Or, you could also take your $400 and spend it one something like this.

https://www.surfyindustries.com/surfybear

Paul
Atomic Mosquitos
Bug music for bug people is here!
Killers from Space

Big_Ryan wrote:

The surfy bear is a well established great option, but can you fit it on a pedalboard?

skeeter wrote:

Or, you could also take your $400 and spend it one something like this.

https://www.surfyindustries.com/surfybear

Exactly. If I wanted to lug one of those around, I'd just bring my tank. I love the tank, but I want to get in and out of a gig with as few trips as possible and the tank is going to increase the trip count.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

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

skeeter wrote:

Better yet, you can put your pedals on top of it and use it AS a pedalboard!

Big_Ryan wrote:

The surfy bear is a well established great option, but can you fit it on a pedalboard?

skeeter wrote:

Or, you could also take your $400 and spend it one something like this.

https://www.surfyindustries.com/surfybear

It does sort of look like one.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

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

josheboy wrote:

If you want cheap emulated reverb, go ahead and spend your money on a not so cheap gimmick pedal. It’s your money. It’s your tone.

If you want real spring reverb, there is no substitute for real springs. If you want a surf sound for a reasonable price, go buy a second hand tank or buy/build a Surfy Bear. That is all! Anything else IS NOT A SURF SOUND. Period.

And this whole “I don’t want to carry necessary gear to a gig” attitude is a joke. If you aren’t handicapped, carry what is required to make your tone sound the best! If you are handicapped, get a roadie!! You kill your tone with the convenience of a pedal. Terrible trade off!

Pedal as an emergency backup? Sure. Ok. I get that. But for anything else, it just isn’t surf.

Well you’ve certainly straightened me out and it’s my lucky day, because now I know who to ask what is and is not Surf. BTW, I do havd some physical infirmities as a result of working like a mule in my youth, you willing to pay for that roadie?

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

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

The Ventris doesn't sound great. The trails are just wrong. Software/digital reverb is beyond that pedal. So, it isn't even the best digital reverb. It is close to get the drip right but what happens after that isn't.

To whoever said it above, the Surfy Bear pedal does fit on a pedal board. Or use it as the pedal board...

josheboy wrote:

synchro wrote:

josheboy wrote:

If you want cheap emulated reverb, go ahead and spend your money on a not so cheap gimmick pedal. It’s your money. It’s your tone.

If you want real spring reverb, there is no substitute for real springs. If you want a surf sound for a reasonable price, go buy a second hand tank or buy/build a Surfy Bear. That is all! Anything else IS NOT A SURF SOUND. Period.

And this whole “I don’t want to carry necessary gear to a gig” attitude is a joke. If you aren’t handicapped, carry what is required to make your tone sound the best! If you are handicapped, get a roadie!! You kill your tone with the convenience of a pedal. Terrible trade off!

Pedal as an emergency backup? Sure. Ok. I get that. But for anything else, it just isn’t surf.

Well you’ve certainly straightened me out and it’s my lucky day, because now I know who to ask what is and is not Surf. BTW, I do havd some physical infirmities as a result of working like a mule in my youth, you willing to pay for that roadie?

Friends/fans/bandmates/girlfriends make good roadies in a pinch. And they’re usually free, or cheap (buy ‘em a beer!).

Your amp is way heavier than a tank. Your guitar is nearly as heavy as a tank. You still have to bring those, right? Heck most pedal boards are way heavier than a tank. So the “it’s too heavy” excuse is bunk.

Surfy Bear solves all of the size/weight/cost “problems” that so many people have used for excuses to not buy a tank. Now the lame excuse is “it doesn’t fit on my pedal board”??? Give me a break!

If you’re a musician who loves that surf sound and wants to re-create it with any authenticity, then you need real analog reverb springs. That’s all.

Having reroofed my house a few months ago and carrying the shingles up the ladder on my shoulder, I can assure you that the weight of my tank is not the issue. I’ve gone to gigs with enough amps, guitars, etc. to fill the back of my pickup and gotten some great sounds for my bother, but I’ve also placed a 5 watt tube amp in front of a mic’ at a large venue and it sounded massive from out front.

For me, it’s about the bother and trouble. There was a time when playing music was my job, my source of income, but I left that business behind with no regrets. When I play these days, it’s becsuse I enjoy playing for an audience and it’s a counter-stress to my job. I want to maximum enjoyment to labor ratio when I play. Most of the time it’s a small amp, a simple pedalboard and one guitar. No one in the audience has complained.

I will agree that only a tank sounds exactly like a tank, but I’ve heard some very good sounds without a tank. Los Straitjackets use DRRIs and the onboard reverb with or without trem, that’s it. Their sound is great.

In the first wave of Surf, there were some songs with lots of reverb and drip, but that wasn’t the only sound out there. Listen to Dick Dale’s Summer Surf; that sound was very popular back in the day. Jim Messina’s album is a great example, there’s some wonderful examples of drip, but there are plenty of tunes where drip is not employed.

I certainly don’t criticize good drip when I hear it, but a lot of modern Surf bands don’t seem to have much variety in their sound. If Dick Dale could use sounds as mellow as Summer Surf, so can I. Another great track by Dick Dale is The Star, which uses reverb quite effectively, but it’s not the classic drip sound.

I recently bought a Stanley FX Blue Nebula, which is geared towards the Hank Marvin sound, but has great tremolo, which makes for some excellent sounds. The reverbs contained are pretty decent and, while they don’t offer the levels of drip an external tank offers, rhere are some very decent sounds to be had. Then I can flip a switch and have my Chet Atkins slapback, which is an important sound for my needs.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

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

Bob_Kennedy wrote:

Ah, the age old debate, once again. Same horse, different rider. Here's the bottom line; do you think the audience cares or even notices? I don't. Buy what you like, it's your money.

Good point!

In forty years of playing gigs, I’ve had precisely one complaint about my sound, and that was playing a Bass VI through a 300 watt amp (dimed) and it wasn’t loud enough to overcome the ambient noise of a car show.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

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

SanchoPansen wrote:

It doesn't matter if the audience won't notice any difference.

Correct.

Quality is its own reward.

Which Drip is which?

http://dinosaurghost.bandcamp.com/
http://sixtycyclehum.podbean.com

Number one is the tank.

Last edited: Feb 27, 2018 18:29:17