PM
Thanks very much, all, I appreciate the feedback and the comments! I posted this same thing on my FB page, and it's just exploded - probably the most discussion on any single post on my FB page I've gotten in the past year of being on FB! We had all sorts of surf guitar luminaries piping in, Lorenzo, Big Papu (Los Kahunas), Martin Cilia (The Atlantics), Ryan Ruiz (Secret Samurai), Bill Pekara (Reluctant Aquanauts), even Alex Faide (Los Twang! Marvels) and Chris Barfield (Huntington Cads, the Finks)!! (It turns out he recorded the second Huntington Cads album using a Strat, not a JM as usually thought.) If you want to read more about all this stuff, please visit my FB page and scroll down until you find this thread - it's all public so you don't need a FB account to read it (I don't think so, anyway).
Here's what I wrote on FB as a way to conclude the whole experiment:
Thanks, all for your comments! According to some, I accomplished my goal, and that's fantastic! But then there are those few, almost all I believe VERY serious and dedicated Jazzmaster fans/players (Lorenzo, Big Papu, Josh) who seem to (maybe a tad begrudgingly?) admit that I did get closer maybe than they thought possible - but that they can still hear a difference. I believe them - I can hear a difference, too. But it's a smaller one than most people would have expected, I believe.
The reason I did this was pretty simple and pure: my wife is visiting her family for the week, so I had the amp in the living room, just playing around, and at one point it struck me how good it sounds when I play the Astronauts stuff, a pretty amazing thing. So, I thought I'd quickly record it and post it online. As most of you know, I'm a die-hard Strat fan, and I do believe that the Strat can do pretty much anything! And there are quite a few surf music fans out there that don't like the Strat, don't think it's as good as the offsets (Jazzmaster/Jaguar) for surf. I know at least some of that is just joking around, but I thought I'd demonstrate that you can get pretty darn close with a Strat to a super-traditional surf tone. I hope it worked! I enjoyed the whole process, including reading people's comments. Thanks for that!
Now, everybody check out Lorenzo Valdambrini and The Kilaueas new tribute to the Astronauts "The Kilaueas and Surfer Joe play The Astronauts & more"! https://soundcloud.com/lorenzosurferjoe/hot-doggin
The album is currently available on ALL digital platforms and in a few days in 12" vinyl. www.lorenzovaldambrini.com or www.surferjoestore.com for further information.
— Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube
Last edited: Aug 06, 2016 14:25:09
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Badger
Joined: Nov 16, 2013
Posts: 4536
Wisconsin
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Posted on Aug 06 2016 02:38 PM
IvanP wrote:
Depth - 5, Mix - 5, Tone - 6
That's spooky; that's where my Gomez is sitting now. (Something I can do with ease that I didn't seem to quite get comfortably out of my RI tank; I think Dario's has the range that was supposed to be there in the first place).
Yes, dyed-in-the-wool offset players (and I have a JM too), go for it.
Fun times occasionally when the whole house becomes one's studio. Don't leave cabinet dents in the carpet. 
— 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.
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