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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Permalink NAD: The Surfy Stanford

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When I moved to Boise I thought I might be SOL when it came to “music stuff”, especially since I was coming from Nashville. After a while, though, I discovered some really talented people doing great work right here in my back yard; specifically, Chris of Idaho Flyer Musical Instruments. After having some work done on my Gomez Surfer, we started scheming over a couple of new mods to his Stanford Reverb, a suped-up take on the Princeton. I was after something small for recording and for gigs where the Surfer just isn’t viable (I’m looking at you 2nd floor venues with no elevator or load-in parking). This led to the Surfy Stanford.

Aside from the 15” JBL and its hot rodded 23 watts, it has a “Surfy Bear” built into the input 2 side BEFORE the preamp! I’ve now had a few hours of playing time through it and this little guy shines. Going through input 2, this thing really surfs without the need for a tank, which is handy for home, back up, and grab and go type situations. As expected it will need to be mic’d in a full band setting, though at our last rehearsal it did quite well on its own with some of the quieter songs.

Ok... finally to the pics. Keep in mind this is still technically a prototype and is still due to get a couple of tweaks to the cosmetics.

image

image
Separate foot-switch inputs for Trem and Reverb (for a Drip Switch, of course). Also, the tone, mix, and dwell controls are hidden on the back.

image
The Surfy Bear module tucked into the chassis

I still plan to gig with a tank going into input 1, but it’s nice to know I have a legit back up that’s better than any digital pedal I could carry. I’m not affiliated with Idaho Flyer but I wanted to recognize a great builder who’s receptive to crazy ideas and is easy to work with!

Idaho Flyer Musical Instruments

-John

The Seatopians 2017-
The Seatopians on bandcamp

Amazing!

Very cool!

Wow! Looks awesome!

Bob

Thanks guys! I’m really looking forward to gigging it at the end of the month!

I forgot to mention the bias trem sounds really great! The speed and intensity both have a nice range to them.

-John

The Seatopians 2017-
The Seatopians on bandcamp

That's an inspired idea. The Surfy board tucks in there quite nicely. Who'd of ever thunk that you could get a full blown tank sound into a small combo? Small builders are just a pleasure to work with.

Last edited: Mar 09, 2019 22:12:12

Impressive build! Great amp idea!

The Kahuna Kings

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kahuna-Kings/459752090818447

https://thekahunakings.bandcamp.com/releases

I like that. Ballpark estimate on the price?

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.

That’s awesome! There’s nothing like a good grab and go surf amp. I often wish I had a more compact solution than dragging my amp, cab, Surfy Bear, and pedalboard to gigs.

Guitarist for Wolfhand and The Donner Beach Party.

Pablomago wrote:

I like that. Ballpark estimate on the price?

I think it would probably be in the $1700-$1800 range. This one was a bit of a proof of concept and Chris used some parts I already had on hand (JBL & Surfy Bear Kit).

-John

The Seatopians 2017-
The Seatopians on bandcamp

Great concept. I was thinking of doing something similar to an old champ circuit I have lying around

http://thewaterboarders.bandcamp.com/

Very interesting. I love the idea of a small amp with a larger speaker.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

As a long time Princeton and Princeton Reverb lover I really dig this build.
The built in Surfy Bear is brilliant!

Cheers,
Jeff

http://www.facebook.com/CrazyAcesMusic
http://www.youtube.com/user/crazyacesrock
http://www.reverbnation.com/crazyacesmusic

Thanks guys! I’m on vacation right now but I’ll be gigging it for the first time this Saturday. I’ll let everyone know how it goes and try to get some video or sound samples up soon.

-John

The Seatopians 2017-
The Seatopians on bandcamp

Hey everyone, I just realized I never posted an update on the amp’s performance. So at almost exactly a year later what’s the verdict? Well, in the past twelve months I’ve recorded with it, toured with it, and played it multiple times a week and I’m still extremely happy with the setup.

I do gig with other amps too but this one holds its own very well. On our tour last summer I used it in leu of my Gomez Surfer on one or two occasions and it performed flawlessly. It’s also one of the two guitar amps used on our debut album “Underwater Ally” (shameless plug) from last year. For live and recording I still use an outboard and plug into input 1, but it’s nice to know if the tank dies I have a great sounding backup onboard and ready to go. However, where it has really shined over the last year is as a practice amp at home or for quiet practices with the band. It’s nice to be able to plug in one cable and go!

Here’s a shot of the recording setup. The Stanford on the left and my VVRI on the right...

image

-John

The Seatopians 2017-
The Seatopians on bandcamp

Last edited: Mar 21, 2020 08:39:07

Would love to hear some sound clips. With the on board Surfy Bear I would be tempted to leave the outboard tank home....but it's always good to have a back up.

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