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Okay, my new axe finally arrived. After a week of playing, I have to
say, it is the best surf guitar I've ever heard. The Surfmaster was
designed and built by Carl Petteys, CP Custom Guitars. The body is
sort of a cross between a Strat and a Jaguar, although more unique
and it has this neat notched lower bout that holds the strap nice,
tight and stable. The body contour is very comfortable and the axe
hugs in tight. The only thing is, it also puts the neck a little
farther away from the body, which takes a little getting used
to...when you reach for the high notes, tho, you don't have to scrunch
up to reach the upper frets.
Carl used premier birdseye maple for the 22-fret neck and abalone
inlays on the full-moon fret markers. The frets seem large, although
I don't know the guage. The neck is a little chunky, it feels a lot
like a Jaguar neck, but the scale is longer, like a Strat. Carl put
the truss rod adjustment at the head, where it should be. It's a
bolt-on, and he eliminated the neck plate to make reaching the upper
frets a little less obstructed.
The Surfmaster uses Kent Armstrong lipstick-style pickups these are
much hotter than the MIA or MIJ Jaguar or Jazzmaster pups, and produce
a lot of volume. The overall tone is chimey, like a vintage Strat, but
has some awesome resonance and high harmonics that give it a singing
tone. This is good, as it cuts through my Fender reverb box, even when
I turn the mix/dwell knobs past "6". Carl kept the electronics simple
a three-position selector switch, a tone knob and volume knob, all
in chrome like many Teles. Still, the tones are very distinct, with a
nice clean and trebly tone when the bridge is selected, and a more
balanced, even tone when the two pickups are used in unison. 60-cycle
hum is a problem, but cancels well once you touch the strings.
Carl also put a Strat-style trem, which is good for those who like
them. It's a 4-hole Strat-style trem, don't know who made it. The
guitar has Grover tuners, and they stay in tune. He made one model
with a Bigsby, too, but I passed on it 'cause I didn't like the color
and it had P-90 style pickups. I am glad I opted for the Kent
Armstrong Lipsticks.
Carl Petteys hand made these guitars in his shop, and I lucked out and
found him through eBay. The price was very reasonable about half
what I would have paid for a new MIA Jaguar reissue. I'm passing this
along, 'cause these are pretty cool guitars.
If you want to get in touch with Carl, you can contact me off list. He
says he will also make custom guitars. I think he's got about five
more Surfmasters for sale. You can check out mine in photos under
"Guitars."
Adios,
Gavin
