Have you ever wondered just how much paraphernalia is required to play instrumental rock ‘n roll? It’s a lot. For the Lava Pups to perform, we have amplifiers (3), reverb units (2), a drum kit (drums, hardware, and cymbals), drum throne, a rug upon which the drum kit sits, guitars, a bass, cases, a pop-up guitar stand to hold 6 guitars or basses, surge protectors, electrical extension chords, guitar chords, more chords, pedal boards, wall warts or power units to power the pedals, more pedals for switching within amplifiers, tuners, mic stands, mics, and mic chords. That listing does not include drum sticks, drum key, picks, slides, extra strings, and other sundry items. Plus we have the Hula Pig mounted on the kick drum.
Somehow, in our search for a “surf sound,” we have a tendency to become equipment junkies. Paul has at least six electric guitars which I have seen. They all are Fenders of varying ages and include vintage Jazzmasters, a very used Jaguar, and others. For our recording sessions, he used two different guitars and two amps. Despite having 3 electric guitars already, my guitar "habit" was not filled until the Ocean Turquoise Jazzmaster came along.
We, however, are not extreme. When compared with the search for a particular sound by other guitar-oriented bands or performers, our search for a “surf sound” could be considered Spartan. Some pedal boards contain more gadgets and electronic devices than would seem imaginable: flangers, phasers, compressors, loopers, octave pedals, delays, echos, and on and on. Eric Johnson's pedal board looks like a control panel to a nuclear submarine.
At the opposite end of the spectrum is Chuck Berry. He reportedly arrives for a show with a guitar in a case. No amp. No pedals. No band. The promoter provides the back-up band and amp or sound system. Chuck collects his money, plugs in, plays, unplugs, puts his guitar back in the case, and leaves. No pay, no play.
This week, my search for a “surf sound” and desire to play out more as a band led to some new equipment. Over the short time that I have been playing, I became the owner of four reverb pedals plus whatever reverbs were in three amps. None of them created a true “surf sound.” So the time had come to become more authentic.
Fortunately, selling a music collection and trading-in two guitars financed the acquisitions. A brand new reverb unit (Fender, of course) and very nice used Fender Vibrolux amp arrived in time to test them out with Paul. We put in the tubes, plugged in, and played.
Sweet!
But that sound only whet the appetite to play more as a band and get out in public. Too bad that skill and talent are not as easily acquired . . . .