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On Wed, 8 May 2002, Richard Hawes wrote:
> > I bet you that the ratio of Fender-played surf
> > albums is a LOT more than
> > 50/50 - more like 95/5.
>
> I dunno, there were a lot of Kays and Danos and even
> some Gibsons and Ricks on some of the albums I've
> seen. My "half" statement was admittedly off the
> cuff...I haven't really taken a count...but I don't
> know if I'd go so far as to say 95/5 unless you only
> count the real hit stuff from the early '60's, but
> (and please note, I'm not trying to slam Fender or
> imply that they used any method other than building
> great guitars to achieve their popularity) a lot of
> bands got Fender endoresement deals as well (and
> again, I'd like to reiterate that that's not the only
> reason people played them.) There were also a lot of
> bands that played less expensive stuff earlier on and
> then went for the Fenders later.
Yes, without a doubt a lot of the surf gutarists of the first wave played
other instruments when starting, and some of them even recorded with
them. But if you look at the stuff that defined the genre: DD, the
Astronauts, The Pyramids, Richie Allen, The Lively Ones, The Chantays
(with the exception of Pipeline, which was supposedly recorded with cheapo
stuff), the Belairs, Eddie & the Showmen, the Challengers, The Surfaris,
etc., etc., it's ALL Fender!! I can't think of any of the players in
these bands playing anything but Fender guitars and amps. Given that this
was teen music, there were some bands of really young guys that recorded a
few singles or maybe even an album that couldn't yet afford Fenders. But
I'm hard pressed to think of one definitive surf song outside of Pipeline
that was not recorded with Fender guitars. Johnny Fortune used a Gretsch,
and the Revels guitarist probably used a Gretsch or a Gibson. The
Sentinels guitarist maybe used a Gibons, but only on their second album
which was not surfy at all, more like R&B - I think he used a Strat on
Latinia and Big Surf, etc. Some of those other R&B-influenced bands
(surf-soul), like Jim Waller & the Deltas maybe didn't use Fenders, but
they were also more sax-driven. But none of these bands would define the
surf sound in any way, IMHO.
> I apologize if anybody took offense to any of my
> statements.
No, no, Richard, no offense, just a discussion! There is no problem at
all....
Ivan
