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My take is that, for the most part, the traditional surf sound would
be far more raw and less refined than we expect today. Those players
who learned back then were unschooled, knew a handful of chords,
listened to pop, blues and exotica, and they used their boundless
energy to overcome their primitive technique. The equipment was hit
and miss (vintage guys don't want to hear that, but it's true). The
old amps of the era were finicky, varying in quality and tone, but who
cared because you could run down to the corner store and buy real
honest-to-goodness American made tubes on the cheap. Guitars of that
vintage were also prone to manufacturing "errors". For every sweet
Stratocaster or Mustang that had the pickups slightly overwound (not a
bad thing), there was another Strat out there with underwound pickups
(ugh). The vibrato systems were troublesome units that required
constant maintenance, and even then were hardly perfect. Strings were
not subjected to the science they are today, nor were the cables.
The rock 'n roll standard then was Chuck Berry; if you could play his
licks, you were really something. Nowadays, the standard is Steve
Vai, who not only has incredible technique, but is also a musical
encyclopedia.
I have a lot of respect for those surf music pioneers who were able to
transcend all these obstacles and still make some memorable music.
Having said that, I don't see a problem with using modern equipment
and techniques in order to take surf music to new places. Personally,
being pigeonholed into a style or sound has never been my thing. I'd
love to hear Al DiMeola do a surf song; I think those superfast, ultra
cleanly-picked Latin passages would be mind-blowing dripping with
reverb! And if Steve Vai or Eddie Van Halen ever did a surf song,
they'd probably reinvent the way we all thought of using the whammy bar.
--- In , "loscobrassurf"
<loscobrassurf@y...> wrote:
>
> A traditional surf sound ? How much of that has too come from the
> fingers.WE have got an origonal sixties guy here in GR. that plays
> like no one I've ever seen.He learned in the sixties and uses hi
> origonal gear.I love to watch him play. Miller
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