Surf Guitar Old School Style

[weaselsuit]

Magicial sound. Thank you so much.

[JeffKnight]

Very interesting, thank you so much for sharing your work with us.

[heatman74]

Hey there nice guitar work. always on the lookout for more surf guitars.

[corkskrewclubhouse93]

Surf Rider!

[pblakeav]

I really like the tune; what a trip to learn . . . thanks for sharing

just bought a Mexican tele, seafoam green with a baja set up . . .

plays more like an acoustic to me

I've ordered a Bixby tremolo bar for it; surf music is the coolest; I'm getting to where I can actually think and listen at the same time!

[63chicago6]

Yo'ure awesome

[pblakeav]

thanks so much John ... I've got a new guitar hero AND favorite band ... your guys' sound will be surfin' the mountains in New Mexico ... ROCK ON!

[theHoRHayy]

nothing quite like a glossy maple neck...

[Ralphdawgg49]

superb playing awesome guitar~! i like your shirt!



[achiguitar]

what a beautiful guitar!

[GreggDuncanMcLean1]

hey bob berryhill i use to deliver his mail at 308 central ave seal beach☺ he took me into his house one day and show me the platium or gold record you guys got on one of your records. great music and if your anything like bob a great guy too. God bless you bro

[TehChiken]

Broad question but...

How would I start playing surf rock music?

[Warshadow4]

how much was this guitar bruh ?

[panzarw]

I love maple necks.

[jbark9]

John, great vid. I heard you mention that you had played with the Safari's. Have you every played with or met Scott Lash who played with them for a while too. Just curious.

[wintj1000]

yo does anyone know what scale the first tune john plays is in, is it just standard pentatonic?

[pullywullypirate]

how do you get that surf sound??????

[1FenderGuy]

@pullywullypirate Lots of Reverb and a 57 strat is all you need for surf mostly and u gotta palm mute the strings unless u wanna pick behind the bridge pickup (thats what i do for Surf) and u got it but u need a Fender amp with reverb too

[Quentinovitch]

verry nice strat!

[TheKeyWestian]

my dream guitar man, props. the surfaris rock haha!

OLD SCHOOL IS THE BEST!

[TheGloriaaDeus]

love the shirt

[vanny409]

hell ya this is it thanks

[joeygarage77]

you are amazing!

i saw the eliminators at the bella terra movie theater when me and my buddy were hangin out, bought the unleashed CD and havent turned it off since!!!

hope to see you around the pier???

[skaterguy656]

hah imagine playing this on a dean v which is what im playing misirlou on. but great playing man.

[panzermehaniker]

Cool !

[pepperdineu1]

Gotta love surf guitars! I play an old (blue) American strat thru a 64 blackface Bandmaster...have so many favorites won't even try to name them--but my all-time fav song is--Pipeline! Love it!

Also have a Terry Taylor mod surf green strat w/ a mermaid painted on it andnch.

[inkey2]

i juat love raw simple surf licks with tons of spring reverb.....I'd take this over clapton any day

[drew7473]

man,i love surf guitar..thanks

[NielsMF]

this stuff is fantastisc man makes me wanna ride my motorcycle and whistle the tune in my helmet

[IanKusekSoloArtist]

what kind of guitar is that (brand)?

[bolijack]

@IanKusekSoloArtist Gee, where are ya from???

ever heard of fender strats?????

[Verbeke1992]

@IanKusekSoloArtist

Fender Stratocaster!

Damn son...

[lloydy648]

very surfing like!! i love it!!

[rollingstones1965]

Surf music's still gonna be around after man no longer exists. Sounds Beautiful. Thanks for posting. I've listened to "LIttle Old Ladies Seldom Power Shift" about a million times. Good job.

[emafire]

Ma!n you are very surf rocker!

[SilencedChaos]

that's a real lesson on old-school surf: great!

[van1976]

Love that surf sound. Saw Dick Dale a couple years ago and Los Straitjackets last night (with El Vez) . Good time.

--Van

[ultimatestreersk8r]

Thats Guitar Is Beautiful(:

[kdjfnvjvd]

pretty strat

[SpaceAceTX]

Surf green looks cool even sitting on the stand!!

[goodmilk06]

i love surf music i live a bike ride from the beach and i bodyboard all summer long!!!!

[EJRocky]

That is my #1 dream guitar.

And the fact you're playing surf music on it, while it's Surf Green in colour, makes this even better :)

[XourRat]

Sweet

[Rickycatpa]

I love instrumental surf!I loved from the first time I saw Pulp Fiction!You are a legend,man!Thank youuuuuuuuu!!

[dumbass55]

Good Un!

[ellocogoshy]

amazing

[twisty2ful]

bangin!

[gc241]

Thanks John. I was wondering if there is any difference bewteen the American Vintage pickups and the made in Mexico Vintage pickups? I heard the Custom 54's are supposed to be great also.

[SurfCityVideo]

Unknown.... Sorry...

[surfgeekmusic]

@gc241 There is a difference between these pickups. I sell lots of Fenders on my site at "guitar2thestars" on ebay. The Mexican is a great pickup, but the mim reissues offer a, noticeable, deeper and richer sound. Then the Cadillac, the American pick up is another step up.... you get even more tone... a clearer/cleaner tone with a more centered sound.

[MorkaGraven]

@gc241 Probably the consistency in quality.

[maizmexicano]

@gc241 difference in guitars is the sound, glue, work and the wood. Need be a real Mexican vintage pickups for be best than the U.S guitars. 54s and (to) 68s mexican guitars only. Lennon had one to lost and recovered. Elvis,had one,too.

[SurfCityVideo]

This an American made vintage reissue 57 Strat. These are the pickups it was sold with.

[gc241]

I just got one of these Surf Green Strats. My question for you is are you seing the stock pickups that came with the MIM Strat or did you change pickups to something else?

[EdMuirton]

Great playing! Gotta luv surf green strats! Cheers!

[gc241]

Great playing John. Got a question or 2 for you. What guage strings are you useing? Are you playing through a tube amp or useing a Fender Floor Reverb Tank? Is that color Surf Green or Turk?

[owlbuo]

eliminator rock man

[jwalsh8]

perfect strat colour imo

[dylan962300]

The Lively Ones, they play surf rider. I think thats the theme song from pulp fiction

[BleachMusicStudios]

'Scuse that I mean "by", not "my"

[182stratman]

fender's greatest guitar!

[localiset]

surf style owns!!!

Awesome play

=D

[driftz0r]

I own a Fender Pro Reverb, Hot Rod Deluxe & Blues Junior. I've upgraded the tank in the Hot Rod to a Accutronics 3 Spring with Long Decay and the Blues Junior to a Ruby Reverb. I'd highly reccomend it for anyone looking into surf territory.

[OREN2465]

i love this guitar,lol

[denerpunkrock]

sweet guitar

:D

[kingbarrydg]

this is so amazing!!!!!!!! you really know how to shred. this makes me want to learn more about guitar. thanks a million for posting this, totally inspirational!!!!!

[VC631]

That Guitar Is Beautiful, Nice Playing!

[eletronzip]

great tone!

[ccdsurf]

OMG you are one of my faves! I am maybe a little late to the world of surf rock, but I am addicted. I have a lot of Lively Ones... glad to see you on YouTube! I hope play surf in a band someday soon myself.

[NickFeder]

YEAH!  =D

[NinetiesYouth]

What kind of reverb is this? Plate? Spring?

[SurfCityVideo]

1964 fender spring reverb.

[NinetiesYouth]

Awesome, thanks

[BeachGod1983]

I know a guy who has a guitar just like that and it is a great guitar.

Oh and great video. Those are some sweet tunes.

[Rubionguitar]

Man, great tone, great guitar, and you have a surfboard at your garage. Congratulations! Surf and rock for ever

[elmo696]

your neck is so shiny, makes me want to buy one. Damn i always loved maple neck.

[lRensolel]

Same here, just reminds me of a bowling alley

Would love playing some tunes on that thing myself.

[JeffreyDowners]

He lost the ATTACK but i still listen the old Lively Ones comp. on DEL-FI. Great surf band. No need to put a lot of reverb or delay anyway. You need soul to play this. (Not so bad for an old man Satriani/Vai wannbees huh?!)

[Marrondelpedro]

you should cover some Los Lagartos Blancos

dig those tones

[gretscher]

I like that biting clean Fender tone he gets. The clean sounding clear Strat pickups with the clean Fender amp. Have a Fender Japan Squier Strat from 1987 that I had some Custom '54s put in and I can get similar to his tone. Diff is he can play well of course being a pro surf guitarist and I am not. The reverb really shines and displays the Fender clean tone for what it is.

[ikram9191]

totally rock..

love that start i wan buy one..

[nc51heel]

dude. that was ripping. totally enjoyed it.

[coastalbreeze1]

nice

[la65retro]

Yeahhhhhhhhhhh

[gitaard]

nice!

[beseeingyou6]

love surf music and the Lively ones!

5 stars!

i have the album that combines surf rider and the lively ones albums.

[galacticox4]

That's pretty dope. Nice tone.

[dreamarky]

That's great. I like your style.  I will have to dust off my '63.

[taytaycaron]

i love everything about the 57 stratocaster except that it only has a 3 pickup selector switch. He's playing awesome too.

[Skarpediem]

nice spirit !

[actooon]

Fantastic! Autentic! THIS is the Music - clean + reverb : that's all! WITHOUT plastic digital shit effects... Cheers from Actooon ;)

[Axemanthegreat]

surf on the '57 reissue. doesn't get much better than that.

[mijmar67]

actually, it does...

surf on a *real* '57 :^)

[asldjfalksdjf]

gnarley

[daza0166]

Awesome guitar playing. You look and your voice sounds like Steve Correll :).

[ComputerGeek27]

your strat is BEUTIFUL!!!

[FRV300]

nice guitar,and the music too

[flatoutrockandroll]

wow

[DaiMer82]

Your guitar is really shiny. I like it :)

[LifesaGardenDigit1]

Groovy..

[howsmydrifting]

that guitar is a such a baby.

[resurrectionshuffle]

Thanks for posting this. Really enjoyed it, especially the Jan and Dean instrumental track. You may think old ladies seldom power shift but there's an old girl who lives up our road...but hey thats another story.

[dumbass55]

Hell yeah the lively ones!

[doignon]

Whats the first song called again?

[Homieg89]

I played that at the guitar center its a sick guitar.

[muchoelectro]

The Lively Ones rock!

[Marcoshary]

Very good!

[aweoig]

Sweet!

[victorsibarani]

damn, how did u manage to get the neck sooo glossy?

[UnchartedKaleLight]

fenders that had the truss rod inserted in the back didnt have the fret board cut so they lacquerd it with the rest

[Khaled1Rules]

You could also buy a can of gloss finish from Home Depot and do it yourself.

[sqbx123]

Verry good !!!

[SimMaster]

that guitar is sweet

[ugle99]

Surf green is a groovy color !

[KingKoopa2391]

lol bro ! u realy do look like steve Carell..but awesome guitar plying bro

[Stewmade64]

Dude you could pass for Steve Carell's brother! Nice playing.

[SurfCityVideo]

Equipment used is a Fender 57 American reissue Stratocaster, an original Fender 1964 reverb tank (which was sick at the time), a Fender Deluxe 90 amp.

[NICKELBACKROCKFAN]

Nice Strat American Right

[Khaled1Rules]

I now play this song randomly.

[JAKExDExLAxSOUL]

hey this guitar is beautiful and im down for buying one. I have a gibson archtop because my style mainly is jazz but imm looking at strats because the archtop doesnt do too well for blues/reggae/stuff with overdrive so will this guitar be good if i play alot of reggae or blues with distortion?

[fenderbandi]

Best choice would be buddy!

[Prix21]

SWEET!!!!

[squidstar14]

I wish i could play like that!!

[napalmtube]

man theres nothing like a surf green strat and a fender reverb...accept a telecaster and a bassman!

[455663789632]

cool

[sergionano1]

bitchin guitar bitchin sound I love it!

[mrjlk]

Man; Ive got a 1986 Surf Green Fender Strat - - -They rule

[SurfCityVideo]

This video was done spur of the moment. We plan on doing another one day as time permits. At the present, John is very busy playing with The Eliminators.

[NepaTrish]

thank you. i enjoyed that.

[musicphan1]

Very nice. I think I'll learn this song.

[LilJ5290]

that was an honor being in your presence of watching you.

[pennylee1965]

Oh MY God~~Thank-You~~

[irvingjohn]

You're holding my dream guitar. ;(

[irvingjohn]

You're holding my dream guitar. ;(

[SurfCityVideo]

Read "about the video."

[jspartacus]

Are you using vintage reverb? That nasty ringing/whistle is painful. I know the reissues have a different tone capacitor than the vintage ones, and it can contribute to that ringing. Just wondering...

[SurfCityVideo]

64 vintage reverb. Caps were bad. Have been replaced.

[redoitnow]

the color helps(: lovin the strat. a pink one would go good too :D

[SurfCityVideo]

Its not the color that makes it sound surfy. Its the guy playing it.

[surfinbeat1]

thank you,it was a HONOUR to watch you play,what else could any one say but thank you. ;-)

[Khaled1Rules]

I wanna buy that guitar in Ocean turqouise, that will be surfy!

[ravenhaller]

Fantastic! Some more surf chops for me to ponder - seeing I know all your Lively Ones' songs inside out! That reverb sound is to die for!!! Can't wait to see more

[floiterpoo]

dig that geetar..

[grimluv2grind]

That was great! Just the sound I'm looking for. One day I'll be able to afford an American Strat like that... maybe.

Until then - any idea where I can get some surf guitar tabs?

[moco2k]

I just got myself a fender classic 50's (what seems to be exactly the same guitar he uses) and it's a great deal for a good price if you want good surf sound. Don't be afraid of the classic series because they are made in mexico. I'm using it with a pod x3 live though (no fender verb) but the sound is still amazing.

[SurfCityVideo]

As stated in the description of the vid, this as an American 57 vintage reissue.

[moco2k]

Ah I see, just don't read so far, but it looks just the same and I'm wondering what's the difference actually..

[StratomasterT]

Beautiful guitar...what a great color with that shiny maple neck. Nice tone, too, especially the lower registers. I'm with "Gretscher"...a Strat doesn't need a whole lot of crunch to sound good. They sound great clean!!

Check out my own '57 video as well!

[tab1990]

what is the name of the song at 5min?

[raadenver]

Old Ladies Seldom Power Shift

[warpigs020]

Very nice!

[tab1990]

This is such a grate sound what are the settings?

[gretscher]

Fender Deluxe 90, a solid state amp huh. Sounds great, who says you need a tube amp to sound good. Then again he's a great player so that's most of it and as important as the equipment. Do you know if he uses flatwound or roundwound strings? I tend to think roundwound but I am curious. Also what guitar did he use back in the '60s?

[SurfCityVideo]

For this video, the Strat was as it came form the factory, as was the amp. Settings on the reverb tank were 3.2 7 7. The reverb tank is a vintage 1964 with the original factory tubes.

[bambiberlin]

This is great, please can someone tell me what effect to use to get this sound? I am a beginner with a basic fender and I have a cheap (and it seems, not very good) multi-FX box, but can't find anything that sounds like this. Would be happy to buy a single pedal but don't know what to go for. Thanks!

[SurfCityVideo]

Equipment used is a Fender 57 American reissue Stratocaster, an original Fender 1964 reverb tank (which was sick at the time), a Fender Deluxe 90 amp.

[bambiberlin]

Wow thanks very much for the quick reply and straight from the horse's mouth too! Much appreciated, I've noted the details and will see what I can do (though I still need a LOT more practice!) Happy New Year and keep on surfing!

[dzava]

Would the Fender 65 Twin Reverb or the Fender 65 Super Reverb do the trick?

I have a '07 US Deluxe strat and Id like to play some surf music...

what effects would you recomend?

[JohnnySplattWadd]

Lace "Holy Grail" pickups in your strat will give you superb vintage surf tones. The tone of a "54" strat without the 60 cycle hum or the price tag. 150.00 will get you the tones you seek. Works for me... P.S. Don't forget reverb..Lots & lots of it.

[DerClunk]

If you can't afford a vintage Fender reverb tank, the Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Reverb makes a good substitute.

[crelis]

i love surf. this sound is so wonderfull. 57/62 pups!

[ISOWHAT2]

it's surf green not foam green .

the 57 reissue's are surf green!

[sportsportsport]

awesome.

[v2vroth]

I love the surf guitar style and you own it my friend!!

[bsdaldal]

I luvd the color of the guitar..Surf Green: )

[kelziftawi]

foam green

[bsdaldal]

foam green: )? thanx dude.

[Turb1ne]

Great playing, great sound!

[intrusone]

Cheers man! great sound

[clutchruner]

beautiful. loved it. love surf guitar.

[mrfatboy559]

awsome