How I get my sound ...my ultimate surf recipe !

Pickups, Pots, Caps, Wiring

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StrummersOfThunder
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How I get my sound ...my ultimate surf recipe !

Post by StrummersOfThunder »

So we are some.years down the track from forming our surf instrumental band ' the bull kelp surfers '. Some of you my have seen us.

I've had a few comments about my guitar tone. Sometimes even good comments. So I thought I'd share what my go to gig set up is for my idea of 'ultimate surf tone'.

after about a year or so of playing / gigging with this combo I gotta put out there for those of you searching for a good all round JM setup.

I play a 2000 American shell pink JM with a stock avri vibrato and mastery bridge. Strings are usually 12 half wounds but currently I'm running 11s.

Often the issue with these guitars in stock setup is the shrill/ice pick nature of the traditional pickups with 1 Meg pots.

I've tried a load of things but this gets such a good all round usable tone I thought I'd share.

Both pickups are by Jess luereiro whom most forumites will be familiar with. Great value.

I go for his 'jazz' output neck and the 'telemaster' brass bass plated bridge.

Its so usable on all positions! Growly bridge tones, scooped tubalar mid position and a bell like neck pup that can be strat like .

I have 1 Meg resistors over the volume and tine pot (idea from Bender ) which makes the set behanve more like 500k pots....less death ice pick...

From there I run the guitar through a catlinbread picoso boost and into a hand built 6g15 spring reverb tank. My amp is a 6g6 blonde bassman style 40w 6l6 1x12. The amp has a classic presence control which also interacts nicely with the tank. I use a z-amp break lite attenuator which tends to stay on 2/4

The picosa boost seems to punch up the tone and raise a specific upler mid frequency that the spring tank LOVES.

I very rarely use a dirt pedal and only occasionally a slap back delay.

Playing wise , I palm mute a lot for the plucky surf drip sound and use a fairly light .7mm pick which is good for for the fast dick dale-esque playing.

I tend to leave volume on 10 on the guitar but roll the tone back a fair bit depending on what pickup I'm using.

Surfs up !

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Re: How I get my sound ...my ultimate surf recipe !

Post by Kev77 »

Pics please
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Re: How I get my sound ...my ultimate surf recipe !

Post by StrummersOfThunder »

Kev77 wrote:Pics please
Or it didn't happen ?

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Re: How I get my sound ...my ultimate surf recipe !

Post by Kev77 »

‘Zactly
"Cash on the ballot, money to burn, Dealey Plaza, make a left-hand turn" Bob Dylan is a genius

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Re: How I get my sound ...my ultimate surf recipe !

Post by StrummersOfThunder »

Image
Image

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Re: How I get my sound ...my ultimate surf recipe !

Post by mugamee »

Nice and informative thread. I have been on the lookout for an old version scp for ages now, great to see them gear pics as well.

Any new surf bands you'd recommend to someone who's wanting to explore this genre?
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Re: How I get my sound ...my ultimate surf recipe !

Post by jeremyb »

Hawaiian maiden!! Local Christchurch band, very good!!
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Re: How I get my sound ...my ultimate surf recipe !

Post by StrummersOfThunder »

mugamee wrote:Nice and informative thread. I have been on the lookout for an old version scp for ages now, great to see them gear pics as well.

Any new surf bands you'd recommend to someone who's wanting to explore this genre?
Thanks , yeh that's a GREAT pedal

I'd direct you towards :
The Kilueas
Agent Orange
The Bomboras
The Langhorns
The Tiki creeps

Cheers

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Re: How I get my sound ...my ultimate surf recipe !

Post by Kev77 »

Set waves
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Re: How I get my sound ...my ultimate surf recipe !

Post by jeremyb »

Do you run the reverb into the input of the amp or in an effects loop?
Slowy wrote: That's the problem; everything rewarding is just such hard work. Regret takes much less effort.

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Re: How I get my sound ...my ultimate surf recipe !

Post by hamo »

You forgot the Planet Waves cable...
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Re: How I get my sound ...my ultimate surf recipe !

Post by StrummersOfThunder »

jeremyb wrote:Do you run the reverb into the input of the amp or in an effects loop?
I have no effects loop so ive never tried.. But I think it's pretty standard for surf guitarists to run it in the front of the amp.

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Re: How I get my sound ...my ultimate surf recipe !

Post by Delayman »

Great to have a post like this. Is the picoso boost always on for your sound, or do you actually use it as a solo boost?
They keep telling me tone is in the fingers, but I have yet to see a "look at my fingers" thread.
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Re: How I get my sound ...my ultimate surf recipe !

Post by StrummersOfThunder »

Delayman wrote:Great to have a post like this. Is the picoso boost always on for your sound, or do you actually use it as a solo boost?
Used to just be for a boosty times but now it's pretty much on the whole time unless I'm playing a rhythm part.

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Re: How I get my sound ...my ultimate surf recipe !

Post by k1w1 »

Quick question, just bought the Squier VM Jazzy and loving it, but find the bridge pup very shrill unless I turn the tone way down, is this the only solution?

Must admit on most guitars I am a neck/ middle position guy but this seems pretty shrill even in the middle. I like the pickups fine, but is swapping out my only option?

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