Original equipment strings on Fenders- late '50's-early '60'

[cockroach]

Just read an interesting book by a Kent Crowley, called 'Surf Beat' - 'Rock'n'Roll's Forgotten Revolution' - published this year, about the history of surf music guitar instrumental in the USA from about '58 to the present time.(ISBN is 978-1-61713-007-6)

As expected there are very few references to the Shads, as it centres on folk like Dick Dale, Surfaris, Chantays, Beach Boys etc.

However, there are interesting comments about the gear used - mainly Fender guitars, amps and reverb units of course.

Also there are some quotes about the strings which Fender fitted as original equipment to Strats, Jazzmasters, Jaguars etc in that era. Evidently the majority of surf music players used stock guitars with strings as supplied- heavy flatwounds. (This included the Beach Boys who were playing a lot of instrumentals back then.)

Apparently Ernie Ball had his guitar shop in LA and noticed a few people were putting together lighter gauge sets with plain thirds, banjo firsts etc (Eddie Cochran used to get him to make up light gauge sets for his Gretsch) and he asked Fender why they didn't fit them and sell more guitars!.

Fender replied that the Strat pickups were designed for optimum performance wth heavy gauge flatwounds (13-56 or so) as these were the best available 'premium' strings available back then- the pickups were wound to enhance the sound of the flatwounds and were 'voiced' accordingly to give a very sharp treble response to balance the inherent dead sound of the flatwounds.

This anecdotal evidence was confirmed by a Chris Fleming of Fender.

Make of this what you will....perhaps the flatwounds were fitted as standard factory issue to 34346?

[abstamaria]

We had this discussion before. My guitar dealer in the US, who has been in the industry for some time and well regarded, told me that all the Fenders came with flatwounds in the 50s and early 60s, so I suggested that maybe Cliff's Fiesta Red Strat may have come so strung. Many searched their memories and said that wasn't possible. I am not saying "Apache" was played with flatwounds, as Hank might have changed strings early on, but then again, maybe the key to That Sound is (heresy!) flatwounds!

I raised the same query with respect to the Ventures' early sound, so we had a discussion there too:

viewtopic.php?f=61&t=4590

Anyway, I have since changed the strings n my Jazzmaster to Thomastik Infield George Benson flatwounds. It sounds closer now to "Walk Dont Run "and the early hits than ever before.

I also asked the same question regarding how the J200 might have been strung, but have gotten no responses.

I am not carrying on a crusade for flatwounds, just trying to keep an open mind. I just keep running into leads pointing to flatwounds, including this one.

Thanks very much for that post, John. Very interesting.

Andy

[ecca]

The only strings we could get at first in the early sixties were tapewound.

[Didier]

Also there are some quotes about the strings which Fender fitted as original equipment to Strats, Jazzmasters, Jaguars etc in that era. Evidently the majority of surf music players used stock guitars with strings as supplied- heavy flatwounds. (This included the Beach Boys who were playing a lot of instrumentals back then.)

As I already often wrote, in the early sixties, all the Strats in saw in the Paris music shops were fitted with flatwound strings. Of course I could I could only look at them as the price tag was always dissuasive...

Didier

[JimN]

[quote="cockroach"the majority of surf music players used stock guitars with strings as supplied- heavy flatwounds. (This included the Beach Boys who were playing a lot of instrumentals back then.)[/quote]

I wouldn't be at all sure that the guitars on the Beach Boys' better-known records were played by the Beach Boys. They were noted for their use of session-players; Howard Roberts, Barney Kessel, Joe Osborne, Glen Campbell and Bruce Johnston (later a band-member on stage) all wore the metaphorical Hawaiian shirt of that group. Carl probably played on some tracks (especially Carl's Big Chance), but Good Vibrations?

NB: For tapewound strings, take a listen to the guitar sound on In My Room.

JN

[cockroach]

I'm sorry to have to correct the erudite Mr. Jim Nugent, but the references about guitars and strings etc were regarding the Beach Boys when they first started in 1961, well BEFORE their breakthrough in about late '62 /early '63, and the subsequent use of session men (Tommy Tedesco, Glen Campbell, etc) at the famous Goldstar studios in LA.

In fact quite a few of the surf groups and artists made their early 'pre-fame' recordings at the small Studio Z in Cucamonga - which establishment was owned and operated by none other than Frank Zappa..

[JimN]

Hi, John, I absolutely agree that there is no way of knowing what anyone was doing for small-time live work before their recording days, and that certainly includes the Beach Boys.

My point was simply that the thesis can't easily be proven either way by listening to records. The Beach Boys were noted (even at the time) for hardly being on their own records instrumentally. Like another favourite group of mine from the period (The Crickets), they weren't completely absent, but you can usually hear the difference on the odd track where the guitarist or drummer is "featured".

I still have a Fender catalogue from circa 1962 (UK, Selmer), in which several different electric guitar string sets were offered. From memory (I'm way too lazy to go searching in the loft right now), there were three roundwound sets and one tapewound set. It isn't beyond the bounds of possibility that flatwounds were fitted to the premium models. At the time, many players in the UK (and, I assume, in the USA and elsewhere) regarded tape/flatwound as the obvious pro choice and would have changed strings almost immediately on buying a new instrument if it were supplied with roundwounds...

JN

[cockroach]

Sorry to disagree again Jim, but the information in the book came from an interview with David Marks who was a Beach Boy early on when Al Jardine left for a while.

He said that he and Carl Wilson initially both used Strats with heavy flatwounds- then when Al returned, Carl used a matching white Jaguar also with flats. and Brian got a white P Bass to match! Carl then also got a Rick 12 string with the square body edges and F-hole the same as George Beatle- which was unusual then as most USA Ricks had the German carve rounded edges.

[tommybird]

My 1962 Strat came with round wound strings not tapewound.
Cheers Tommy.

[B Caine]

Hi all, my original 61 strat came with wire wound strings from Santa Anna California, from then on I always used Gibson strings, I found them to give the best "Strat" sound and they lasted a long time before going dull and loosing their twang, Brian.