weird_oh84 wrote:

Did the Astronauts Rhythm guitarist have his Reverb cranked to 10?

I’m having a hard time getting that sound….

Any input is greatly appreciated!

I just gave Baja a quick listen to refresh my memory and he definitely has that reverb up a bit. I would experiment, and concentrate on two things: try various pick thicknesses, try various positions, near the bridge.

I realize that we’re not talking about drip in this case, but when I have experimented with ways to enhance drip, I found three factors that had a lot of influence: pick thickness, picking position, and string damping. I use a 4mm V-Pick for some playing, but it kills drip, so I use a medium-light Dunlop 486 Gel pick for Surf.

Take away the string damping, and the drip reduces dramatically, much like the sound of the rhythm track on Baja, so that leaves pick thickness and picking position. Thin picks tend to let the upper harmonics become more prominent, and reverb loves upper harmonics. It sounds to my ear like he’s picking pretty close to the bridge pickup, but not right up against the bridge.

I don’t know enough about the Astronauts to know which member played which part, but I suspect that the rhythm part was played on a Jazzmaster.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

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

Last edited: Nov 02, 2024 09:01:36

Some links in our archives:

https://surfguitar101.com/forums/topic/30304/

https://surfguitar101.com/forums/topic/8745/

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Another good thread on Baja: https://surfguitar101.com/forums/topic/18342/

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After reading those legacy threads, I came away with several impressions. I agree completely with the posit that sound is (mostly) in the hands. Obviously, a Gibson L-5 with a single P-90 pickup in the neck position will not sound identical to a Jaguar on the bridge pickup, but a player can vary the sound of any guitar by simply varying their technique.

A while back, someone asked what to do in order to prepare themselves to play Surf, and I replied that they should master 2 octave scales in all Major and minor keys, or at least words to that effect. While that is hardly a fun prospect, it is a great way to train both the hands, and the ears. Paying attention to technique teaches us how the instrument reacts do various physical inputs, and this is key to obtaining the sound we desire, whether in Surf, Country, Classic Rock, Jazz, or even classical.

A true, old-school, classical instructor will discipline a beginning student to spend time simply practicing with the right hand only; learning to strike the strings properly for a full sound. This seems like a tough route, but at the end of it, the student has mastered the most basic, and essential skill, required to play the guitar.

Our right hand has tremendous influence on the sound that our guitars produce. Add in the influence of pickups, amplifiers, and reverb tanks, and it only becomes more important. If you set a reverb tank with Mix, Dwell and Tone set at 6 each, and experiment with picking techniques, the response will vary greatly. Our sound originates at the intersection of the human playing the instrument, and the physical instrument itself.

Trying to exactly duplicate the sound we hear on a recording can be a difficult, if not impossible, task. Virtually every commercially released recording has been processed in the mixing and mastering stages. Studios were famed for their particular sound, and a major part of that sound was to be found in their respective echo chambers.

The details of the post-production processing of the Astronauts’ recordings are probably lost to the sands of time. Ultimately, most of this would have been determined by the producer, and the engineer. The artists may have had some say in matters, but in the final analysis, the person or entity paying the costs will probably have the final say in what is released.

I own quite a few effects pedals, which is probably typical for many players. I’ve tried all sorts of effects, and combinations of effects, but I always end up coming back to Reverb, Tremolo and possibly Delay. My most recent pedalboard has Reverb, Tremolo, Delay and a Blossom Point, and is 9” square.

Tone chasing is a staple subject on guitar forums, and some very strong opinions usually surface in these discussions. Attaining the sound can be elusive, but attaining a good sound is much easier. I will never capture the exact sound of The Astronauts, but I have created some surprisingly great reverb drip, using only the pedalbaoard I just described, and a clean amp, using a variety of guitars. In the final analysis, I sound like me, always have, and always will.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

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

Last edited: Nov 02, 2024 09:05:05

DannySnyder wrote:

The Kilaueas and Surfer Joe, 2 of the finest surf music bands of the modern era took a scientific approach to copying the Astronauts sound. They do an excellent job, but even they don't quite nail it, which for reasons Synchro lays out is probably an impossibility. It will be one of those mysteries for the ages, or at least as long as people listen to this music.

My theory is it's at least 50% the room sound and recording gear.

Literally everything contributes, but most of these contributions are minor. It’s the additive effect which governs what we hear. The acoustic nature of the room and the recording gear are heavy hitters.

When I lived in Minneapolis, playing a gig in the height of winter could be a real adventure. If you were on stage, 60 feet or so away from the door, as soon as someone entered the bar and allowed a quick blast of -25 degree air into the room, your guitar would react, not to mention the effect that blast of cold air has on a player or singer.

While I am hardly a tone chaser, I have had times when my guitar, and/or amp, just didn’t sound right to me, during a band practice. Was it my guitar, the amp, the room, or just my perceptions? I wouldn’t claim to know, but it has happened to me several times. I usually swapped through several guitars, but ended up living with the sound. It’s notable that no one else in the band criticized the sound, so it all may have been in my head. Either that, or no one else in the band was listening to me, anyhow.

I’ve gone to a number of concerts, over the years, and in most cases, the bands were not able to accurately duplicate their recorded sound in a live setting. The greatest exception was The Eagles (circa 1978) who came startlingly close to the sound of their albums, in spite of the fact that they were playing in a Major League Baseball stadium, and not Criteria studio, in Miami.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

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

Last edited: Nov 02, 2024 09:06:04

Judging from all these pictures, it looks to me like all three guitarists used tone ring cabs with 12" speakers - and I'm not even sure they were JBLs, I would think the dome would be more visible in these photos.

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It LOOKS like you can see metal domes peeking around a few legs in some of the pics, and it is a little tougher to tell on the earlier oxblood versions. With the exception of the 1X10 Tremolux cab and maybe Bassmans, I always thought that all (or at least most) Tone Ring cabs came with OEM JBL's (realizing that they were options on most of the other models). Then again, I could be wrong!

Last edited: Dec 17, 2023 19:30:22

On all the Astronauts photos I've seen, including these, any cabinet where I could actually see the speaker through the grill cloth, I saw a chrome dome indicative of a JBL. Virtually every original Showman I've seen from any era, brown to black to to silverface, had a JBL on a tone ring cab. I'm sure there are exceptions - with Fenders, exceptions were common. But that's what I mostly saw.

To the OP's question - on Baja, I'm not sure that there's much if any reverb on the rhythm guitar at all. Might be some, but I don't think it's dominant at all. I hear the distinctive tremolo that I know from a number of white/brown Bandmasters that I've had over the years. It's a full, rich sound characteristic of those clean amps with the closed-back cabs. Not ultra-trebly at all, I call it "The Rhythm Guitar Sound of Doom". Also got pretty close with a circa '61 or '62 white Tremolux I had years ago, that some idiot had painted black before I got it. It had a single 12" speaker. That's the one I NEVER should have traded off! I shoulda' just got some acetone, taken it out to the back yard, and had at it. But the Bandmasters I've had really had that sound. Neck pickup of a Strat or Jazzmaster for me. And BTW, that rhythm sound came out of those amps for me with or without JBLs. Some of those Bandmasters I had had either Jensens or Oxfords.

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I don't want to hijack the OP's thread, but there might be a simple answer.

What was the inspiration for the rhythm guitar playing the single 1/8th notes throughout the song? It's really effective, and like nothing else I've heard in other songs of the era that I can recall.

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In addition, what makes The Astronauts versions superior is not only the production but the drums are incredibly unique for a surf band as well.

Danny Snyder

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