SG101 logo
SG101 Banner

Photo of the Day

The 427's
The 427's

IRC Status
  • racc
Current Polls
  • No polls at this time. Check out our past polls.
Current Contests
Donations

Help us meet our monthly goal:

27%

Donate Now

May Birthdays

Yahoo Group Archives » Page 88 »

hollowbody guitars

bruce d (wizzbangg2003) - 16 Apr 2005 20:32:59

Marty, I swear on my '64 Showman that there exists a photo of Bob Bogle, kinda
kickin' back with the rest of the band, and holding a Rick - and it was in full
vivid color too, a Fire-Engine Red Rick. Now, I'm going to have to search high
and low until I can find it and post it, 'cause I sho 'nuf ain't makin' it up!
Bruce D
Marty Tippens <> wrote:
Nope, no Rick for Bob even in the late '70's, Bruce. But take that as a friendly
challenge. I'd welcome the knowledge if you can prove me wrong.
-Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: bruce d
To:
Sent: Saturday, April 16, 2005 10:01 AM
Subject: Re: [SurfGuitar101] Re: hollowbody guitars
Marty -
I stand corrected. You are 100% right - I saw several photos of The Ventures
performing circa 1970-71 and Bogle was playing a Hofner. He switched to the
Rick, (I've seen photos!), in the late '70's before coming back to the Fender
Bass, in the early 1980's.
Bruce D
Marty Tippens <> wrote:
I think we've got our Beatle basses switched, Bruce.
In 1970 Bogle was playing a Hofner Bass, the violin style like McCartney used
in the early 60's. McCartney was using the Rick bass in the later '60's through
'70's.
-Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: bruce d
To:
Sent: Saturday, April 16, 2005 1:30 AM
Subject: Re: [SurfGuitar101] Re: hollowbody guitars
Elizabeth, remember that according to Don Wilson, rhythm guitar, The
Ventures are not and have never been a Surf Band. Also, about 1967 Mosrite
introduced a series of thin-hollow-body electrics, and The Ventures made a point
to be photographed with them on record album covers, etc.
This was at the precise point when they were recording albums like "Super
Psychedelics", "The Horse", and "Underground Fire", not ONE of which had
anything particularly surfy on it. Their deal with Mosrite unraveled soon after
this, and by 1970, Wilson was gigging with a humbucker-equipped Gibson SG, Gerry
McGee was playing a Les Paul, and Bob Bogle was playing a Rickenbacher bass,
while The Ventures were recording covers of Santana and Jim Croce.
Elizabeth <> wrote:
What about hybrid styles, such as surfabilly. I'm one from the school
of thought that hot rod rock, and surf rock can be interchangeable. As
far as hollow bodies in surf rock, not too long ago I was checking out
a book of Ventures tab, at a local music store, and taken aback, just
a bit, to see a couple of pics of the band using hollow body guitars.
Then again, I think The Ventures have more likely used evry sort of
electric 6-string that's ever been made. :)
Liz
--- In , "Marty Tippens" <mctippens@e...>
wrote:
> The quick answer is, no, hollow bodies don't belong in surf BUT surf
is a subset of Rock and Roll and Rock and Roll is about breaking
rules, therefore someones gotta use a hollow body in surf now and
then. Hollow bodies do fit nicely in the non-surf instro styles of
Duane Eddy.
> -Marty
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Make Yahoo! your home page
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Top

Marty Tippens (mctippens) - 16 Apr 2005 20:56:55

That sounds like a cool photo, one I'd like to see.
----- Original Message -----
From: bruce d
To:
Sent: Saturday, April 16, 2005 6:32 PM
Subject: Re: [SurfGuitar101] Re: hollowbody guitars
Marty, I swear on my '64 Showman that there exists a photo of Bob Bogle, kinda
kickin' back with the rest of the band, and holding a Rick - and it was in full
vivid color too, a Fire-Engine Red Rick. Now, I'm going to have to search high
and low until I can find it and post it, 'cause I sho 'nuf ain't makin' it up!
Bruce D
Marty Tippens <> wrote:
Nope, no Rick for Bob even in the late '70's, Bruce. But take that as a
friendly challenge. I'd welcome the knowledge if you can prove me wrong.
-Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: bruce d
To:
Sent: Saturday, April 16, 2005 10:01 AM
Subject: Re: [SurfGuitar101] Re: hollowbody guitars
Marty -
I stand corrected. You are 100% right - I saw several photos of The
Ventures performing circa 1970-71 and Bogle was playing a Hofner. He switched
to the Rick, (I've seen photos!), in the late '70's before coming back to the
Fender Bass, in the early 1980's.
Bruce D
Marty Tippens <> wrote:
I think we've got our Beatle basses switched, Bruce.
In 1970 Bogle was playing a Hofner Bass, the violin style like McCartney
used in the early 60's. McCartney was using the Rick bass in the later '60's
through '70's.
-Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: bruce d
To:
Sent: Saturday, April 16, 2005 1:30 AM
Subject: Re: [SurfGuitar101] Re: hollowbody guitars
Elizabeth, remember that according to Don Wilson, rhythm guitar, The
Ventures are not and have never been a Surf Band. Also, about 1967 Mosrite
introduced a series of thin-hollow-body electrics, and The Ventures made a point
to be photographed with them on record album covers, etc.
This was at the precise point when they were recording albums like "Super
Psychedelics", "The Horse", and "Underground Fire", not ONE of which had
anything particularly surfy on it. Their deal with Mosrite unraveled soon after
this, and by 1970, Wilson was gigging with a humbucker-equipped Gibson SG, Gerry
McGee was playing a Les Paul, and Bob Bogle was playing a Rickenbacher bass,
while The Ventures were recording covers of Santana and Jim Croce.
Elizabeth <> wrote:
What about hybrid styles, such as surfabilly. I'm one from the school
of thought that hot rod rock, and surf rock can be interchangeable. As
far as hollow bodies in surf rock, not too long ago I was checking out
a book of Ventures tab, at a local music store, and taken aback, just
a bit, to see a couple of pics of the band using hollow body guitars.
Then again, I think The Ventures have more likely used evry sort of
electric 6-string that's ever been made. :)
Liz
--- In , "Marty Tippens" <mctippens@e...>
wrote:
> The quick answer is, no, hollow bodies don't belong in surf BUT surf
is a subset of Rock and Roll and Rock and Roll is about breaking
rules, therefore someones gotta use a hollow body in surf now and
then. Hollow bodies do fit nicely in the non-surf instro styles of
Duane Eddy.
> -Marty
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Make Yahoo! your home page
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Top

Marty Tippens (mctippens) - 16 Apr 2005 21:08:35

Yeah, that's certainly true. The Ventures wouldn't call themselves a surf band
but did not mind it at all if others did or mistook them as THE group that did
Wipe Out, Pipeline and Penetration. The guy that use to introduce them at the
Palamino in the '80's would often introduce them as a surf band and say, "They
put the surf on the map!". I see.
The Ventures often use ambiguity to their advantage. They'll announce from the
stage, "We've had the pleasure of recording a few T.V. themes" which plays right
into the old myth that they are the band playing Hawaii Five-O for the T.V.
show. It's actually a studio band doing the T.V. version and not the Ventures.
BUT the Ventures did have the radio hit with their cloned version. In fact the
Ventures are not playing any T.V. version of a T.V. theme. The closest they got
was a Dick Tracy theme for a T.V. show that never made the airwaves.
And yet I'm still a Ventures fanatic.
-Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: bruce d
To:
Sent: Saturday, April 16, 2005 6:29 PM
Subject: Re: [SurfGuitar101] Re: hollowbody guitars
Hey, Elizabeth -
The reason it's easy to get confused about The Ventures, is, I'm afraid, The
Ventures themselves! While denying being a surf band, Titles of CD's released
in the last decade include: "Surfin'", "The Ventures Play the Greatest Surf
Hits", "New Depths", "Surfin' To Baja", etc, etc. So, don't feel at all
apologetic for being confused!
The best description of The Ventures, is one of the most sucessful
Instrumental Cover Bands of all time, who happen, at times, to perform Surf
Music, in their own not-very-surfy style. They're still one of my all-time
favorite bands, and a major influence on me.
Bruce D.
Elizabeth <> wrote:
I just get confused, sometimes, Bruce. The Ventures were/are more of a
pop band, than a surf band, I guess the same as with Jan & Dean or The
Beach Boys. Sure, they did a lot of good hot roddin' and surfin'
tunes, but they also did a lot of stuff outside of those sub-genres. I
guess I should've remembered one of my Ventures double-CDs, on which
there's their cover of "Green Onions," before I talked about 'em as a
surf band.
Liz
--- In , bruce d <wizzbangg2003@y...> wrote:
> Elizabeth, remember that according to Don Wilson, rhythm guitar, The
Ventures are not and have never been a Surf Band.
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Plan great trips with Yahoo! Travel: Now over 17,000 guides!
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Top

bruce d (wizzbangg2003) - 17 Apr 2005 02:22:24

Marty, amigo, sorry, but have to put you straight. The Ventures actually DID
play, (and received on-screen credit for it) the theme for the short-lived TV
series, "Storefront Lawyers", which I believe starred Robert Foxworth, and aired
about 1970-71. The music was written for them by Mort Stevens, composer of
Hawaii Five-O, but this time, right from the get-go, it was Bob and Don playing
both on the 45-rpm release, which didn't chart, and on the broadcast of the show
as well. I've got the original 45 somewhere in my collection - being by Mort
Stevens, it wasn't a half-bad theme, but there was only one Hawaii Five-O IMHO.
Bruce D
Marty Tippens <> wrote:
. In fact the Ventures are not playing any T.V. version of a T.V. theme. The
closest they got was a Dick Tracy theme for a T.V. show that never made the
airwaves.
And yet I'm still a Ventures fanatic.
-Marty
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Plan great trips with Yahoo! Travel: Now over 17,000 guides!
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
.
Visit for archived messages%2C
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Top

Marty Tippens (mctippens) - 17 Apr 2005 08:19:36

Y'got me there. I did not know that!
-Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: bruce d
To:
Sent: Sunday, April 17, 2005 12:22 AM
Subject: Re: [SurfGuitar101] Re: hollowbody guitars
Marty, amigo, sorry, but have to put you straight. The Ventures actually DID
play, (and received on-screen credit for it) the theme for the short-lived TV
series, "Storefront Lawyers", which I believe starred Robert Foxworth, and aired
about 1970-71. The music was written for them by Mort Stevens, composer of
Hawaii Five-O, but this time, right from the get-go, it was Bob and Don playing
both on the 45-rpm release, which didn't chart, and on the broadcast of the show
as well. I've got the original 45 somewhere in my collection - being by Mort
Stevens, it wasn't a half-bad theme, but there was only one Hawaii Five-O IMHO.
Bruce D
Marty Tippens <> wrote:
. In fact the Ventures are not playing any T.V. version of a T.V. theme. The
closest they got was a Dick Tracy theme for a T.V. show that never made the
airwaves.
And yet I'm still a Ventures fanatic.
-Marty
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Plan great trips with Yahoo! Travel: Now over 17,000 guides!
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
.
Visit for archived messages%2C
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Top

Michael S Springer (frodopogo) - 17 Apr 2005 16:14:03

Since I got back into electrics as an adult about
6 years ago, it's occurred to me that there are guitar
design elements, and signal chain elements that
emphasize things like clarity, punchiness, and string separation,
and there are guitar design elements and signal chain elements
that tend to add a fullness, richness, and complexity to the tone (but
often
at the price of muddiness).
These represent two opposite tonal directions,
there is a certain tension between them,
and they have to be kept in a certain balance.
What constitutes a pleasing balance varies according to personal taste,
but also with the genre or style of music being played.
How does this relate to Surf Music and hollowbodies?
Fender guitars have a <lot> of elements that tend towards
clarity, punchiness, and string separation:
Bolt-on necks, single coil pickups, and often 50's fenders
had maple fingerboards. And since these guitars
were often run through a'60s Fender blackface amp with a sparkly high
end...
you've got a <very> bright sound that emphasizes a note's attack phase,
and you need something to balance it-
I think much of surf music's distinctive sound is because
the main balancer/sweetener for all this punchy treble is
REVERB!
Country electric guitar is tonally similar, and there is a connection
with
surf since Leo Fender was originally designing guitars for guitarists in
C&W bands,
and as far as his roots, wasn't Nokie Edwards a country picker?
But in that genre, they tend to use slap echo to balance the treble
rather
than reverb.
Gibsonoid guitars have a <lot> of elements than tend in the opposite
direction:
humbucker pickups, set necks, often at least partially mahogany bodies-
or <hollowbodies>!
Reverb, echo, delay, and natural acoustic resonance (hollowbodies or
resonance chambers) all tend to extend and flavor a note's decay phase.
Rockabilly guitar is related to surf guitar, and often uses these kind of
guitars,
but with very bright single coil pickups.
While some of these guitars can be very bright, it's
mostly due to the pickups, and I would think that with
rosewood fingerboards, set necks, and hollowbodies, they would sound
muddier at the same reverb settings that would just sound surfi-licious
on a solid body Fender with single coils.
So with less reverb, it might sound less distinctively "surfy".
But maybe some prefer to replace some of that reverb with a little
hollowbody resonance.
Michael

Top

Marty Tippens (mctippens) - 17 Apr 2005 16:52:23

That's quite a pile of words, Michael, but you the most significant issue with
true hollow body electrics for any rock styles is the vibrating top causing
feedback. Surf is generally played louder than rockabilly and feedback is more
easily avoided with the solid body Fenders. Can we all think of very loud
rockabilly bands? Yes. But the stage volume with a doghouse bass has got to be
kept to a reasonable level and the guitar has to follow. Surf bands with a
Fender bass don't have that problem.
What you mention follows in significance. Yes, single coils are gonna come
through the reverb cleaner than humbuckers.
Those are techinical thoughts. I think the biggest reason we play surf with a
solid body Fender is historical. The music was developed that way and therefore
we're accustomed to surf having that Fender Guitar to Fender Reverb to Fender
Amp sound.
-Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: Michael S Springer
To:
Sent: Sunday, April 17, 2005 2:14 PM
Subject: Re: [SurfGuitar101] hollowbody guitars
Since I got back into electrics as an adult about
6 years ago, it's occurred to me that there are guitar
design elements, and signal chain elements that
emphasize things like clarity, punchiness, and string separation,
and there are guitar design elements and signal chain elements
that tend to add a fullness, richness, and complexity to the tone (but
often
at the price of muddiness).
These represent two opposite tonal directions,
there is a certain tension between them,
and they have to be kept in a certain balance.
What constitutes a pleasing balance varies according to personal taste,
but also with the genre or style of music being played.
How does this relate to Surf Music and hollowbodies?
Fender guitars have a <lot> of elements that tend towards
clarity, punchiness, and string separation:
Bolt-on necks, single coil pickups, and often 50's fenders
had maple fingerboards. And since these guitars
were often run through a'60s Fender blackface amp with a sparkly high
end...
you've got a <very> bright sound that emphasizes a note's attack phase,
and you need something to balance it-
I think much of surf music's distinctive sound is because
the main balancer/sweetener for all this punchy treble is
REVERB!
Country electric guitar is tonally similar, and there is a connection
with
surf since Leo Fender was originally designing guitars for guitarists in
C&W bands,
and as far as his roots, wasn't Nokie Edwards a country picker?
But in that genre, they tend to use slap echo to balance the treble
rather
than reverb.
Gibsonoid guitars have a <lot> of elements than tend in the opposite
direction:
humbucker pickups, set necks, often at least partially mahogany bodies-
or <hollowbodies>!
Reverb, echo, delay, and natural acoustic resonance (hollowbodies or
resonance chambers) all tend to extend and flavor a note's decay phase.
Rockabilly guitar is related to surf guitar, and often uses these kind of
guitars,
but with very bright single coil pickups.
While some of these guitars can be very bright, it's
mostly due to the pickups, and I would think that with
rosewood fingerboards, set necks, and hollowbodies, they would sound
muddier at the same reverb settings that would just sound surfi-licious
on a solid body Fender with single coils.
So with less reverb, it might sound less distinctively "surfy".
But maybe some prefer to replace some of that reverb with a little
hollowbody resonance.
Michael
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Top

Michael S Springer (frodopogo) - 18 Apr 2005 21:44:07

Hi Marty-
> Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2005 14:52:23 -0700
> From: "Marty Tippens" <>
> Subject: Re: hollowbody guitars
>
> That's quite a pile of words, Michael,
LOL! Yeah, there's this music store owner/repairman
in a nearby town that nicknamed me "Star Trek" (meaning Spock, I guess)
because I overanalyze anything having to do with guitar tone! ;-/
He wasn't used to customers asking him such technical questions.
> but you the most significant
> issue with true hollow body electrics for any rock styles is the
> vibrating top causing feedback. Surf is generally played louder than
> rockabilly and feedback is more easily avoided with the solid body
> Fenders. Can we all think of very loud rockabilly bands? Yes. But
> the stage volume with a doghouse bass has got to be kept to a
> reasonable level and the guitar has to follow. Surf bands with a
> Fender bass don't have that problem.
Okay, thanks, that makes mucho sense!
So it's <both> the doghouse basses <and> the non-center block hollows
that put the limits on the volume.
>
> What you mention follows in significance. Yes, single coils are
> gonna come through the reverb cleaner than humbuckers.
>
> Those are techinical thoughts. I think the biggest reason we play
> surf with a solid body Fender is historical. The music was developed
> that way and therefore we're accustomed to surf having that Fender
> Guitar to Fender Reverb to Fender Amp sound.
My hunch was that there had to be <some> technical reasons,
otherwise it would have been done more often.
And your feedback reason is a <very> good reason...
and it might be partly because of venue...
I tend to think of rockabilly as being something played in bars
where there would be an age requirement for admission.
I tend to think of SoCal surf as being played first and foremost
in high school gyms for dances...
a whole lot bigger than your typical bar, with a much higher ceiling,
quite a bit of natural reverb, and one that I suspect would eat treble
for lunch, so trebley guitars into trebley amps would make a lot of
sense.
(and the cardigan look might've helped land gigs under the watchful
eyes of school administrators)
I also think from what I can remember of the '50s and early 60s...
that both surf/instro guitar and Fender guitars were totally in tune with
the culture of the times, the total love affair with anything modern and
new.
A new, modern guitar design, and a new musical genre would be very
appealing.
Hollowbodies, by contrast, are very old fashioned looking.
Whoops... there I go overanalyzing again! ;^)
Thanks for the input, Marty!
Kind Regards,
Michael
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Michael S Springer
> To:
> Sent: Sunday, April 17, 2005 2:14 PM
> Subject: Re: [SurfGuitar101] hollowbody guitars
>
>
> Since I got back into electrics as an adult about
> 6 years ago, it's occurred to me that there are guitar
> design elements, and signal chain elements that
> emphasize things like clarity, punchiness, and string separation,
> and there are guitar design elements and signal chain elements
> that tend to add a fullness, richness, and complexity to the tone
> (but
> often
> at the price of muddiness).
> These represent two opposite tonal directions,
> there is a certain tension between them,
> and they have to be kept in a certain balance.
> What constitutes a pleasing balance varies according to personal
> taste,
> but also with the genre or style of music being played.
>
> How does this relate to Surf Music and hollowbodies?
>
> Fender guitars have a <lot> of elements that tend towards
> clarity, punchiness, and string separation:
> Bolt-on necks, single coil pickups, and often 50's fenders
> had maple fingerboards. And since these guitars
> were often run through a'60s Fender blackface amp with a sparkly
> high
> end...
> you've got a <very> bright sound that emphasizes a note's attack
> phase,
> and you need something to balance it-
> I think much of surf music's distinctive sound is because
> the main balancer/sweetener for all this punchy treble is
> REVERB!
> Country electric guitar is tonally similar, and there is a
> connection
> with
> surf since Leo Fender was originally designing guitars for
> guitarists in
> C&W bands,
> and as far as his roots, wasn't Nokie Edwards a country picker?
> But in that genre, they tend to use slap echo to balance the
> treble
> rather
> than reverb.
>
> Gibsonoid guitars have a <lot> of elements than tend in the
> opposite
> direction:
> humbucker pickups, set necks, often at least partially mahogany
> bodies-
> or <hollowbodies>!
> Reverb, echo, delay, and natural acoustic resonance (hollowbodies
> or
> resonance chambers) all tend to extend and flavor a note's decay
> phase.
>
> Rockabilly guitar is related to surf guitar, and often uses these
> kind of
> guitars,
> but with very bright single coil pickups.
> While some of these guitars can be very bright, it's
> mostly due to the pickups, and I would think that with
> rosewood fingerboards, set necks, and hollowbodies, they would
> sound
> muddier at the same reverb settings that would just sound
> surfi-licious
> on a solid body Fender with single coils.
> So with less reverb, it might sound less distinctively "surfy".
> But maybe some prefer to replace some of that reverb with a little
> hollowbody resonance.
>
> Michael
>
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived
> messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
>
>
>
>

Top

Jacob Dobner (jacobdobner) - 18 Apr 2005 21:50:50

Star Trek is a good nickname. I draw so many blank stares talking
about my set up or asking questions about amps as Guitar Center.
The problem with hollowbody guitars and feedback is not having the
pickups waxed properly. My Gretsch doesn't make a peep at high volumes
and full reverb.
And I enjoyed your term gibsonoid earlier.
--- In , Michael S Springer
<springerms@j...> wrote:
> LOL! Yeah, there's this music store owner/repairman
> in a nearby town that nicknamed me "Star Trek" (meaning Spock, I guess)
> because I overanalyze anything having to do with guitar tone! ;-/
> He wasn't used to customers asking him such technical questions.
>

Top

Marty Tippens (mctippens) - 19 Apr 2005 01:55:50

Oh that poor Mr. "Star Trek" when he sees you walkin' in again! ;-)
-Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: Michael S Springer
To:
Sent: Monday, April 18, 2005 7:44 PM
Subject: Re: [SurfGuitar101] hollowbody guitars
Hi Marty-
> Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2005 14:52:23 -0700
> From: "Marty Tippens" <>
> Subject: Re: hollowbody guitars
>
> That's quite a pile of words, Michael,
LOL! Yeah, there's this music store owner/repairman
in a nearby town that nicknamed me "Star Trek" (meaning Spock, I guess)
because I overanalyze anything having to do with guitar tone! ;-/
He wasn't used to customers asking him such technical questions.
> but you the most significant
> issue with true hollow body electrics for any rock styles is the
> vibrating top causing feedback. Surf is generally played louder than
> rockabilly and feedback is more easily avoided with the solid body
> Fenders. Can we all think of very loud rockabilly bands? Yes. But
> the stage volume with a doghouse bass has got to be kept to a
> reasonable level and the guitar has to follow. Surf bands with a
> Fender bass don't have that problem.
Okay, thanks, that makes mucho sense!
So it's <both> the doghouse basses <and> the non-center block hollows
that put the limits on the volume.
>
> What you mention follows in significance. Yes, single coils are
> gonna come through the reverb cleaner than humbuckers.
>
> Those are techinical thoughts. I think the biggest reason we play
> surf with a solid body Fender is historical. The music was developed
> that way and therefore we're accustomed to surf having that Fender
> Guitar to Fender Reverb to Fender Amp sound.
My hunch was that there had to be <some> technical reasons,
otherwise it would have been done more often.
And your feedback reason is a <very> good reason...
and it might be partly because of venue...
I tend to think of rockabilly as being something played in bars
where there would be an age requirement for admission.
I tend to think of SoCal surf as being played first and foremost
in high school gyms for dances...
a whole lot bigger than your typical bar, with a much higher ceiling,
quite a bit of natural reverb, and one that I suspect would eat treble
for lunch, so trebley guitars into trebley amps would make a lot of
sense.
(and the cardigan look might've helped land gigs under the watchful
eyes of school administrators)
I also think from what I can remember of the '50s and early 60s...
that both surf/instro guitar and Fender guitars were totally in tune with
the culture of the times, the total love affair with anything modern and
new.
A new, modern guitar design, and a new musical genre would be very
appealing.
Hollowbodies, by contrast, are very old fashioned looking.
Whoops... there I go overanalyzing again! ;^)
Thanks for the input, Marty!
Kind Regards,
Michael
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Michael S Springer
> To:
> Sent: Sunday, April 17, 2005 2:14 PM
> Subject: Re: [SurfGuitar101] hollowbody guitars
>
>
> Since I got back into electrics as an adult about
> 6 years ago, it's occurred to me that there are guitar
> design elements, and signal chain elements that
> emphasize things like clarity, punchiness, and string separation,
> and there are guitar design elements and signal chain elements
> that tend to add a fullness, richness, and complexity to the tone
> (but
> often
> at the price of muddiness).
> These represent two opposite tonal directions,
> there is a certain tension between them,
> and they have to be kept in a certain balance.
> What constitutes a pleasing balance varies according to personal
> taste,
> but also with the genre or style of music being played.
>
> How does this relate to Surf Music and hollowbodies?
>
> Fender guitars have a <lot> of elements that tend towards
> clarity, punchiness, and string separation:
> Bolt-on necks, single coil pickups, and often 50's fenders
> had maple fingerboards. And since these guitars
> were often run through a'60s Fender blackface amp with a sparkly
> high
> end...
> you've got a <very> bright sound that emphasizes a note's attack
> phase,
> and you need something to balance it-
> I think much of surf music's distinctive sound is because
> the main balancer/sweetener for all this punchy treble is
> REVERB!
> Country electric guitar is tonally similar, and there is a
> connection
> with
> surf since Leo Fender was originally designing guitars for
> guitarists in
> C&W bands,
> and as far as his roots, wasn't Nokie Edwards a country picker?
> But in that genre, they tend to use slap echo to balance the
> treble
> rather
> than reverb.
>
> Gibsonoid guitars have a <lot> of elements than tend in the
> opposite
> direction:
> humbucker pickups, set necks, often at least partially mahogany
> bodies-
> or <hollowbodies>!
> Reverb, echo, delay, and natural acoustic resonance (hollowbodies
> or
> resonance chambers) all tend to extend and flavor a note's decay
> phase.
>
> Rockabilly guitar is related to surf guitar, and often uses these
> kind of
> guitars,
> but with very bright single coil pickups.
> While some of these guitars can be very bright, it's
> mostly due to the pickups, and I would think that with
> rosewood fingerboards, set necks, and hollowbodies, they would
> sound
> muddier at the same reverb settings that would just sound
> surfi-licious
> on a solid body Fender with single coils.
> So with less reverb, it might sound less distinctively "surfy".
> But maybe some prefer to replace some of that reverb with a little
> hollowbody resonance.
>
> Michael
>
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived
> messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
>
>
>
>
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Top

John Squitti (jpsquitti) - 19 Apr 2005 03:30:47

liz ;don,t want to confuse you more but surf rider was originally spudnick by
nokie edwards .torquay & rick-a-tick fireballs tunes "tex mexsound ". give them
a little more treble ,some reverb & you have surf .it,s not the song but the
sound &you can play anything you want .listen to the ventures do 10sec,s to
heaven .that is stranger in paradise .if you hear the original you will
understand . john
Elizabeth <> wrote:
I just get confused, sometimes, Bruce. The Ventures were/are more of a
pop band, than a surf band, I guess the same as with Jan & Dean or The
Beach Boys. Sure, they did a lot of good hot roddin' and surfin'
tunes, but they also did a lot of stuff outside of those sub-genres. I
guess I should've remembered one of my Ventures double-CDs, on which
there's their cover of "Green Onions," before I talked about 'em as a
surf band.
Liz
--- In , bruce d <wizzbangg2003@y...> wrote:
> Elizabeth, remember that according to Don Wilson, rhythm guitar, The
Ventures are not and have never been a Surf Band.
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
---------------------------------
Post your free ad now! Yahoo! Canada Personals
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Top