Good Amps For that Surf Punk sound

[Zach Ernest]

I have a Marshall half Stack and Im getting really into a surf sound like with a ton of reverb and fuzz

What would be a good amp thats on the cheaper side?

And What are some of the Set ups that the great Surf Punk Bands are Using?

Im sure some people know and I know alot of people want to know !

[Kill, Baby...Kill!]

Bye 'surf punk' what are some examples? Agent Orange? Man or Astro-man?

 

I know Agent Orange were using the Crate Vintage Palamino amps a few years back.

 

MOAM? use Fender amps, of course.

[Zach Ernest]

Thanks Buddy !

[Kill, Baby...Kill!]

No problem. If you are on a budget, the Peavey Classic series is actually pretty comparable to the Fender tube amps. Also, the Crate Vintage Club and Palamino series, although not made anymore, are quite good for vintage surf tone. On top of that, it depends on what you are going for. If you want a really 'surf' sound, you are going to need a great reverb. While the Fender outboard reverb units are the most desireable, they cost a hefty penny. Boss and Fender teamed up a few years back and released a pedal called the Fender Frv-1, 63 Vintage Reverb. I cannot recommend this pedal enough. It is as close as you will ever get to the outboard unit and you can get them new for 130 bucks. They react in very much the same way as the outboard units, including overdriving and have an amazing 'drip', which I have yet to find another reverb pedal that even comes close.

 

As for me, with Kill,Baby...Kill!, I use a Peavey Blues Classic, which is the same as a Classic 50, but with a 15" speaker. On the pedal end, I have an Ibanez Tube Screamer and the FRV-1 reverb pedal. Those are my primary tools. I have other pedals on my board that I integrate into certain songs but are not really part of the overall tone. I would compare the sound to mid-year Man or Astro-man? guitar tone. You can sample some of the live sound at www.myspace.com/killbabykill

[Zach Ernest]

Yeah I was looking at a super reverb but i dont have 1500 bucks to drop on an amp. The Frv looks really good and I thought maybe that with an outboard reverb form a fender frontman 212 would sound cool. Im not sure about the frontman though, iv played a couple and they sound really good but theres a lot of other amps that could be better for the same 400 bucks.

[Kill, Baby...Kill!]

Yeah, if you are looking in the 400 buck range, I would surely look into the Peavey and Crate series I mentioned. Even among surf snobs, these amps are well regarded and you can easily find them in your range. The fact is that you are simply not going to get that tube tone that is so sought after with a solid state amp. Fender tube amps while amazing, are simply overpriced. You can, at times, find the old silverface fender Bassman heads in the 3-400 range and they are great. They have no onboard reverb but, as stated before, you are going to want an outboard unit anyway. The FRV-1 is hands down the best economical option for this.

[Zach Ernest]

Yeah Im gonna go check out those peavey and crate amps for sure. Its all tubes all day. That fake electronic shit sucks !

This guy tryed to sell me some line 6 piece of shit and I just looked at him and i said "Would you play that little electronic shit? Or would you play through tubes for a real sound?"

 

[Kill, Baby...Kill!]

Yeah..tube amps are a strange beast when you are used to solid states. Just understand this. Wattage is going to be lower on them. 50 watts on a tube amp is louder than 100 watts on a solid state amp. 50-60 watts will be more than you will ever need. Actually, if you like dirty/overdriven tone, a 30 watt tube amp will be awesome. The louder the clean channel goes, the more the tubes saturate and give you natural overdrive/distortion. The higher the wattage, the higher you can turn them without them breaking up.

 

As far as the Peavey and Crates go. The crates are no longer produced. You can find them on ebay very easily. The peaveys are still made but the cost is out of your range for the new ones. Used, you can find them in your range on ebay on average.

 

 

[Zach Ernest]

Yeah my marshall is 100 watts and i turn it up. I dont mind how loud it is but when it breaks up oh man its the best !

I do need a smaller one though maybe 45

[Last Night]

In the cavaliers we use a Twin reverb and a Vibrosonic reverb (which is a twin with a 15" speaker) and we also have both a fender reverb tank (reissue of course)

A friend of mine have a white bandmaster with a fender reverb tank (which was used by Jan & Dean) , he plays with a strat ! He got a fucking amazing sound ! He got a real surf sound but can also have a MOAM sound,  of course itt's not the same money $$$ !

[Zach Ernest]

Well Now Im looking more around the 800 to a thousand buck range. My friend is also getting really into this and hes brought me into rocket from the tombs and more stuff like that.

A lot of reverb and fuzz combined with the natural breakup of a tube amp is the best thing in the world for me.
Ill pay anything to have that sound in my own house that I can play with.

[dublÉ]

Check out Laney's Lionheart range!..

[dying slowly]

on the subgect of out board reverbs i suggest the danelectro spring king ,its a proper spring rverb in the form of a (albiet reletivly wide )pedal ,AND it has a kick pad to get that cool explosive sound