# How to get the right sound for "Wipeout"?



## Classic_Cool (Oct 20, 2011)

I've been practicing the electric guitar off and on for a while and I finally got around to trying to play a song. I chose "Wipeout" cause it's a classic song and pretty easy to remember but I can't seem to get the sound right. I've got an Ibanez ART100 guitar and I bought a Boss AC-3 Acoustic Simulator with this song in mind but the notes just come out sounding too deep. I've tried messing with the settings on the Boss pedal but I'm just not getting any closer. It's discouraging trying to learn a song when you don't sound anything like it 

Anybody have any advice for me? Thanks.


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## keeperofthegood (Apr 30, 2008)

Im not the one to know  but had to go watch it again just to hear it. Honestly the tone I hear is more akin to rubber bands than guitar strings LOL (clean to a good tube amp, palm mute as you go my 2 cents)

[video=youtube;T8__EwAT8VM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8__EwAT8VM[/video]


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

I would start by running clean (no effects or distortion) into your amp and turning up the reverb, if you have it.


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## keeperofthegood (Apr 30, 2008)

I would have to agree Brian. In just reading the bits and bobs on The Ventures their career had two phases for equipment (which is remarkable they are still going too). Their early days they used clean into amps and their later days they went with simply over driving the amps. Paraphrasing of course  still working on my first cup of coffee and getting heck from my son's teacher LOL


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## keeperofthegood (Apr 30, 2008)

LOL Ok going back to the ORIGINATOR of the song here, an history of the original by the original

[video=youtube;070WNc5hDyM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=070WNc5hDyM[/video]


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## NGroeneveld (Jan 23, 2011)

As for tone, looks like that pickup selector switch is on either bridge or bridge/middle.


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

keeperofthegood said:


> I would have to agree Brian. In just reading the bits and bobs on The Ventures their career had two phases for equipment (which is remarkable they are still going too). Their early days they used clean into amps and their later days they went with simply over driving the amps. Paraphrasing of course  still working on my first cup of coffee and getting heck from my son's teacher LOL


One common thing is they used guitars with higher output single coils. The Mosrites in the video had something close to a P-90, and they used Jazzmasters a lot later on. That really contributes to the tone, especially the tone in that video.

Another thing to keep in mind in that video is that for that whole concert (I have it) the bass player is playing a Mosrite version of something like a Bass VI. So you have it hammering the same riffs the guitar is.

I absolutely love that video. Tone heaven to me. And the recording gear is so minimal.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Clean into a classic black faced Fender with the spring reverb cranked and some tremolo my friend.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

Robert1950 said:


> Clean into a classic black faced Fender with the spring reverb cranked and some tremolo my friend.


 

for an overall "ventures" kinda feel i would agree, but i'm not hearing much reverb in the vid posted above.
getting that surf sound with a humbucking lp copy is gonna be a tough one. my advice would be to accept right off the bat that you're only gonna get so close. you can use a ball peen hammer to drive a nail, but it's _not ideal for that job_. that don't mean it ain't a good hammer though. understand? 
i would start at the guitar and play the bridge pup, and use a stiff pick as close to the bridge as i could play. lose the acoustic simulator, it's only making your sound warmer. the opposite of what you want. next i would go to the amp and kill most of the low end, bring up the mids some, and crank the highs until i get ice picks, then back off some. my band used to play wipe out and a couple other surf tunes back in the day, but we "heavy-metalized" them, because it was 1982, and that was the thing to do back then. these days i cringe at the blasphemous things we did to classics by the ventures, chuck berry, and elvis, just to name a few. youth really is wasted on the young.


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## Classic_Cool (Oct 20, 2011)

Lol, starting to think I should just pick a different song to learn and come back to this one later. I'll play with my amp when I get home but I suspect I won't get that perfect sound out of it. Thanks guys.


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

cheezyridr said:


> *for an overall "ventures" kinda feel i would agree, but i'm not hearing much reverb in the vid posted above*.
> getting that surf sound with a humbucking lp copy is gonna be a tough one. my advice would be to accept right off the bat that you're only gonna get so close. you can use a ball peen hammer to drive a nail, but it's _not ideal for that job_. that don't mean it ain't a good hammer though. understand?
> i would start at the guitar and play the bridge pup, and use a stiff pick as close to the bridge as i could play. lose the acoustic simulator, it's only making your sound warmer. the opposite of what you want. next i would go to the amp and kill most of the low end, bring up the mids some, and crank the highs until i get ice picks, then back off some. my band used to play wipe out and a couple other surf tunes back in the day, but we "heavy-metalized" them, because it was 1982, and that was the thing to do back then. these days i cringe at the blasphemous things we did to classics by the ventures, chuck berry, and elvis, just to name a few. youth really is wasted on the young.


Ya, the Ventures live sound from those days was just dirty nasty (in a fantastic way). I love it. One other note, they are using Blonde series amps in those videos (and most others from those days) as far as I know.


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