Ran Mosessco, co-founder and guitarist/saz player with SoCal Middle Eastern-influenced surf band The Scimitars, told us about his love for his Fender tube-driven spring reverb units and 1960-1963 Fender Showman amp heads...
Ran Mosessco: I have been attending Surf Guitar 101 Festival since day one (when the event was called Surf Guitar 101 Convention), and for many years have been providing the guitar amp backline for the event, plus acting as a stage manager to ensure smooth operation and transitions between bands. I have performed several times at the event, both with The Scimitars, as well as with my previous band The Sand Devils, and various one-off combos with fellow Surf musicians.
When I realized years ago that the event creator, Jeff "Big Tiki Dude" Hanson, needed to borrow backline equipment from several sources, I decided that I would try to make life easier for him and provide the amps, speaker cabinets and reverb units that the event requires, while ensuring they are always in tip-top shape to avoid unexpected technical issues.
Being a traditionalist in regards to "tone", I believe that Surf music sounds the best when it's played through the equipment originally used to create it. That means my "Can't Do Without" gear is a combination of tube-driven spring reverb units (Fender 6G15) played through 1960-1963 Fender Showman amp heads (6G14/6G14-A) hooked up to speaker cabinets containing 15" JBL speakers (D130, D130F and similar). These amps and cabs originally came in a visually-striking combination of Rough Blonde Tolex (Nubtex) and Oxblood grill cloth, so I make sure that the backline provided fits the theme, furnishing the festival with at least 4 vintage 1961-1962 Showman heads, cabinets with JBL speakers, and at least 4 reverb units containing vintage Gibbs spring pans. In addition, the bass amp and cab visually match the theme. They are provided by my good friend and co-founder of The Scimitars, Jonpaul Balak (Surf music's no.1 bass player and all-around Surf, Tiki and exotica renaissance man).
I love sharing the equipment I've collected through the years with my Surf brothers and sisters, to help them sound the best when they play our event.
The Surf Guitar 10 Festival takes place August 1-3 at the Golden Sails Hotel, Long Beach. Visit surfguitar101festival.com for info.
Photo Credits: Hunter King (taken at SG101 Festival 2024)
