FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Fender Guitar Setup

Question:
Could someone sugest to me a surf guitar setup? What to people like dick dale and the ventures use to get that unique surf tone? I currently have a strat and a fender super 210 amp. And advice would be apreciated.

Answer:
I'd be glad to. I haven't had a ton of experience with the expensive setups, but I can give you some great setups from my research. Quoted from Dick Dale himself- If you're not playing a Fender Stratocaster with 16, 18, 18, 38, 48, and 58/60 string gauges, and projected out of a Dual Showman amp head and the Dick Dale 4-ohm 100-watt output transformer blowing through twin vintage 15 inch JBL-D130F speakers placed in a three foot tall, two foot wide, one foot deep cabinet packed full of fibergalss with no portholes, you can't duplicate the the true original Dick Dale surf-sound My favorite surf guitar is a 62' Jag (reissue) that I play like mad, and when played out of a tube amp drenched in spring reverb, would give you the sweet sound and the reverb-drip you're looking for. A Fender Jazzmaster works too, and I believe Jackson has a guitar named the Surfcaster, although I have no idea what it sounds like.