Generally speaking you can play any musical genre with most guitar rigs. No matter what sound you are hoping to achieve most setups will have a basic clean sound for pop and roots based music and some form of overdrive or distortion for punchier, “rockier” styles. Many entry level “bedroom” amplifiers offer so much more these days than just two basic channels with onboard effects and even connectivity to handy apps helping you to produce your desired sound.

As you develop your playing and move into more specific sounds and styles you may find you will want to personalise your rig to suit a particular genre of music. The good news is putting together a genre specific rig to suit a certain style does not have to mean spending major dollars and the advantage being not only will you get the sound you want, you will also start to feel you have invested in and connected to your chosen musical style. We assembled a panel of dedicated Musos Corner product demonstrators who are very serious about their respective musical styles and asked them to put together two rigs, one for under $1000 dollars to suit someone who is upgrading from their first basic all round set up the second is most or less a dream rig where money is no object just to see what is possible. The caveat here is we are not just spending money for the sake of it rather putting together a pro rig that will deliver the right sound, feel and aesthetics and stand up to the rigours of playing night after night.

All the pricing we are working from are the approximate street prices at time of publication. (July - 2022)

Budget Rig

For the “budget” set up we have tried to make this as close to your first upgrade to your rig as possible, with this in mind we are not really specifying a professional rig meant for stage use. We are concentrating on getting you a rig with the sound, playability and vibe of your chosen style. As upgrading all of your rig in one go is a rare thing due to budget we suggest you swap out your equipment as necessary to your requirements. You will find depending upon the style that amp wattage (volume) will vary considerably as required by each style.  

Dream Rig

For the “dream” set up we have specified no budget, however, as specified earlier we are not just looking to burn money here like a rockstar but just meet our favourite requirements based on sound, playability, reliability, durability and vibe, this can be often achieved without just going out and buying the most expensive equipment available. As we are “the people’s music store”, you won’t find any boutique or overly exotic gear on these lists, just easily readily available classics that have stood the test of time. 

What's in a rig?

Hypothetically included in each rig:

  • We have hypothetically included all the leads and patch cables you will need for each rig
  • We have hypothetically included a clip-on tuner for the budget rigs and a pedal tuner in the dream rig. We have also included a power supply or power brick for all pedal setups.
  • The other proviso we have is we are hypothetically supplying a road crew for the Dream Rigs so space and weight is not a factor in these decisions as you don’t have to lug it so you can knock yourself out.
  • All the pricing we are working from are the approximate street prices at time of publication.

Budget Surf Guitar Rig

for under $1000 (spec’d by AR)

Guitar - SX VES62FR ($199.00)

As referenced in other rig set ups, SX guitars are an excellent choice for a budget guitar option. This Stratocaster style of guitar has a vintage vibe from the early sixties and is in the ballpark for a similar option to those used by surf guitar pioneers Hank Marvin and Dick Dale. The three single coil pickups will give me plenty of variation and the vibrato bridge will allow us to shimmer or dive as required. This guitar is in fiesta red in tribute to the great Hank Marvin.

Amplifier - Vox AC4C1-BL ($485.00)

Vox has been making variations of this model since 1961 so it is period correct. It is an all tube 4 watt amplifier with a 10” inch speaker. We will be cranking the volume in relation to the gain as we need a relatively clean sound and the valves will make sure we have a full and warm tone with plenty of dynamics. At 4 watts we will have some limitations with our overall volume, however, this amp could easily be mic’d up on stage as long as you are not expecting Dick Dale types of volumes.

Effects Pedals - TC Pipeline Tremolo ($179); TC Skysurfer Reverb ($69.00); Behringer VD400 Vintage Delay ($42.00)

It is no coincidence that the creation of surf music went hand in hand with the invention with loud clean Fender amps such as the Vibrotone and Vibrolux with big reverb tanks and tremolo on board. The “wet” space and depth of these effects is a major part of this sound so we have chosen some great value TC pedals for our tremolo and reverb as well as a Behringer vintage style delay with more of an old school analogue echo effect rather than a digital one.

The Dream Surf Guitar Rig

+$1000 (spec’d by AR)

Guitar - Fender Vintera 50’s Stratocaster in Seafoam Green ($1729.00)

Angelo, our guitar tech who is spec’ing our surf guitar rigs absolutely loves Hark Marvin both in terms of his sound and his playing. Angelo owns an original Maton Firebird, a Burns Apache, multiple fiesta red Stratocasters, vintage Vox and Fender amps and one of most coveted effects for this style, the Roland RE201 space echo. This is just the tip of the iceberg of Angelo’s shrine of equipment to the genre so needless to say Angelo probably has his dream surf rig already sorted, however, he has spec’d this based on our new available products only policy.

Surprisingly, finding a Stratocaster with the right spec in Fiesta Red was quite challenging so we have gone with this 50’s spec in Seafoam green with Sonic Blue or Surf Green as close favourites. Hank primarily used a ‘58 for the “golden period of his career whilst Dick Dale used a rosewood capped early 60’s model, both have had signature models produced by Fender. The Vintera has a soft V neck, three vintage voiced period specific pickups for the crystalline, bell-like tone that made this guitar iconic and of course a trusty vibrato bridge for all the essential tremolo work whilst remaining in tune at all times.

Amplifier - Fender Super Reverb ‘65 Reissue ($3999.00)

We could have gone with the previously mentioned Vibrotone and Vibrolux amps, however, Angelo is going with the larger Super Reverb with four 10” speakers and 45 watts for a bigger sound and our included hypothetical road crew means Angelo doesn't have to lug this beast. All of our pre-requisite tremolo and reverb is inbuilt and will sound perfect for the style and the classic tone profile from this amp will deliver oceans of surf rock on demand.

Effect Pedals - Boss OD-3 ($165.00)

Most of Angelo’s effects and tone will come from the Super Reverb amp and he likes to keep things honest and simple, with no boutique options here. The good old fashioned Boss OD-3 overdrive is the choice here for just a touch of boost and fur, the Boss will also provide sustain, some compression and Boss’s legendary reliability.