Hi you lot. I love Pollos Ewa on the Beach. Its a lovely tone, sort of Hank Marvin but with an edge. Does that sound right? So, I have a strat, a Princeton, a magic stomp with Charlie Halls echoes programmed on it, a boss FRV 1, a boss blues driver and a ds 1 but I cant get close. What the feck am I doing wrong? I learnt the tune from his vid but my tone is just shite. Any ideas?
Cheers
Nigel
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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Surf Musician »
Ewa. how to get the tone
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Joined: Jan 16, 2010 Posts: 214 Somerset, England |
Posted on Jun 25 2011 02:14 PM
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Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 12159 Seattle 
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Posted on Jun 25 2011 04:55 PM
It is all in the vibrato arm and being Ferenc. |
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Joined: Jan 16, 2010 Posts: 214 Somerset, England |
Posted on Jun 26 2011 01:06 AM
Well, I cant be Ferenc (unless Boss bring out a Ferenc Pedal !) but I do have a vibrato arm. I find there is a fair bit of travel with the arm before it actually engages and does anything. I dont think thats right. I guess my problem is getting enough growl into the tone which you can hear clearly when he plays chordy bits but also having that lovely soft tone when he plays single note melodies. It almost sounds like 2 different guitars. Hes not stamping on a pedal for different passages is he? |
Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 5119 San Francisco 
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Posted on Jun 26 2011 08:24 AM
Strat-> Echopark-> tank -> Vibroverb The Viboverb's volume was at 6 or more, so there is a lot of compression the more I dig in. This gives me a cleaner sound when I play lightly and "growl" when I need it. If you don't get immediate response from the whammy bar on you Strat, you should get it adjusted, that's crucial. Buy Endless Drummer @ Bandcamp |
Joined: Feb 25, 2006 Posts: 19345 Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Jun 26 2011 10:08 AM
I have one important change to the posted forumula: Ferenc -> Strat-> Echopark-> tank -> Vibroverb
Site dude - S3 Agent #202 "It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea |
Joined: Sep 07, 2006 Posts: 1506 Redlands, CA
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Posted on Jun 26 2011 10:42 AM
oh, vibroverb ! the creme d'la creme! not discounting Ferenc of course... Last edited: Jun 26, 2011 10:42:54 |
Joined: Mar 29, 2010 Posts: 324 Spain 
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Posted on Jun 26 2011 11:29 AM
What a great song and great performance. I feel so moved everytime I listen to it... A true modern classic https://lospipelines.es/ |
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Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 12159 Seattle
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Posted on Jun 26 2011 11:46 AM
Joelman wrote:
Unless Ference got a vintage one, his Vibroverb is just the 1993 Reissue. I would never sell that amp short though, that reissue is probably my favorite amp Fender has ever made. |
Joined: Apr 24, 2011 Posts: 1087 Surf City, NC
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Posted on Jun 26 2011 01:54 PM
I'm currently using a Fender RI VV as my main gigging amp. The only mod is Weber speakers. Great amp that produces an awesome tone at a relatively low volume. It has a great onboard reverb unit as well. I use a Boss FRV-1 for a few songs but most of the time I just go with the onboard reverb. —Last edited: Jun 26, 2011 13:56:39 |
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Joined: Jan 16, 2010 Posts: 214 Somerset, England |
Posted on Jun 26 2011 02:34 PM
Thanks for all the replies everyone. Ive sat down and twiddled the buttons and have a better tone now. I guess im limited as I cant really turn everything up here at home. Ive only just found part 2 of the lesson so thanks for that Pollo. So the slide sound is simply a pre dip on the bar before hitting the string ala Hank Marvin, nice. Looking forward to part3 of the lesson. |
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Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 5119 San Francisco
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Posted on Jun 27 2011 07:30 AM
Replying to a couple things here-- yes, I thing the Vibroverb is a very special amp, mine is '90 or '91. Ryan Ruiz also uses one, though I'd be curious to know if he used it at all recording his last album. Paul the Pyronaut also uses one, his was formerly owned by Paul Johnson and is ver sweet. It's a versatile recording amp, though it doesn't have the power to please the true surf tone fans. My VV has Celestions in it, i put them in as an emergncy replacement, and they stuck around. Personally, I like the compression you get when you turn it up, it sucks out a lot of the ice-pick. Buy Endless Drummer @ Bandcamp |
Joined: Apr 12, 2007 Posts: 428 South Florida |
Posted on Jun 27 2011 08:39 AM
Nothing to add toneily, but, definitly one of my all time favorites. — |
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Joined: Oct 16, 2008 Posts: 553 Madison, WI 
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Posted on Jun 27 2011 10:16 AM
I've got no tone answer either (and it would be moot since Ference posted already), but I would like to say that the melody is nice enough that I could see viable versions of it being played with different varieties of tone. For example, in my head right now it's playing on a slack key... |
Joined: Jun 21, 2007 Posts: 3909 San Diego, CA
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Posted on Jun 27 2011 10:26 AM
PolloGuitar wrote:
Ferenc, my biggest disappointment with our latest recording is that I wasn't able to use my Vibroverb. For some reason it was sounding very harsh and we chose to just go with the Showman. However, I had fully intended to record most of the album with my vibroverb. I think that the actual problem was that I had a bad tube in my tank and it wasn't being exposed as much through the Showman for whatever reason. It was used to record the majority of the Surf Report CDs though. I'll chime in with my love of all things Vibroverb reissue. I rarely play a show with anything else these days. There is just no need. The only show I haven't played the VV this year was a recent show at the San Diego County Fair, which was outside. We play a lot of small clubs and playing an amp with higher wattage in a trio is just asking to be told to turn down, hence ruining your sound. With the right speaker match, the VV is loud and has enough clean headroom for me. I think the perfect amp for me is either the VV or a mid 60s Super Reverb. That said, Ewa would have sounded great on a Jackson Randy Rhodes through a Marshall Plexi Ryan Last edited: Jun 27, 2011 10:30:32 |
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Joined: Jan 16, 2010 Posts: 214 Somerset, England |
Posted on Jun 28 2011 02:09 AM
I think technically you are way over my head here but i appreciate it all the same. Ferenc, when you hit that low open E string ( at the point where the caption in the vid says Twang) there is a huge resonance, a sort of wobbly resonant d a a a a a a a ng? whereas my strat simply goes dang. Does that make sense. Is this a lack of bass response with my strat or maybe the simple eq,treble and bass not set right on the princeton? Was also thinking of going from 10s to 11s on the strat.Maybe my strat just isnt capable of producing such a tone irrespective of set up and gear etc. |
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Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 5119 San Francisco
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Posted on Jun 28 2011 06:49 AM
Nigel, Ryan, maybe we can have a VV covergence at the upcoming Ss/pdm/pyro show. Compare serial numbers... Ferenc —Buy Endless Drummer @ Bandcamp |
Joined: Sep 09, 2008 Posts: 3158 Guildford England 
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Posted on Jun 28 2011 07:52 AM
Nigel, my strat lacks some bottom end as well. Although i can get it with new strings, not that i record very much but there is this wonderful tone period just before the new strings go dull. I suspect this period is perfect for recording - what you're hearing on cd but not getting on your own equipment. |
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Joined: Jun 21, 2007 Posts: 3909 San Diego, CA
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Posted on Jun 28 2011 09:35 AM
PolloGuitar wrote:
Wall of Vibroverbs!! —Ryan |
Joined: May 09, 2008 Posts: 1402 Isle of Kent, MD
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Posted on Jun 28 2011 09:45 AM
I second the heavier strings. I use flatwound 52-12's and have no problem getting plenty of low end on my Strat. But, I am thinking of moving to 11's, because I find that I'm missing too much mid/twang, that is difficult to dial in. —Surf.The most dangerous of genres... Surfcat MARCH OF THE DEAD SURFERS! (2024) - Agent Octopus BANDCAMP - Agent Octopus |
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Joined: Jan 16, 2010 Posts: 214 Somerset, England |
Posted on Jun 28 2011 11:24 AM
Thanks again guys. I will get my local shop to do a set up with 11s soon as I have time. Its that twang im after. Is there any particular brand thats twangier than the others? I generally use D'Addario XLs, dont ask me why. I take the point about strings being at their best at a certain stage in their lifecycle. I will pat myself on the back for not asking about the twangiest pickup. What controversy that seems to cause! |
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