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Last edited: Feb 02, 2024 09:16:48

I tend to like clean sounds, so I rarely use overdrives. I would agree with Reverbenator that some Delay can add a lot to a Surf rig. I use a Boss DM-2W and have found that some interesting drip effects can be achieved by combining reverb and delay.

I’ve experimented with Chorus and Phase Shifting, but I found that these didn’t really contribute to a good Surf sound. The original Surf players, in the early ‘60s, tended to use reverb, and a clean amp. Later on, Fuzz was used in some recordings, but it was far from ubiquitous.

My Surf pedalboard has a Boss, DM-2W, a Source Audio True Spring, and a Surfy Industries Blossom Point. That rig, and any decent clean amp, works for me.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

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

I’m racking my brain here, and if I’m not mistaken, I think that Dave Wronski (Slacktone) occasionally uses a bit of stereo chorus. I believe that he is using it on the intro of The Bells Of St. Kahuna. He may have also used a little on some of the other tracks on the “Into The Blue Sparkle” CD.

Then again, I could be wrong.

-Cheers, Clark-

-Less Paul, more Reverb-

I use booster/oberdrive, fuzz, delay, tremolo, reverb and Blossom Point at the end.

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin

All depends on how old school you want to be (which has been covered) vs. whether you want to play some of the other instrumental stuff that many are into: add overdrive and vibrato for some Link Wray tunes, fuzz for spaghetti western and Davie Allan and the Arrows, delay for some rockabilly sounds.

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Last edited: Feb 02, 2024 09:16:39

Tqi wrote:

BoneDigger wrote:

nothing is set in stone

Of course not. As SOMEONE likes to constantly bring up whenever someone says that a Surfy Bear is the best effect anyone can buy for surf music - there are a lot of different things that can be called Surf, with some pretty varied styles. Personally one of my favourite "surf" bands is The Good The Bad, and whether they are surf at all is probably a topic that's still contentious with some people. But on one of their tracks they're playing Princeton PS-200 solid state amps, only the "bass" has reverb and the lead (a Gibson-scale Mustang with Jaguar pickups) has a fuzz. So, I think that sets the bar.

or do you "need" an analog delay?

Of course not. I have a bugbear about digital stuff but it's just that - it's a bugbear. Most of the time (especially if you only have one digital effect in your chain) a digital pedal is superior to an analog one. And the flashback can emulate several types of analog and "analog"* delay, so no-one who doesn't look at your board will ever know.

Is the Blues Driver considered okay for overdrive in this context?

Technically (JHS has a fun video on this) it's not an overdrive at all, it's a distortion. ;)

But look -

nothing is set in stone. So, add what sounds good to me and run with it?

You already said it. If you can get a sound that you like and is good, then it's considered okay. If you don't like the sound you're getting with it then it's not considered okay. Side note, I'm using a bad monkey. Please feel free to judge me at your leisure.

* Most "Analog" delay pedals are discrete-time. This is not the same as digital, but nor is it the same as analog. Digital sampling encodes a signal in two axes - time is encoded, as a "sample Rate", and amplitude is encoded, as "bit depth". A true analog delay like a vintage tape-loop echo doesn't encode either of these things. What are called "analog" pedals these days don't encode amplitude, but they do encode time, and so have a sample rate. However, in their case sample rate is a function of delay time (which is part of why longer delay times on an "analog" pedal have more noise) - while for digital pedals it's uniform. This is my version of people getting annoyed at hearing the word "Expresso".

Great post.

I own several delays, including two Boss DM-2W pedals which, allegedly, utilize bucket brigade technology. They have a nice sound, and I am very pleased with them. I also have a Boss Digital Delay, which also sounds great. If that wasn’t enough, I have an Earthquaker Devices Dispatch Master which combines reverb and digital delay, and it sounds great. If it sounds good, it is good.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

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

The JHS 3 series delay is fun. I gig with it regularly. Sturdy but cheap. I bet the tremolo is good too. Save the big bucks for reverb!

Kitten and The Tonics

https://kittenandthetonics.com/

I think I will also chime in with some pedals I have used for surf during the last 15 years. The top one in every category is that I use now.

Reverb:
Surfybear
Wampler Faux Reverb
EHX Oceans 11
Catalinbread Topanga
Zoom MS-70 cdr

Tremolo:
Surfy Industries Surfytrem
Strymon Flynt
Marshall Vibratrem
TC Electronics Pipeline
Voodoo Lab tremolo

Delay:
Crazy Tube Circuits Time
Strymon el capistan
Way Huge Aqua puss
MXR Carbon Copy
Dunlop echoplex

Booster/Overdrive:
One Control Sonic Blue Twanger
Xotic AC plus
Xotic EP booster
Fulltone OCD
Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive

Fuzz:
T68 Morricone Fuzz
Big foot FX Spaghetti Western Fuzz
Danelectro Cool Cat fuzz

Pedal that makes all of these surf:
Surfy Industries Blossom Point

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin