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Dude:
I have recently re-financed the Casa del Dave...
and now, I've got to have one...
how do I contact Carl at CP guitars?
currently, I play a Danelectro Hodad, but the Surfmaster
looks like the guitar of my dreams...
dude,
Help!
dp
--- Gavin Ehringer <> wrote:
> 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
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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