I saw Surfer Joe in Grand Rapids last Friday. I didn't see any effects besides a Surfy Bear Classic 2.0.

I had Lorenzo sign my Surfy Bear, and he saw the settings all dialed into 6/6/6 and he declared that's BS! He said to try more like 7/3/7, and it really does sound much clearer and drippier!

AgentClaret wrote:

I saw Surfer Joe in Grand Rapids last Friday. I didn't see any effects besides a Surfy Bear Classic 2.0.

I had Lorenzo sign my Surfy Bear, and he saw the settings all dialed into 6/6/6 and he declared that's BS! He said to try more like 7/3/7, and it really does sound much clearer and drippier!

very cool and happy you enjoyed the show at Tip Top! Great venue that brings surf bands in regularly. We’ll be back there with The Moonrays (local 1st wave band, guitarist has recorded since the sixties with an original Jazzmaster and Showman from the era) on April 12! Come hear more surf!

I’m looking forward to hearing the SurfyMan live. Pretty great product. Really a one and done kind of thing.. add reverb!

Kitten and The Tonics

https://kittenandthetonics.com/

Last edited: Mar 28, 2025 08:08:11

synchro wrote:

archimedes wrote:

I’m still as in love with my SurfyMan as I was when I first got it and put it through its paces. I was able to go see Surfer Joe last night in Nashville at The Basement, grab a copy of the Blonde edition of the first volume of his greatest hits, and get my SurfyMan signed by Lorenzo. Even had some time to talk gear for a bit. The whole band sounded incredible and played so beautifully. Being in Tennessee, I haven’t been able to see what I might call a “genuine” surf show so this was a real special time for me. Lorenzo was playing his SurfyMan into his Quilter 202 and it was easily one of the finest live guitar sounds I’ve ever heard. I’m looking forward to playing mine more at appropriate loud volumes in the near future.

What all was he using for effects. I assume a Surfy Bear; but was there anything else.

Yeah, as AgentClaret said, he only had his SurfyBear Classic and SurfyMan running into his Quilter and then to his small Fender 1x15 cab with the Emminence 15” speaker, not the current one made for Quilter that they load into the 15” blockdock. Sounded incredible.

Last edited: Mar 28, 2025 12:06:48

Not that I have to try and sell you on it, Synchro, but I really think you are going to love the Surfyman. You might need to replace one of your 3 Blossom Points with one.
I sold my Blossom Point, as well as a few other pedals, to fund my SurfyMan purchase, but only because that’s really ideally what I wanted out of the blossom point anyway; a full on Showman preamp in pedal form. If I had more than one board I would likely buy another Blossom Point to put on it.

First day with the Surfyman. This pedal looks awesome, a true jewel to look at on the pedalboard. This pedal sounds amazing as well. My Jazzmaster into a SurfyBear Metal and the Surfyman. I had a go on the normal channel of my beloved Deluxe Reverb and it shines on very nicely. A little less on the Vibrato channel. Then I tried Surfer Joe's recommendation: Line output into the return input of the FX Loop on a Fender Rumble Bass 500 (with two 10 Eminence speakers). Loud as hell, punchy, crystal clear, nice compression, instant sparkle ! The Tremolo is just fantastic. All in all, a wonderful tool. One drawback however: the tremolo foot switch sometimes gets weird and I can't disengage the effect. I have to switch off the unit for getting back to normal. I'll maybe have two send it back as it doesn't look like a normal or reliable behavior. But, hey, warranty is here to be used. Congratulations at Surfy Industries. Such a lovely piece of work once again.

Thanks a lot Ted, I bought it at Thomann (EU located) so there will be no problem at all to send it back and get an another one, free of charge. The Tremolo footswicht is kind of erratic, it works properly most of the time. But when it gets "stuck", no other way to power off the unit for having it back to normal use. Shit happens. Brilliant preamp !

Last edited: Apr 03, 2025 14:22:22

Jerome wrote:

First day with the Surfyman. This pedal looks awesome, a true jewel to look at on the pedalboard. This pedal sounds amazing as well. My Jazzmaster into a SurfyBear Metal and the Surfyman. I had a go on the normal channel of my beloved Deluxe Reverb and it shines on very nicely. A little less on the Vibrato channel. Then I tried Surfer Joe's recommendation: Line output into the return input of the FX Loop on a Fender Rumble Bass 500 (with two 10 Eminence speakers). Loud as hell, punchy, crystal clear, nice compression, instant sparkle ! The Tremolo is just fantastic. All in all, a wonderful tool. One drawback however: the tremolo foot switch sometimes gets weird and I can't disengage the effect. I have to switch off the unit for getting back to normal. I'll maybe have two send it back as it doesn't look like a normal or reliable behavior. But, hey, warranty is here to be used. Congratulations at Surfy Industries. Such a lovely piece of work once again.

The Vibrato channel of a Deluxe Reverb has a high pass cap which allows some highs to bypass the volume control. Basically it’s like having the Bright switch of a Vibrolux or Twin switched on. The Normal channel of a Deluxe Reverb doesn’t have this cap. It makes sense that the Surfy Man would sound best without the Bright cap in the signal path.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

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

Last edited: Apr 03, 2025 16:44:22

Joelman wrote:

So I’ve read all the threads here. I’ve watched a lot of video demonstrations. I’m missing the reason for the Surfyman unit.
I just don’t get it.
The Surfyman is an amp emulator, why does it need an amp to flow through?
Shouldn’t it just plug directly into a speaker cab?
Why carry around an amp and an amp emulator too? Plus the speaker cab.
So someone please educate me.
I like the unit, it seems like something everyone should want to have.
but don’t really understand the why of it.
Will it sound bad with a 8” speaker compared to a full 15” speaker , or how about like crap plugged into a small desktop amp?
Not being cynical here. I just don’t understand.

I’ll offer a partial explanation. The Surfy Man builds upon the Blossom Point, which basically helps to make an amp sound more like a brown panel Showman. I’ve tested this myself; a black panel, AB 763 circuit Fender changes its character when there’s a Blossom Point at the end of the effects chain.

The Surfy Man builds upon this and allows some gain to be added, tremolo, and tone control. I don’t have one, and probably won’t for a while, as I’m sweating out a very major purchase and keeping my money shepherded tightly until that is past, but I see this as sort of an all in one solution. Couple this with good reverb, and you have most, if not all of a Surf player’s effects in one place. You can even overdrive it with the Volume and Master control, if you want to push those boundaries.

I don’t think it can make an 8” speaker sound like a 15” speaker, but it can definitely help a small amp to sound its best.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

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