In response to Surfinskeletor, my opinion is to measure the lengths of wire needed (and allow some extra for wiggle-room, then take the components out before doing the soldering. Soldering components mounted in a pickguard is easier because it's a flat surface, but with a Surfybear enclosure, you are dealing with 3 dimensions for some parts and the shape of the enclosure can make it hard to reach some solder points.

I’m happy with how it turned out. Only issues I ran into was getting ground and hot wires mixed up on the input/output. But this could be because I’ve never mastered the little solder vacuum pump. I struggled with it but eventually I was able to switch the wires around. In hind site I should have just changed them at the jack. After all that the ground wire on the output jack was a tad short so I had to bend the tab. The other issue I had was how to wire the power socket wasn’t totally clear to me but I found an electronics page with some good pictures. Anyway it sounds great and is actually pretty quiet. I might have been put off by the controls if not for the fact that I had a Fender RI tank many years ago and remember that the knobs worked different than we expect nowadays. Thanks for this wonderful resource. Btw, I used a drill press on the toolbox not that 20 dollar Black and Decker drill you see behind it, that was just for making the screwing easy.

Last edited: Apr 03, 2019 08:16:58

Oh thanks Edwardsand, I'm glad there aren't any glaring issues with it. I need to find the Surfy Bear sticker to give credit where it's due.

hi everybody!
Long time reader first time writer here, from the Netherlands. Love the forum!
I am building a surfy bear and trem in one, going to place it in an old breadbin. Hopefully I can show some pictures when its ready, but I've run into some problems, maybe someone can help me on my way..

I've wired everything up, with the output of the reverb into the input of the tremolo. And.. the reverb doesnt work.

Here's what I know:
- when I finished the reverb part I tested it and it worked perfect
- now with both together the tremolo works perfect
- only the reverb doesnt work (anymore); turning up the dwell and mixer gives me a little bit of overdriven tone (coming from straight clean). The weird thing is I didnt change anything to the reverb part by adding the tremolo, only wired the power for the tremolo to the reverb 12v light
- when I tap the MOD spring thing, it does give a very clear SPLOESH like it should.

what am I missing.. i feel like its something tiny and stupid...?

yes! exactly that, crappy solder on the wire out to the tank. I knew it was something tiny and stupid. Thanks very much, works great now!!

billboneys wrote:

Hey Guys this is my first post and I'm not sure I am in the right place. I got here from the SurfyBear site. I just finished my SurfyBear reverb build and when I turn it on I hear sound but it pulses on and off. I do not have it mounted to anything yet but I'm not leaving it on long enough to get hot. I have a power supply I got off ebay but it is the same one SurfyBear sells on the site. I am using the MOD tank they recommend as well. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Greetings billboneys, and welcome to the forum, nice to meet ya. While most of the regulars who help with troubleshooting are waiting to jump in, lets go with a couple of questions to help get started. I'm not one of those regulars, but did succesfully put together a Surfy Bear from the kit with no issues right out of the box, so these things come to mind:

• Have you connected the power supply to a voltmeter or anything else to isolate the source of the pulsing to the power supply itself?
• Are the pulses regular or irregular, and what is the timing of them (once per second, shorter, longer)?
• Is the pulsing present right away when you switch on, or start after a certain amount of time?
• Is the pulsing the same with the mix all the way off (to make sure it's not coming through the reverb pan or reverb driver circuitry)?

Member in good standing, Mentone Beach Syncopation Reverberation Association

SHADOWNIGHT5150 wrote:

Does anyone sell custom surfybear enclosures?

Lorenzo "Surfer Joe" have a few high quality enclosures for sale.

The more springs, the denser, more complex and richer the reverberation effect.
Each of those two or three springs have slightly different lengths and thus different tension, which is what causes the extra 'dimension' with more springs.
Three spring pans seems to have higher output (louder reverb for the same amount of drive)
Both short and long pans can be found with either two or three springs.
The longer the spring(s) the more 'pingy'/drippy you can make it sound (if you want to).

Last edited: Apr 09, 2019 17:21:46

cool deal helps with my decision. only other question would be either a gibbs or a Revisit?

Reatavlos_88 wrote:

Hello!

I have an issue with my Surfy Bear. It could also be because of the amp I'm using.
The Surfy Bear sound gets very ice-picky and harsh on some many higher notes, even more so when I'm using my Harley Benton American Truetone pedal (it's an amp simulator) even if I have the drive on the pedal very low.
Now, the amp is an ultralinjear Super Reverb with mastervolume and the only way I can make it sound good together with the Surfy Bear, even without the pedal, is by cutting the treble or not having the bright switch engaged. I can't seem to get a perfect sound and I'm starting to think it's either the amp or the Reverb. I'm thinking about exchanging the amp for another, but the only ones I can get are the Pro Jr och Blues Junior, I think...

Have you considered a c10 cap mod? See the FAQ at Surfy Industries webpage.