IvanP
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 10323
southern Michigan
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Posted on Jan 17 2017 05:01 PM
This is my attempt at Dick Dale's "The Wedge" from his '63 Capitol album "Checkered Flag". This is one of his best-known and most-oft-covered tracks, with dozens of surf bands having recorded their versions. However, to my ears there is more going on in this track than most surf guitarists play. Besides some highly-demanding double-(tremolo-)picking, especially the Spanish sounding part at the end of the two verses where the double-picking requires smooth movement across strings, there is also a great deal of use of the droning high E-string - any time Dick is playing on the B-string, he's also picking the open high-E, giving his sound much more intensity and even dissonance. It's a TOUGH song to play exactly as the original recording, and I didn't quite pull it off here, but i think it's close. As far as I'm concerned this is one of his most inspired performances, with a smooth tone and impeccable phrasing that are entirely his own - NOBODY sounded like this! He was truly innovative - and incredibly exciting. Long Live the King!
— Ivan
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Ariel
Joined: Aug 29, 2009
Posts: 1556
Israel
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Posted on Jan 18 2017 08:08 AM
Ivan, these videos are incredible!
Especially since trying to decode Dick Dale visually takes all sorts of inverting. Like a professor/explorer translating a found ancient language for the masses, while keeping not only the original meaning, but also the spirit (of the times) behind it.
It's a beautiful exposition, that nobody can pull off better.
Very impressed with the power you generate with 12-52 rotosounds...
Don't know how to say this w/o sounding like an unappreciative ass - I just so wish you used a real mic on a stand in these. Know it's a spontaneous thing you do, but every time you overdrive the mic, you lose power, and then the world loses. 
Always grateful for anything you put out.
Last edited: Jan 18, 2017 08:22:57
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kruelkats
Joined: Mar 26, 2012
Posts: 206
Bogor, West Java
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Posted on Jan 18 2017 12:43 PM
I really love your guitar cover videos
— Umar
The Mentawais
The Rentones
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Badger
Joined: Nov 16, 2013
Posts: 4536
Wisconsin
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Posted on Jan 18 2017 05:52 PM
Jeez, I dig it!
I think (but do not know) it's possible that some of what makes his stuff so special is the dynamics he uses in liberal application of downstrokes coupled with that high-E being the first thing to get punished a lot of the time.
Now for the trivial pursuits:
1. What was the "official" color of that particular Strat? (I have the portrait photo from you but can't recall - is that a Champagne or Shoreline?)
2. Also, as I've found that my Gomez tank lets me do things that my RI Fender didn't seem quite up to in terms of settings where, for that song, did you have your tank at?
Thanks for these; am vacuuming them all up. 
— 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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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19195
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Jan 18 2017 08:10 PM
Wow, that was really cool Ivan. And I loved reading your description of what's going on in the performance by Dick!
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Sonichris
Joined: Mar 06, 2006
Posts: 1873
Wear gloves - I'm in the Rockies
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Posted on Jan 18 2017 08:53 PM
STOP BEING AWESOME!
— "You can't tell where you're going if you don't know where you've been"
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SixStringSurfer
Joined: Sep 23, 2014
Posts: 1355
Memphis, TN
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Posted on Jan 18 2017 09:36 PM
Absolutely incredible performance! Seriously, that is the best cover of that song I have ever heard in my life. Having said that, I was about to post a video of me playing "The Wedge" from the other night, but there is no way in hell I'm going to do that now. You really nailed it!
— MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale. New videos uploaded
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IvanP
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 10323
southern Michigan
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Posted on Jan 19 2017 11:04 AM
Hey, wow! Thanks for all the comments and nice words!
DreadInBabylon wrote:
Ivan, these videos are incredible!
Thank you!
Especially since trying to decode Dick Dale visually takes all sorts of inverting. Like a professor/explorer translating a found ancient language for the masses, while keeping not only the original meaning, but also the spirit (of the times) behind it.
Ha!! I love it!! That's fantastic, thank you, Ariel!
It's a beautiful exposition, that nobody can pull off better.
Thanks, I appreciate that.
Very impressed with the power you generate with 12-52 rotosounds...
Don't know how to say this w/o sounding like an unappreciative ass - I just so wish you used a real mic on a stand in these. Know it's a spontaneous thing you do, but every time you overdrive the mic, you lose power, and then the world loses.
 Well, I understand what you're saying, but to do what you're suggesting would require a considerable step up in both the time devoted to doing this and in particular the equipment used. And I just don't think these videos are that important to justify something like that. It's just a bit of fun for me, and hopefully something that people will appreciate in their raw form - which they seem to. One other thing: many of those DD songs to my ears sound like his amp is also overloading the mic, though obviously not to the extent of my videos. But especially on something like Hava Nagila, when I listen very closely I'm hearing some of those 'sonic artifacts', distortions that come from hitting the mic with too hot of a signal. So, I'm thinking maybe that makes my videos a bit more authentic.
Always grateful for anything you put out.
Thanks again, Ariel!
— 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: 10323
southern Michigan
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Posted on Jan 19 2017 11:14 AM
Badger wrote:
Jeez, I dig it!
I think (but do not know) it's possible that some of what makes his stuff so special is the dynamics he uses in liberal application of downstrokes coupled with that high-E being the first thing to get punished a lot of the time.
That's an excellent point, Wes! I think you're 100% right about that.
Now for the trivial pursuits:
1. What was the "official" color of that particular Strat? (I have the portrait photo from you but can't recall - is that a Champagne or Shoreline?)
I'm not sure anybody knows. I seem to remember somebody saying that it may have started off sunburst? The earliest photos I've seen of DD with that guitar already have it pearl white (NOT standard Fender Olympic White), and he kept that for quite a few years. I believe Norman Cowell claimed on Facebook that he has a paint chip from the Beast and I think he said it has something like 14 coats and a bunch of different colors! (Consider that when people claim that nitro lacquer is so superior to poly due to being thinner - it appears that Dick would just have another coat plopped on top of the existing color, and that the Beast has been like that for 53 years, enmeshed in this thick coating of the many colors - still sounds pretty good, I think we'd all agree!)
Oh, I don't think the color in that photo is burgundy mist, though it may appear to be close to it. I think it was something custom-made - maybe champagne? I don't know.
- Also, as I've found that my Gomez tank lets me do things that my RI Fender didn't seem quite up to in terms of settings where, for that song, did you have your tank at?
Basically 5-5-6 (tone).
Thanks for these; am vacuuming them all up.
Thanks, Wes - and everybody else! Very glad you're enjoying all these so much! I think I'll probably do two more DD tracks over the next couple of weeks.
— 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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Ariel
Joined: Aug 29, 2009
Posts: 1556
Israel
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Posted on Jan 19 2017 01:37 PM
I very much appreciate the detaied answer, Ivan, thank you! I get it. Like said, anything you put out there is a gift and pure pleasure.
IvanP wrote:
... considerable step up in both the time devoted to doing this and in particular the equipment used.
Not to dwell on it... but if at any time you will decide to do it, I'll happily volunteer to handle the re-mix with the video in sync, and promise it'll be done perfectly. The ambient mic will have it's natural place too.
And I just don't think these videos are that important to justify something like that.
Other than the King himself, those are some of the purest examples of surf guitar on the whole internet, and now also the best as learning tools. The world will eventually catch up...
It's just a bit of fun for me, and hopefully something that people will appreciate in their raw form - which they seem to.
Absolutely! I can see how too much fussing can be a bringdown. I'm just excited, don't get me wrong.
You seem to do that other classic band, 'Madeira', and your covers are fabulous!
One other thing: many of those DD songs to my ears sound like his amp is also overloading the mic, though obviously not to the extent of my videos. But especially on something like Hava Nagila, when I listen very closely I'm hearing some of those 'sonic artifacts', distortions that come from hitting the mic with too hot of a signal. So, I'm thinking maybe that makes my videos a bit more authentic.
That's true huh... right, I didn't consider that  . Obviously the equipment must have had major contribution to his recorded sound. While we're on the subject, do you or anyone anyone have an idea what mics were used in DD's classics? Probably what the studios at the time had anyway, but I have no idea how to even start researching it.
I want to hear stories of exploding diaphragms, engineers running for their lives... something.
Last edited: Jan 19, 2017 15:21:21
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Badger
Joined: Nov 16, 2013
Posts: 4536
Wisconsin
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Posted on Jan 19 2017 03:51 PM
IvanP wrote:
Oh, I don't think the color in that photo is burgundy mist, though it may appear to be close to it. I think it was something custom-made - maybe champagne? I don't know.
Oh, yes, sorry. I've seen the thread about the provenance of DD's Beast; I was talking about YOUR guitar in the vid, which I believe is the fellow on the right in this pic.
— 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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websurfer
Joined: May 14, 2007
Posts: 1746
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Posted on Jan 19 2017 05:26 PM
Great job again! I've always thought that the dissonance or droning high E was an important element of that sound, and I really appreciate your ear for detail. I wasn't aware that there were so many disparate parts all requiring a different feel. The smooth tremolo slide up the strings that you mention is especially surprising since I never noticed that on the recording.
It's really a measure of DDs vision and artistry that he came up with this stuff without any models to draw from. As you said, no one was playing like this before him.
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IvanP
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 10323
southern Michigan
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Posted on Jan 19 2017 09:34 PM
Yes, indeed, websurfer!
Wes, sorry, I misunderstood! I was using my Shoreline Gold '97 '62 reissue Strat. It has a '99 neck, Fender '65 Pure Vintage pickups, and I put a tort guard on there when I bought the guitar at the end of '98. And you're right, it's the one on the right. I used that one on parts of the Tsar Wars album (including the title track), all of the Sandstorm album, and about half of Carpe Noctem and Tribal Fires.
DreadInBabylon wrote:
Not to dwell on it... but if at any time you will decide to do it, I'll happily volunteer to handle the re-mix with the video in sync, and promise it'll be done perfectly. The ambient mic will have it's natural place too.
Wow, that's a REALLY nice offer! Thank you!
Other than the King himself, those are some of the purest examples of surf guitar on the whole internet, and now also the best as learning tools. The world will eventually catch up...
Damn! Thanks again, that's high praise indeed! Maybe at some point in the future I should get it together a bit better....
Absolutely! I can see how too much fussing can be a bringdown.
Yep!
I'm just excited, don't get me wrong.
Believe me, I get it and I take it as a big compliment!
You seem to do that other classic band, 'Madeira', and your covers are fabulous!
Now THAT'S some hard stuff to play! DD ain't nothing compared to it! 
That's true huh... right, I didn't consider that . Obviously the equipment must have had major contribution to his recorded sound. While we're on the subject, do you or anyone anyone have an idea what mics were used in DD's classics? Probably what the studios at the time had anyway, but I have no idea how to even start researching it.
I don't have any idea, but somebody like Deke Dickerson probably would have a VERY good idea.
I want to hear stories of exploding diaphragms, engineers running for their lives... something.
You know, if you compare Dick's Capitol debut album King of the Surf Guitar to the follow-up, Checkered Flag, I always thought his tone was much wilder and more powerful on King... It seemed to my ears like they had him turn down for the recording of the second album, so his playing has much less power. Even The Wedge, his tone is pretty smooth, without much edge. It works well on that particular song, but in general I don't think his tone is so good on that one. I wouldn't be surprised if the recording engineers started complaining! And then of course, Dick has often said in later interviews that he would not record again until they can record him the way he really sounds, which he says was achieved on his '90s albums. So, yeah, there's a story there....
— 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: Jan 19, 2017 21:36:39
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Badger
Joined: Nov 16, 2013
Posts: 4536
Wisconsin
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Posted on Jan 19 2017 09:49 PM
Thanks Ivan; Shoreline, got it. I have a tort guard on my AV65 & am still mulling over what color for the guitar (since it was kind of a screw-up at Fender as to finishing but I wasn't willing to let them swap the body itself out). That combo is really cool the more I look at it.
Anyway, thanks again for all these; it's work I know but I know you do it for the love of the music. And probably a nice break from grading, eh?
— 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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websurfer
Joined: May 14, 2007
Posts: 1746
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Posted on Jan 19 2017 10:33 PM
I have to be careful here with what I think I heard (or perhaps read here) but I recall that it was a something of a battle between DD and the engineers always trying to get Dick to turn down. I don't know if it was Surfer's Choice, or later albums.
This points to another thing we tend to take for granted today...volume. Most had probably never heard anything like the sound of those cranked Showmans.
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Pablomago
Joined: Mar 23, 2017
Posts: 85
Fort Collins, CO/Moonstone Beach, CA
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Posted on May 05 2017 08:46 PM
Good job! I confess that I haven't listed to a lot of Mr. Dale. I just have the King of the Surf Guitar LP. I'm afraid that it'll make me want to burn my Strat or something. I'll work my way up there. Your version makes me want to practice more, which is another of my reactions to great playing. Keep 'em coming.
— All opinions expressed by this poster are well thought out and based on actual experience and/or scientific experimentation, except for those which are knee-jerk reactions or good sounding fantasies.
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IvanP
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 10323
southern Michigan
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Posted on May 06 2017 12:46 PM
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JohnBBreaker
Joined: Dec 18, 2017
Posts: 5
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Posted on Dec 24 2017 06:12 PM
Howdy from New York City, friends! My band, the B Breakers, closed our first record, 'In The Studio With... the Bakersfield Breakers', with a cover of "The Wedge". I'm attaching a YouTube link. We hope you like it and please feel free to visit our website, BakersfieldBreakers.com!
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SixStringSurfer
Joined: Sep 23, 2014
Posts: 1355
Memphis, TN
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Posted on Dec 25 2017 10:20 PM
Sounds good man!
— MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale. New videos uploaded
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JakeG
Joined: Feb 08, 2018
Posts: 32
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Posted on Feb 12 2018 09:52 PM
.
— I'm Jake G and I approve this message
Last edited: Jun 02, 2019 17:43:11
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