Menu
...hmmmm, could it be that Gibson gear simply sucks when it
comes to real useful twang-tone?
In my life, I have owned three Gibson guitars:
1. 1970s Gibson Marauder: two urethane coated
humbuckers...my punk-rock period (1980-1985). Used to bend
the neck for a cool tremolo-sort-of effect. A very
non-twangy non-surf guitar. Great for playing highly
distorted Bad Religion, Adolescents and Angry Samoans
covers!
2. 1960s Gibson 235 hollow body: two "Gibson signature"
single coils...my Lightnin' Hopkins/ John Lee Hooker period
(1983-1987)...twangy...but in a bluesy sort of way... body
and neck too fragile for any sort of tremolo. Mucho
feedback, especially when utilizing reverb.
3. 1980s Gibson Victory Bass: my John Entwistle period
(1983-1987), sounded like a souped-up Thunderbird
Bass...heavy heavy heavy...sort of like a cross between
1970s Who and early Green Day sounding bass tones. Super
fat Gibson neck. Probably would have worked for surf...but,
definately a very non-Fender-Bass tone.
The Gibson guitars all sounded okay...but, they definately
come nowhere close to the "Fender" tone we all know and
love. Ultimately, my experience with Gibson equipment left
me disappointed. Something always seemed to be missing
when it came to tone and playability...at least the tone
and playability I was looking for.
I have always believed that Fender guitars to be the real
workhorses when it comes to electric instruments and loud
amplified music. For example, Pete Townsend avoided Fender
eqipment during his "guitar smashing" days...they simply
wouldn't break and explode in the right way when he tried
to smash 'em...the Fenders held together despite repeated
bashings...Now-a-days, good-old-Pete plays a red
Strat...with a tremolo...can you believe it?
i don't know what this post means to SG101...except, maybe
that Gibson gear is not really suited for surf...
....but, didn't one of the Beach Boys use a tremolo-ed SG
at one point? did they use it to record? are the Beach Boys
even surf? I think they played Miserlou, right?
-dp
--- Marty Tippens <> wrote:
> I find it interesting that Eric Clap-tone did not use
> Gibsons and Marshalls at the recent Cream reunion. It was
> a Stratocaster through a pair of Fender Tweed Twins. The
> rumour is that he started rehearsals with the Gibson gear
> but he is more comfortalbe with the Fender gear so that's
> what he ended up with. As much pro-Fender as I and the
> rest of us surf fans are, it seems to me he wouldn't get
> the right sound out of the Fender gear but his Strat has
> a mid boost so apparently it worked out.
> -Marty
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
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Gibson isn't a twang guitar for sure but Cream was not a twang group for sure.
-Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: DP
To:
Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2005 11:20 AM
Subject: Re: [SurfGuitar101] Fenders instead of Gibsons...
...hmmmm, could it be that Gibson gear simply sucks when it
comes to real useful twang-tone?
In my life, I have owned three Gibson guitars:
1. 1970s Gibson Marauder: two urethane coated
humbuckers...my punk-rock period (1980-1985). Used to bend
the neck for a cool tremolo-sort-of effect. A very
non-twangy non-surf guitar. Great for playing highly
distorted Bad Religion, Adolescents and Angry Samoans
covers!
2. 1960s Gibson 235 hollow body: two "Gibson signature"
single coils...my Lightnin' Hopkins/ John Lee Hooker period
(1983-1987)...twangy...but in a bluesy sort of way... body
and neck too fragile for any sort of tremolo. Mucho
feedback, especially when utilizing reverb.
3. 1980s Gibson Victory Bass: my John Entwistle period
(1983-1987), sounded like a souped-up Thunderbird
Bass...heavy heavy heavy...sort of like a cross between
1970s Who and early Green Day sounding bass tones. Super
fat Gibson neck. Probably would have worked for surf...but,
definately a very non-Fender-Bass tone.
The Gibson guitars all sounded okay...but, they definately
come nowhere close to the "Fender" tone we all know and
love. Ultimately, my experience with Gibson equipment left
me disappointed. Something always seemed to be missing
when it came to tone and playability...at least the tone
and playability I was looking for.
I have always believed that Fender guitars to be the real
workhorses when it comes to electric instruments and loud
amplified music. For example, Pete Townsend avoided Fender
eqipment during his "guitar smashing" days...they simply
wouldn't break and explode in the right way when he tried
to smash 'em...the Fenders held together despite repeated
bashings...Now-a-days, good-old-Pete plays a red
Strat...with a tremolo...can you believe it?
i don't know what this post means to SG101...except, maybe
that Gibson gear is not really suited for surf...
....but, didn't one of the Beach Boys use a tremolo-ed SG
at one point? did they use it to record? are the Beach Boys
even surf? I think they played Miserlou, right?
-dp
--- Marty Tippens <> wrote:
> I find it interesting that Eric Clap-tone did not use
> Gibsons and Marshalls at the recent Cream reunion. It was
> a Stratocaster through a pair of Fender Tweed Twins. The
> rumour is that he started rehearsals with the Gibson gear
> but he is more comfortalbe with the Fender gear so that's
> what he ended up with. As much pro-Fender as I and the
> rest of us surf fans are, it seems to me he wouldn't get
> the right sound out of the Fender gear but his Strat has
> a mid boost so apparently it worked out.
> -Marty
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
> --------------------~-->
> In low income neighborhoods, 84% do not own computers.
> At Network for Good, help bridge the Digital Divide!
>
>
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
>
>
> .
> Visit for
> archived messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
__________________________________
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.
Visit for archived messages,
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
-DP,
Not that the Insect Surfers are Trad. Surf in any streach of the
Term. But I couldn't imagine them without their Gibsons(flying V and
Old SG with single coil pups,and tremelo). There is a twang there,
but in the mild side. Perfect for thier Spagehtti/Pyschedellic
mix of sounds.
Jeff(bigtikidude)
p.s. I didn;t see a response to my question if you were gonna make
the Blue Hawiians, or Big Suzy's Surf Stomp shows this weekend.
If not Happy B-day dude.
-- In , DP <noetical1@y...> wrote:
> ...hmmmm, could it be that Gibson gear simply sucks when it
> comes to real useful twang-tone?
>
> In my life, I have owned three Gibson guitars:
>
> 1. 1970s Gibson Marauder: two urethane coated
> humbuckers...my punk-rock period (1980-1985). Used to bend
> the neck for a cool tremolo-sort-of effect. A very
> non-twangy non-surf guitar. Great for playing highly
> distorted Bad Religion, Adolescents and Angry Samoans
> covers!
>
> 2. 1960s Gibson 235 hollow body: two "Gibson signature"
> single coils...my Lightnin' Hopkins/ John Lee Hooker period
> (1983-1987)...twangy...but in a bluesy sort of way... body
> and neck too fragile for any sort of tremolo. Mucho
> feedback, especially when utilizing reverb.
>
> 3. 1980s Gibson Victory Bass: my John Entwistle period
> (1983-1987), sounded like a souped-up Thunderbird
> Bass...heavy heavy heavy...sort of like a cross between
> 1970s Who and early Green Day sounding bass tones. Super
> fat Gibson neck. Probably would have worked for surf...but,
> definately a very non-Fender-Bass tone.
>
> The Gibson guitars all sounded okay...but, they definately
> come nowhere close to the "Fender" tone we all know and
> love. Ultimately, my experience with Gibson equipment left
> me disappointed. Something always seemed to be missing
> when it came to tone and playability...at least the tone
> and playability I was looking for.
>
> I have always believed that Fender guitars to be the real
> workhorses when it comes to electric instruments and loud
> amplified music. For example, Pete Townsend avoided Fender
> eqipment during his "guitar smashing" days...they simply
> wouldn't break and explode in the right way when he tried
> to smash 'em...the Fenders held together despite repeated
> bashings...Now-a-days, good-old-Pete plays a red
> Strat...with a tremolo...can you believe it?
>
> i don't know what this post means to SG101...except, maybe
> that Gibson gear is not really suited for surf...
>
> ....but, didn't one of the Beach Boys use a tremolo-ed SG
> at one point? did they use it to record? are the Beach Boys
> even surf? I think they played Miserlou, right?
>
> -dp
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --- Marty Tippens <mctippens@e...> wrote:
> > I find it interesting that Eric Clap-tone did not use
> > Gibsons and Marshalls at the recent Cream reunion. It was
> > a Stratocaster through a pair of Fender Tweed Twins. The
> > rumour is that he started rehearsals with the Gibson gear
> > but he is more comfortalbe with the Fender gear so that's
> > what he ended up with. As much pro-Fender as I and the
> > rest of us surf fans are, it seems to me he wouldn't get
> > the right sound out of the Fender gear but his Strat has
> > a mid boost so apparently it worked out.
> > -Marty
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
> > --------------------~-->
> > In low income neighborhoods, 84% do not own computers.
> > At Network for Good, help bridge the Digital Divide!
> >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
~->
> >
> >
> > .
> > Visit for
> > archived messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
> __________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new Resources site
>
--- wrote:
i don't know what this post means to SG101...except,
maybe
that Gibson gear is not really suited for surf...
-dp
I have a '94 Gibson Nighthawk ST in my arsenal that's
just GREAT for surf. This is not a typical Gibson...
It has a 25 1/2" scale length with thru-body stringing
(gives you max. string tension). Combine that with an
extremely HOT bridge PU that you can use in 'bucker or
sgl. coil mode and you got yourself a bona fide twang
machine. Also, this axe weighs about 6 lbs so you can
play it all day on stage (try doing that with a Les
Paul).
~ Jonathan
__________________________________
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Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new Resources site
I love that! Give ole' Gibson a chance at surf too...........
It's fun breakin' the rules. Just ask Insect Dave.
B-B-O
---- Jonathan Villegas <> wrote:
> <html><body>
>
>
> <tt>
> <BR>
> --- wrote:<BR>
> <BR>
> i don't know what this post means to SG101...except,<BR>
> maybe<BR>
> that Gibson gear is not really suited for surf...<BR>
> <BR>
> -dp<BR>
> <BR>
> I have a '94 Gibson Nighthawk ST in my arsenal that's<BR>
> just GREAT for surf. This is not a typical Gibson...<BR>
> It has a 25 1/2" scale length with thru-body stringing<BR>
> (gives you max. string tension). Combine that with an<BR>
> extremely HOT bridge PU that you can use in 'bucker or<BR>
> sgl. coil mode and you got yourself a bona fide twang<BR>
> machine. Also, this axe weighs about 6 lbs so you can<BR>
> play it all day on stage (try doing that with a Les<BR>
> Paul).<BR>
> <BR>
> ~ Jonathan<BR>
> <BR>
> <BR>
> <BR>
> __________________________________ <BR>
> Do you Yahoo!? <BR>
> Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new Resources site<BR>
> <a
href=""></a><BR>
> </tt>
>
> <br><br>
> <tt>
> .<BR>
> Visit <a
href=""></a> for archived messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.<BR>
> </tt>
> <br><br>
>
>
>
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>
>
Jeff...
it looks like a GO! for the Blue Hawaiians tonight at the
Lava Lounge...see you there!
-dp
--- Jeff <> wrote:
> -DP,
> Not that the Insect Surfers are Trad. Surf in any streach
> of the
> Term. But I couldn't imagine them without their
> Gibsons(flying V and
> Old SG with single coil pups,and tremelo). There is a
> twang there,
> but in the mild side. Perfect for thier
> Spagehtti/Pyschedellic
> mix of sounds.
> Jeff(bigtikidude)
> p.s. I didn;t see a response to my question if you were
> gonna make
> the Blue Hawiians, or Big Suzy's Surf Stomp shows this
> weekend.
> If not Happy B-day dude.
>
>
>
>
> -- In , DP <noetical1@y...>
> wrote:
> > ...hmmmm, could it be that Gibson gear simply sucks
> when it
> > comes to real useful twang-tone?
> >
> > In my life, I have owned three Gibson guitars:
> >
> > 1. 1970s Gibson Marauder: two urethane coated
> > humbuckers...my punk-rock period (1980-1985). Used to
> bend
> > the neck for a cool tremolo-sort-of effect. A very
> > non-twangy non-surf guitar. Great for playing highly
> > distorted Bad Religion, Adolescents and Angry Samoans
> > covers!
> >
> > 2. 1960s Gibson 235 hollow body: two "Gibson signature"
> > single coils...my Lightnin' Hopkins/ John Lee Hooker
> period
> > (1983-1987)...twangy...but in a bluesy sort of way...
> body
> > and neck too fragile for any sort of tremolo. Mucho
> > feedback, especially when utilizing reverb.
> >
> > 3. 1980s Gibson Victory Bass: my John Entwistle period
> > (1983-1987), sounded like a souped-up Thunderbird
> > Bass...heavy heavy heavy...sort of like a cross between
> > 1970s Who and early Green Day sounding bass tones.
> Super
> > fat Gibson neck. Probably would have worked for
> surf...but,
> > definately a very non-Fender-Bass tone.
> >
> > The Gibson guitars all sounded okay...but, they
> definately
> > come nowhere close to the "Fender" tone we all know and
> > love. Ultimately, my experience with Gibson equipment
> left
> > me disappointed. Something always seemed to be missing
> > when it came to tone and playability...at least the
> tone
> > and playability I was looking for.
> >
> > I have always believed that Fender guitars to be the
> real
> > workhorses when it comes to electric instruments and
> loud
> > amplified music. For example, Pete Townsend avoided
> Fender
> > eqipment during his "guitar smashing" days...they
> simply
> > wouldn't break and explode in the right way when he
> tried
> > to smash 'em...the Fenders held together despite
> repeated
> > bashings...Now-a-days, good-old-Pete plays a red
> > Strat...with a tremolo...can you believe it?
> >
> > i don't know what this post means to SG101...except,
> maybe
> > that Gibson gear is not really suited for surf...
> >
> > ....but, didn't one of the Beach Boys use a tremolo-ed
> SG
> > at one point? did they use it to record? are the Beach
> Boys
> > even surf? I think they played Miserlou, right?
> >
> > -dp
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --- Marty Tippens <mctippens@e...> wrote:
> > > I find it interesting that Eric Clap-tone did not use
> > > Gibsons and Marshalls at the recent Cream reunion. It
> was
> > > a Stratocaster through a pair of Fender Tweed Twins.
> The
> > > rumour is that he started rehearsals with the Gibson
> gear
> > > but he is more comfortalbe with the Fender gear so
> that's
> > > what he ended up with. As much pro-Fender as I and
> the
> > > rest of us surf fans are, it seems to me he wouldn't
> get
> > > the right sound out of the Fender gear but his Strat
> has
> > > a mid boost so apparently it worked out.
> > > -Marty
> > >
> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
> > > --------------------~-->
> > > In low income neighborhoods, 84% do not own
> computers.
> > > At Network for Good, help bridge the Digital Divide!
> > >
>
> > >
> >
>
--------------------------------------------------------------------
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> > >
> > >
> > > .
> > > Visit for
> > > archived messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
> > >
> > > Yahoo! Groups Links
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > __________________________________
> > Do you Yahoo!?
> > Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new Resources site
> >
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
> --------------------~-->
> In low income neighborhoods, 84% do not own computers.
> At Network for Good, help bridge the Digital Divide!
>
>
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
>
>
> .
> Visit for
> archived messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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Jonathan:
I was unaware of the Nighthawk...it sounds like a rippin'
surf-machine! Just as others have said...the main thing
about surf is to have fun and be true to yourself.
:) dp
--- Jonathan Villegas <> wrote:
>
> --- wrote:
>
> i don't know what this post means to SG101...except,
> maybe
> that Gibson gear is not really suited for surf...
>
> -dp
>
> I have a '94 Gibson Nighthawk ST in my arsenal that's
> just GREAT for surf. This is not a typical Gibson...
> It has a 25 1/2" scale length with thru-body stringing
> (gives you max. string tension). Combine that with an
> extremely HOT bridge PU that you can use in 'bucker or
> sgl. coil mode and you got yourself a bona fide twang
> machine. Also, this axe weighs about 6 lbs so you can
> play it all day on stage (try doing that with a Les
> Paul).
>
> ~ Jonathan
>
>
>
> __________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new Resources site
>
>
>
> ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
> --------------------~-->
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>
>
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DP,
With my Nighthawk ST, I can have my cake
(nitrocellulose finish, flame-maple top) and eat it,
too (play surf guitar music). It's almost like
"against the rules" but I like doing that anyway. :-)
Unfortunately, not everyone can get his/her hands on
this alternative surf axe as Gibson stopped production
of this guitar about 6 (or more) years ago. I think
the Nighthawk never won over the traditionalists
(Gibson snobs?) who, more often than not, worshipped
the Clapton "woman tone" and disliked the "squished"
Les Paul shape of the Nighthawk.
~ Jonathan
--- wrote:
Jonathan:
I was unaware of the Nighthawk...it sounds like a
rippin'
surf-machine! Just as others have said...the main
thing
about surf is to have fun and be true to yourself.
:) dp
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