elements of a good surf guitar are a set
of bright, bold single-coil pickups, and
a relatively stable vibrato system for the
whammy bar action required. A locking
system like a Floyd Rose is not required
(or appropriate...yuck), just something
that will stay in tune through the regular
dips and warbles that are so indicative of
the style. Just about any Strat-like guitar
that has these features will do the job,
and plenty of companies, like DiPinto,
Eastwood, Reverend, and Electrical
Guitar Company, make guitars that fit the
bill hardware-wise, and also happen to
look really surfy. Metallic finishes, racing
stripes, and vivid color schemes are
always nice.
SURF STRINGS
Surf guitar is typically played on heavyduty strings. The general consensus
seems to be that anything lighter than
a set of 11s is probably inappropriate,
with 12s and 13s being standard. The
reasons for this are partly traditional and
partly practical. Light string sets are a
relatively recent innovation, so most of
the classics of the surf genre were played
on beefy strings (usually flatwounds, by
20
TONE TALK //
Making Waves
the way). The practical purpose for heavy
strings is the big, bass-heavy tone that
they generate, which matches nicely with
bright single coils and a loud, clean amp.
Also, surf guitar technique involves lots
of fast, hard tremolo picking and whammy
bar manipulation, all of which puts stress
on strings. Heavy strings are harder
to break.
SURF AMPS
For proper surf tones, having the right
amp is essential. The “right amp,” in this
case, is something loud and clean with
tons of headroom. Surf guitar tones are
not typically distorted, though a bit of
warm tube breakup can be nice. The
classic amps for surf purposes are, once
again, Fender products, specifically
blackface-era Showman, Dual Showman,
Twin, Vibrolux, and Super Reverb amps.
Besides being able to get brutally loud
without distorting, these amps are also
rather bright, with a big, tight bottom
end. As with guitars, though, owning
a vintage Fender blackface amp isn’t
necessary for getting a cool surf tone, as
the modern guitarist has plenty of other
options. Virtually anything that can be