The Charvel Surfcaster is a model of
electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...
designed and produced in the early 1990s by the Charvel/Jackson guitar company. The Surfcaster was manufactured in Japan at the Chushin Gakki factory as were all the import Charvel guitars in this er
1991 Charvel Import Guitars In addition the Charvel Jackson Guitar company released the Surfcaster in 1991 with advertising and public relations featuring Steve Cropper as an official endorsee. The Surfcaster has been considered a boutique style guitar that employs many retro styles from leading manufacturers of the fifties and sixties. These design aspects make it significantly different from other models by Charvel/Jackson that focused mainly on the hard rock guitarist.
The Surfcaster was picked as a "Pawn Shop Prize" by
Guitar Player
''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California. It contains articles, interviews, reviews and lessons of an eclectic collection of artists, genres and products. It has been in print si ...
magazine in July 2003.
Sound and playability
The Surfcaster guitar is typically known for its twang and was originally targeted to the Surf Rock and Country music guitar player. The low output Chandler lipstick pickups contribute to the open airy sound. Later models with humbucker pickups appealed to Metal and Pop guitarists.
Design
Originally available only in the two
lipstick pickup
A lipstick guitar pickup is a form of single-coil magnetic guitar pickup, having its electronics totally encased in a chrome-plated metal tube.
The lipstick-tube pickup was first introduced by Danelectro on their line of electric guitars. The o ...
configuration, later models would include a humbucking pickup in the bridge position. Later solid body 3 lipstick pickup variations were also produced. A twelve string and four string bass version were also created and are highly collectible. A double neck 12 string/6 string model was made in very small numbers and is now also highly collectible. In later years the Surfcaster was released under the Jackson brand name and production facilities changed from Japan to Indonesia. Quality & cosmetics suffered. When Charvel/Jackson was purchased by
Fender in 2002 they dropped the Surfcaster because of its similarity to guitars sold under the Fender brand.
Notable Surfcaster players
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Steve Cropper
Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as Ot ...
*
Bilge Kosebalaban
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of
Direc-t
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Band history
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*
Scott Ian
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of
Anthrax
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*
Bruce Cockburn
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*
Tommy Victor
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Prong
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(
Cleansing era)
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Bilinda Butcher
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Early life
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My Bloody Valentine
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Mark Collins of
The Charlatans (UK band)
The Charlatans are an English rock band formed in West Midlands, England in 1988. The current line-up comprises lead vocalist Tim Burgess, guitarist Mark Collins, bassist Martin Blunt and keyboardist Tony Rogers.
All the band's thirteen st ...
*
David Lowery of
Cracker
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Camper Van Beethoven
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*
Barry Hay
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Biography
Hay was born in Faizabad, India, to a Dutch- ...
of
Golden Earring
Golden Earring (originally known as The Tornados) was a Dutch rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague as The Golden Earrings. They achieved worldwide fame with their international hit songs "Radar Love" in 1973, which went to number one on th ...
*Richard Edwards of
Margot and the Nuclear So and So's
Margot & the Nuclear So and So's is an American rock band from Indianapolis, Indiana. Between 2006 and 2014, the band released 6 full-length albums.
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The band's founding members, Richard Edwards and Andy Fry, met while teens. Eventuall ...
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Martin Phillipps of
The Chills
The Chills are a New Zealand rock band that formed in Dunedin in 1980. The band is essentially the continuing project of singer/songwriter Martin Phillipps, who is the group's sole constant member. For a time in the 1990s, the act was billed a ...
* Xavier Boyer of
Tahiti 80
Tahiti 80 are a French indie pop band from Rouen. The group was founded in 1992 by Xavier Boyer, Pedro Resende, Médéric Gontier and Sylvain Marchand.
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Ryosuke Nagaoka
, is a Japanese musician, and singer and guitar player for the band Petrolz. Under the stage name , he was the second guitarist for Ringo Sheena's band Tokyo Jihen from 2005 until 2012. In 2013, Nagoka joined the band Gokumontō Ikka, a project i ...
*
Will Sergeant
William Alfred Sergeant (born 12 April 1958) is an English guitarist, best known for being a member of Echo & the Bunnymen. Born in Walton Hospital, he grew up in the village of Melling and attended nearby Deyes Lane Secondary Modern. He is th ...
of
Echo & the Bunnymen
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Vince Gill
Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist b ...
See also
*
Outcaster
External links
Charvel Surfcaster websiteComplete Surfcaster DescriptionMatrix of all known Surfcaster variationsCD cover featuring different SurfcastersEastwood Surfcasters
{{Jackson Guitars
Electric guitars
Semi-acoustic guitars