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There have been many fine suggestions here for a high quality setup to
start in surf. But oftentimes it is difficult for someone who is just
starting out to justify spend a grand or more for what is just a
hobby. On top of that, if you are of the married w/kids persuasion,
another factor comes into play: A great way to become highly
unpopular in a hurry is to start tripping all over your A minor for
hours with your Twin Reverb set at 11 while the rugrats are trying to
sleep.
Here is a complete setup which can deal with both of these constraints
for a total layout of less than $500:
Go to musiciansfriend.com or guitartrader.com or samash.com and order
four things:
- A basic MIM Fender strat ($350). Plenty of colors to choose from
and great place to start.
- Fender Frontman 15R series II amplifier. ($100) A very small simple
amp with spring reverb and two KEY features for the beginner: a
headphones jack (so you don't drive everyone bonkers) and a CD input
so you can practice with the real tunes in the background.
- Fender Presents: Getting Started On Electric Guitar DVD ($25) A
guitar and an amp wont do you any good unless you have some general
instruction. This is not surf specific but the basics are the same.
A great new dvd with all kind of cool lessons from an excellent
instructor plus a tour of the Fender factory. Needless to say, if you
have access to a real live instructor do that also. But the dvd lets
you learn when your schedule allows which is often different then when
the instructor is available.
- Song Xpress' Classic Surf Guitar Volume 1 ($10). A much weaker
product at many levels, but at least it will show you how to play
three actual surf tunes, ie Miserlou, Pipeline and Penetration.
Total cost: $485. No shipping costs past $200. Musicians friend has
a 45 day return policy (except on the videos I think) so use it to
find out if you really are serious about it.
If you can spring for a little more, I highly recomend you get the
Fender Bullet 15 DSP amp which also has the crucial headphones and CD
jack instead of the Frontman. I have not heard it personally but I
believe it sounds quite a bit better for only $60 more than the
Frontman. (The Frontman reverb is very noisy.)
This should get you through at least the first year. If you are still
with it at that point, you can then move up to any of the other
excellent options that have already been mentioned.
A more portable alternative is this: Instead of the amp, get a
Digitech RP100 pedal/headphones amp. It has a very good reverb plus
many other effects and is battery powered. This means you can
practice in you car during lunch time if the kids/wife require most of
your attention as soon as you step over your front door mat.
Bo
P.S. The problem with the cheaper kits as you mentioned is that they
invariably have some very weak points in them. Learning guitar is
hard enough as it is. You don't want to have to fight with a guitar
that constantly goes out of tune like some Squiers I have seen.
--- In SurfGuitar101@y..., "kkamphaus" <kevin_and_julie_kamphaus@h...>
wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I am new to this list and I have been a fan of surf/instro for
a
> long time. I originally first was intruduced to surf/instro when I
> heard a Duane Eddy LP from my dad's record collection when I was 8.
> In high school I was a huge fan of the Ventures when everyone else
> was into KISS. I am now 34, "Married with Children" and thanks to
> the internet I have gotten back into listening to my favorite music
> again. It is so great to see that surf is back and has been for a
> while. Since I'm located in Nebraska I was unaware of the revival
> and overjoyed see all of the great music available on the internet.
> I have always kind of had a childhood dream of playing
> surf/instro music and was curious what it takes. I tried the
> acoustic guitar (which I no longer own) very breifly when I was 15,
> but other than that I have no formal training. I see nowadays one
> can get a electric starter kit with guitar and amp for a mere $150.
> Where is a good place to start? Do I need formal training?
> Are tabs OK to start with?
> Any help/guidance is appreciated!
>
> Kevin
