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Thanks Dave,
for that extensive set list!
Thanks everyone who commented.
I think I'll start on the
"ears worn out on" ones first,
then go for the ones common to both Dave and Bruces list,
but keep my eyes out for anything mentioned, and if it's a great
tune that grabs me, why not?
I find you have to keep a balance between pleasing your own
ears and pleasing the audience... if you get bored,
your going to play like you're bored, and that's no good.
But if you play all your favorite obscure tunes, your audience
can't relate.
Michael
Logan,
Fender, Fender, Fender?
Well, I'm doing pretty well, I guess on that score-
I have two MIM Strats and a Fender Pro Jr.
Since that's the way it was for surf bands in the '60s,
it would be hard to go wrong there.
Still, for those trying to do surf guitar on a budget,
that could get pricey really quick, so I think
it's good to scope out some cheaper alternatives
that can nail the sound.
One thing that puzzles me is that you mention
the Hot Rod DeVille,
but neither it nor any of the amps in the Blues Series
really have the classic Fender Blackface sound...
I think they are based on the Fender Bassman circuit,
which started getting used for guitar very early.
Do a lot of surf guitarists use Bassmans?
With them of course, add on reverb is a necessity.
A Fender Deluxe Reverb is a blackface, but
it is known for relatively early breakup, which bluesers love,
but does it work for surf???
Of course one strategy with any tube amp is to tweak
it by swapping out tubes. You can tweak the breakup point this way.
Bob Pletka of Eurotubes (JJ tubes)
and Lord Valve in Colorado (all kinds) are
supposed to be really good at helping you
do this.
And a lot of Fender amps are not tube anymore.
A couple possible equipment alternatives:
G&L guitars, for several reasons:
1. They were designed by Leo Fender himself.
2. He tweaked the bridge and trem for more tuning stability
3. The American ones are very high quality-
I know of a guy on another list who
has the G&L "Strat" model, the Legacy.
He recently got a Custom Shop vintage model
Strat. He says the G&L is the equal of the Custom Shop
Fender in quality- and I think he paid about a third of the price used!
Because they don't have <the> name or <the> headstock shape,
G&Ls don't hold their value well on the used market;
if you want a quality guitar for not too much money, it's a great
alternative.
And the trem is great- the guy I mentioned whammies <lots>!
G&L also has and Asian made line called the Tribute. They are
in the same price range as MIM Strats. But they have the same pickups
as the American made ones, and the bridges are made in Asia to the
American
G&L specs. They have a cool feature: the two tone controls are Master
Treble
and Master Bass, so you can tweak the tone in ways you can't with a
Fender Strat.
(unless you tweak the electronics the same way as the G&L)
Another guy on the same list has a Fender Reverb tank-
and recently got a Holy Grail reverb unit-
He likes it just as well as the Fender, and it is a lot smaller.
For now, I think I will content myself with tweaking my Danelectro delay
pedal
to sound reverbish. Also, the nursing homes have linoleum floors causing
a lot
of natural room reverb.
Michael
