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I have never personally played anything but a Strat for Surf and I wanted
to ask for some feedback on what makes other guitars so desirable to some of
you?
Is it cost, tone, availability, Kurt Cobain, Nokie Edwards or what?
Thanks for any help, Rick!
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I'm kinda a sucker for a Hollowbody...I have a FlameKat, saving for a Gretch, My
Brother is saving and Hunting for A Deuscenburg tv...
Don't know...I guess its due to my love for rockabilly too...
"Johnston, Rick" <> wrote:
I have never personally played anything but a Strat for Surf and I wanted
to ask for some feedback on what makes other guitars so desirable to some of
you?
Is it cost, tone, availability, Kurt Cobain, Nokie Edwards or what?
Thanks for any help, Rick!
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I dig the Dano reissues (no longer in production). The combination
of the lip stick PUs, the hollow body, and the masonite bodies give
me a really growly surf tone. I do prefer the rosewood bridges to
the metal "pro" models later issued. Of course, the price couldn't
be beat.
I recently picked some Seymour Duncan Strat lipstick PUs for my
Strat because of the Danos sounds (haven't had time to put them in
yet).
Another guitar I use fairly regularly is a 1960s Italian made Eko
500-V (4 PUs, toaster style). Though low output, they sound very
trad, through my Tank.
My love for cheap guitars came from Teisco Del Rey. His "Many
Moods" CD had so many great tones on it (from cheap-o axes), that I
was hooked.
In fact, after years of playing live and recording with a Strat, our
new CD is mostly Danos.
Mike
PS: If anyone wants to buy a set of Fender Lace Sensor (Gold) PUs
for a Strat, contact me off-line.
--- In , "Johnston, Rick"
<rick.johnston@u...> wrote:
> I have never personally played anything but a Strat for Surf and
I wanted
> to ask for some feedback on what makes other guitars so desirable
to some of
> you?
>
> Is it cost, tone, availability, Kurt Cobain, Nokie Edwards or
what?
>
>
> Thanks for any help, Rick!
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
--- In , "Fred K. Aron"
<inluvwithsara@y...> wrote:
> I'm kinda a sucker for a Hollowbody...I have a FlameKat, saving
for a Gretch, My Brother is saving and Hunting for A Deuscenburg
tv...
Many Canuck surf bands of late used Hollowbodys for crunchy tones.
Brian Connoly of Shadowy Men/Atomic 7 (new CD this month from Mint
Records)
Brent Cooper of Huevos Rancheros/ Rambling Ambassadors (also Mint
Records).
If you don't have any CDs from the above bands, do yourself a favour
and git 'em.
Mike
Zak of the Treblemakers used a Gretsch Tenny.
--- In , "urbansurfkings"
<surfkings@h...> wrote:
> --- In , "Fred K. Aron"
> <inluvwithsara@y...> wrote:
> > I'm kinda a sucker for a Hollowbody...I have a FlameKat, saving
> for a Gretch, My Brother is saving and Hunting for A Deuscenburg
> tv...
>
>
> Many Canuck surf bands of late used Hollowbodys for crunchy tones.
>
> Brian Connoly of Shadowy Men/Atomic 7 (new CD this month from Mint
> Records)
>
> Brent Cooper of Huevos Rancheros/ Rambling Ambassadors (also Mint
> Records).
>
> If you don't have any CDs from the above bands, do yourself a
favour
> and git 'em.
>
> Mike
>
> Zak of the Treblemakers used a Gretsch Tenny.
>
The last time I talked to Zak via email he had given up on surf, sold all
his Fenders, and he was into rockabilly big time (playing his favorite, the
Gretsch Tennessean). As I recall, in the T-Makers, he used a modified
Jazzmaster (with a tele neck) and a Jaguar. And later, Mel Waldorf gave him
the "third pickup treatment" to his Jazzmaster. The Treblemakers are in my
top 10 90's bands.
It's funny because Zak told me he hated Strats, and at the time it never
occurred to me that people could actually not like the Strat. Then shortly
after that I heard about this new East Coast band called the Nebulas, and
they also seemed to hate Strats, pretty violently as I recall from a few
postings ages ago. Dano told me in Indy last year that Rudy wouldn't even
let him into his house with a Strat. :) Maybe Dano could elaborate on that a
bit...
Since then I bought a Jaguar, and now lean more towards the Jaguar than my
Strat. Its more comfortable to play, plus the 2 pickups in the on position
just seem right for a lot of songs. I can't quite get that sound out of the
strat (without modding it). I actually dig the funky switch layout and trem
system on the Jag over the Strat. However, the sustain qualities of the
Jaguar (and I suspect Jazzmaster) aren't always what's called for in a lot
of songs, so I often switch back to the Strat. The Strat trem is also better
for more crazy and dramatic whammy bar stuff. But what do I know.
BN
Yeah, Zak is into Rockabilly now www.freewebs.com/alleydukes they are
pretty damn good too. I really liked the Treblemakers I'd consider
them my favorite 90s surf band. I've got two of their albums and I
think there last one was pretty close to perfect...it really is too
bad they broke up. Their use of the Farfisa was great, I've been
thinking about adding one to the Reluctant Aquanauts because of them.
Bill Aqua
www.freewebs.com/reluctantaquanauts
--- In , "Brian Neal" <bneal@i...> wrote:
> >
> > Zak of the Treblemakers used a Gretsch Tenny.
> >
>
> The last time I talked to Zak via email he had given up on surf,
sold all
> his Fenders, and he was into rockabilly big time (playing his
favorite, the
> Gretsch Tennessean). As I recall, in the T-Makers, he used a
modified
> Jazzmaster (with a tele neck) and a Jaguar. And later, Mel Waldorf
gave him
> the "third pickup treatment" to his Jazzmaster. The Treblemakers
are in my
> top 10 90's bands.
>
> It's funny because Zak told me he hated Strats, and at the time it
never
> occurred to me that people could actually not like the Strat. Then
shortly
> after that I heard about this new East Coast band called the
Nebulas, and
> they also seemed to hate Strats, pretty violently as I recall from
a few
> postings ages ago. Dano told me in Indy last year that Rudy
wouldn't even
> let him into his house with a Strat. :) Maybe Dano could elaborate
on that a
> bit...
>
> Since then I bought a Jaguar, and now lean more towards the Jaguar
than my
> Strat. Its more comfortable to play, plus the 2 pickups in the on
position
> just seem right for a lot of songs. I can't quite get that sound
out of the
> strat (without modding it). I actually dig the funky switch layout
and trem
> system on the Jag over the Strat. However, the sustain qualities of
the
> Jaguar (and I suspect Jazzmaster) aren't always what's called for
in a lot
> of songs, so I often switch back to the Strat. The Strat trem is
also better
> for more crazy and dramatic whammy bar stuff. But what do I know.
>
> BN
I play a Retrotone Surfmaster solid body guitar and a
Danelectro Hodad guitar...the Surfmaster is sort of like a
two pickup Strat style guitar...except it has Armstrong
lipstick single coils and a synchro-trem...the Hodad is
cool, a semi-hollow mosrite-ish contraption with a Bigsby
style trem...both have mondo twang...
I also had a real nice Mosrite Bass that I enjoyed until it
was stolen...currently I play a '51 Fender Precision Bass
re-issue...
dp
--- "Fred K. Aron" <> wrote:
> I'm kinda a sucker for a Hollowbody...I have a FlameKat,
> saving for a Gretch, My Brother is saving and Hunting for
> A Deuscenburg tv...
> Don't know...I guess its due to my love for rockabilly
> too...
>
> "Johnston, Rick" <>
> wrote:
> I have never personally played anything but a Strat for
> Surf and I wanted
> to ask for some feedback on what makes other guitars so
> desirable to some of
> you?
>
> Is it cost, tone, availability, Kurt Cobain, Nokie
> Edwards or what?
>
>
> Thanks for any help, Rick!
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
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There's a guy, Paul, in a Denver band called "Paul Galaxy & The
Galactics" who gets great surf tone out of a Gretsch hollowbody
(it's either a Nashville or a Setzer). Really great! He just cranks
up the reverb and wails!
Gavin
--- In , "Fred K. Aron" <inluvwithsara@y...> wrote:
> I'm kinda a sucker for a Hollowbody...I have a FlameKat, saving
for a Gretch, My Brother is saving and Hunting for A
Deuscenburg tv...
> Don't know...I guess its due to my love for rockabilly too...
>
> "Johnston, Rick" <rick.johnston@u...> wrote:
> I have never personally played anything but a Strat for Surf
and I wanted
> to ask for some feedback on what makes other guitars so
desirable to some of
> you?
>
> Is it cost, tone, availability, Kurt Cobain, Nokie Edwards or
what?
>
>
> Thanks for any help, Rick!
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> ..
> Visit for archived
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i turned DP on to the Retrotone Surfmaster (a hand-made guitar
by Carl Pettys of New Jersery). The Kent Armstrong Danelectro
lipstick pickups Carl used yielded a really chimey tone with great
sustain. I think these pickups (sold through WD Products and
used on the early and now discontinued Reverend Spy model)
have awesome surf tone twangy like a Jaguar, but with
greater sustain. That may have to do with the guitar itself, tho.
Gavin
--- In , DP <noetical1@y...> wrote:
> I play a Retrotone Surfmaster solid body guitar and a
> Danelectro Hodad guitar...the Surfmaster is sort of like a
> two pickup Strat style guitar...except it has Armstrong
> lipstick single coils and a synchro-trem...the Hodad is
> cool, a semi-hollow mosrite-ish contraption with a Bigsby
> style trem...both have mondo twang...
>
> I also had a real nice Mosrite Bass that I enjoyed until it
> was stolen...currently I play a '51 Fender Precision Bass
> re-issue...
>
> dp
>
> --- "Fred K. Aron" <inluvwithsara@y...> wrote:
> > I'm kinda a sucker for a Hollowbody...I have a FlameKat,
> > saving for a Gretch, My Brother is saving and Hunting for
> > A Deuscenburg tv...
> > Don't know...I guess its due to my love for rockabilly
> > too...
> >
> > "Johnston, Rick" <rick.johnston@u...>
> > wrote:
> > I have never personally played anything but a Strat for
> > Surf and I wanted
> > to ask for some feedback on what makes other guitars so
> > desirable to some of
> > you?
> >
> > Is it cost, tone, availability, Kurt Cobain, Nokie
> > Edwards or what?
> >
> >
> > Thanks for any help, Rick!
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> >
> > ...
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> >
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> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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I played through Paul Galaxy's rig with my Jazzmaster. He had a
silverface Super Reverb with an echo unit on top. I turned the
reverb up to 10 which is where I set it on my Super Reverb and I
could have sworn his was more drippy...He sure sounded good.
Bill Aqua
www.freewebs.com/reluctantaquanauts
--- In , "Gavin Ehringer"
<gavinehringer@e...> wrote:
> There's a guy, Paul, in a Denver band called "Paul Galaxy & The
> Galactics" who gets great surf tone out of a Gretsch hollowbody
> (it's either a Nashville or a Setzer). Really great! He just cranks
> up the reverb and wails!
>
> Gavin
>
>
>
>
> --- In , "Fred K. Aron"
<inluvwithsara@y...> wrote:
> > I'm kinda a sucker for a Hollowbody...I have a FlameKat, saving
> for a Gretch, My Brother is saving and Hunting for A
> Deuscenburg tv...
> > Don't know...I guess its due to my love for rockabilly too...
> >
> > "Johnston, Rick" <rick.johnston@u...> wrote:
> > I have never personally played anything but a Strat for Surf
> and I wanted
> > to ask for some feedback on what makes other guitars so
> desirable to some of
> > you?
> >
> > Is it cost, tone, availability, Kurt Cobain, Nokie Edwards or
> what?
> >
> >
> > Thanks for any help, Rick!
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> >
> > ..
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> >
> > Ash: It's a trick. Get an axe.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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> >
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> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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As some of the SF-area locals can attest, I have a hell of a lot of
various guitars that I play in surf, and I'll just kind of shoot out
my general impressions of all:
Danelectro Hodad: Great Twang, great tonal variety with the push-pull
tone pots. I also like the neck -- a little wider than some, but it
is also very shallow, which makes it surprisingly playable.
Silvertone Dano 3/4 Size: Even better twang, especially when strung
up with heavier strings. Only down sides are shorter scale length
(obviously), some intonation problems, and the fact that you can't do
much to them since they were designed as very basic student guitars.
Magnatone Typhoon: GREAT pickup sounds --- extra punchy on the low
end. The pickups are a sort of hybrid of single coil and humbucker
that sounds in the neighborhood of a somewhat driven P-90. The neck
plays smooth, but the strings often slip the saddles because of the
design -- I am in the process of making a buzzstop-style piece to fit
it, which should hopefully turn this guitar into a surf machine. The
tremolo arm is a Jag/JM style, but for whatever reason, sustains a
whole lot better.
Fender Bronco: Good guitar, but the original parts make it nearly
unplayable. I'm replacing the bridge with a Bigsby, and I've got a
Seymour Duncan Twang Banger Pickup I'm going to try out on it. But
the body shape is very comfortable, and the neck is almost identical
to a Jaguar neck.
Danelectro Baritone: I love it! The neck is on par with a short-
scale bass. Same Dano tone, with the lipsticks and all, but that's
kicked up even more with the low-end growl of a low B string.
Japanese RI Jag: We've heard plenty on Jags. I will say with the
Japanese RI, putting in Seymour Duncan Vintage Pickups made all the
difference in terms of both tone and just plain output. Also,
nothing "booches" with a tank like a Jag.
American RI Jazzmaster: Another great surf choice. Mine feels like
it has a bit of a bigger neck, but I'm not complaining about that.
Mellower tone than a Strat, a little thicker tone than a Jag. Same
comfort factor as the Jag, but the longer scale also makes playing a
little more comfortable.
Japanese-made "Excellent" Mosrite '65 Ventures Model: In my opinion,
this one is the cream of the crop. I personally love the thin neck
on these things - but some find them a drawback. The P-90s in that
thing are HOT! I also like the Vibramute tailpiece for it's sustain
when you use the whammy bar. For me it's the most comfortable both
from the neck standpoint and the body/cut standpoint. Most people
who have seen us recently have noticed this is quickly becoming my
primary guitar.
In general, I like Strats, but I just find the bridges uncomfortable
for me to "set up" on when I'm playing surf -- I can't palm-mute
comfortably if the bridge is set up to float, and my pinky almost
always hits the volume knob when I play.
Just my four cents,
~Bill~
> > > "Johnston, Rick" <rick.johnston@u...> wrote:
> > > I have never personally played anything but a Strat for Surf
> > and I wanted
> > > to ask for some feedback on what makes other guitars so
> > desirable to some of
> > > you?
> > >
> > > Is it cost, tone, availability, Kurt Cobain, Nokie Edwards or
> > what?
> > >
> > >
> > > Thanks for any help, Rick!
> Danelectro Baritone: I love it! The neck is on par with a short-
> scale bass. Same Dano tone, with the lipsticks and all, but
that's
> kicked up even more with the low-end growl of a low B string.
I got one of these too (HODAD version), and the rumble is amazing
thru a 15" speaker.
> In general, I like Strats, but I just find the bridges
uncomfortable
> for me to "set up" on when I'm playing surf -- I can't palm-mute
> comfortably if the bridge is set up to float, and my pinky almost
> always hits the volume knob when I play.
I have my Start trem set so the bridge will only go down. It solves
the palm mute issues, and the string breaking issues (it stays in
tune). This, as many of you can attest, is crucial in a trio.
Mike/USK
--- In , "urbansurfkings"
<surfkings@h...> wrote:
> > In general, I like Strats, but I just find the bridges
> uncomfortable
> > for me to "set up" on when I'm playing surf -- I can't palm-mute
> > comfortably if the bridge is set up to float, and my pinky almost
> > always hits the volume knob when I play.
>
> I have my Start trem set so the bridge will only go down. It
solves
> the palm mute issues, and the string breaking issues (it stays in
> tune). This, as many of you can attest, is crucial in a trio.
>
> Mike/USK
I had the same problems with my strat. trem is kept down to body, I
also took out the top pot and rewired for master volume and master
tone. I also bent the pick up selector switch down to the body. Now
my pinky can go its way without unwanted side-effects.
for all practical purposes, the stratocaster has major design flaws.
makes you wonder.
--- mono_tones_1 <> wrote:
>
> I had the same problems with my strat. trem is kept
> down to body, I
> also took out the top pot and rewired for master
> volume and master
> tone. I also bent the pick up selector switch down
> to the body. Now
> my pinky can go its way without unwanted
> side-effects.
>
> for all practical purposes, the stratocaster has
> major design flaws.
> makes you wonder.
I had the master tone, master volume layout, but I
found that a true strat sound needs the extra highs of
just a volume pot on the bridge pick up. Having the
volume pot right next to your pinky is great when you
want hawaiian style volume swells while picking, so
having a guitar for that in my quiver is nice.
But its true: the palm-mute possibilities across all
strings are important for versatile surf. Which makes
Jags, JMs and Mosrites, in fact any guitar that
doesnt have a Stratocater type vibrato tailpiece, a
better choice for that style of picking.
KK
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KK, you're absolutly right! but somehow i don't think "a true strat
sound" will ever come out of my korean plywood squier stratocater
deluxe plus. LOL
I bought that guitar from a friend when I was 17, a week before my
first gig ever - played that first gig on it. then sold it back to
that friend a few years later when i was into les pauls. that friend
sold to another friend aka my stepbrother... and i bought it back
from him about two years ago. (every time it says 'bought' it
involved some sort of swap as well)
I now have two SD ssl1's in it , and gives me a very clear well
balanced single coil sound. Though perhaps not imidiatly identifiable
as a guitarsound-of-fame, it suits me and my playing just fine
the thing is, i know it's a crappy guitar, but the neck is an
absolute dream, I simply haven't found anything in the 'under 1000
euro' price-range that felt as good in my hands.
I recently bought a yamaha sgv-800... the neck reminds me a lot of
the late 70's les paul i used to have. It's a great fast player for
someone with small hands like me, but somehow these rawk-licks of
forgotten times keep coming out ...
wannes
--- In , Kahuna Kawentzmann
<kawentzmann@y...> wrote:
> --- mono_tones_1 <rockverb@h...> wrote:
>
> >
> > I had the same problems with my strat. trem is kept
> > down to body, I
> > also took out the top pot and rewired for master
> > volume and master
> > tone. I also bent the pick up selector switch down
> > to the body. Now
> > my pinky can go its way without unwanted
> > side-effects.
> >
> > for all practical purposes, the stratocaster has
> > major design flaws.
> > makes you wonder.
>
> I had the master tone, master volume layout, but I
> found that a true strat sound needs the extra highs of
> just a volume pot on the bridge pick up. Having the
> volume pot right next to your pinky is great when you
> want hawaiian style volume swells while picking, so
> having a guitar for that in my quiver is nice.
> But it's true: the palm-mute possibilities across all
> strings are important for versatile surf. Which makes
> Jags, JMs and Mosrites, in fact any guitar that
> doesn't have a Stratocater type vibrato tailpiece, a
> better choice for that style of picking.
>
> KK
>
>
>
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