How's this for showmanship?
In 2010, indie rock outfit Vampire Weekend kicked off their sophomore release Contra with the song "Horchata". The song opens the album in true early 2010s-twee indie fashion with baroque pop woodwinds, effervescent synth lines, and frontman Ezra Koenig's classic grab bag of New York Times crossword puzzle lyrical assemblies.
The song both sonically and lyrically alludes to the contrasts of the seasons – tropical chimes, frigid sleigh bells, a sunny Spanish beverage, a winter's cold too great to handle. As per Koenig's lyrics, drinking horchata in December might be well enough to make him look psychotic, though can we blame the NYC-based singer for sipping a sunny drink and yearning to escape an unforgiving Tri-State winter?
As we round out the last couple weeks of a Tri-State winter of our own here, we have our own kind of horchata keeping us dreaming of sunnier days. This is the Surfy Industries SurfyMan Preamp.
Shop the Surfy SurfyMan Preamp
A Summer at Surfy's
Introducing the Surfy Industries SurfyMan Preamp
Hailing all the way from Sweden, Surfy Industries is a sharp bunch of analog aficionados. Dedicating their entire operation to authentic, analog tonality through one-of-a-kind, innovative devices, there always seems to be another stone for Surfy to turn. This all manifests in Surfy's latest preamp pedal, the SurfyMan.
Surfy 101As a quick catch-up for anyone out of the loop, Surfy sees the beauty in retro – specifically, retro amplifiers and their unique characters and quirks. '50s and '60s American amplifiers are of particular interest to Surfy. This interest homes in on the analog effects that existed alongside the amplifiers of those days – way before the days of dedicated, user-friendly effect units or even (gasp) effect pedals.
Surfy founded their operation on authentic recreations of historic, amp-based effects like reverb and tremolo and have since staked their claim to the whole amp effect cannoli with preamps, fuzzes, and modulations.
Whether you're looking for Surfy's analog reverb effects through their SurfyBear series, their analog tremolo effects with the SurfyTrem series, or something in between with their SurfyVibe or SurfyFuzz, there's a world of authentic effect tones waiting for you at every turn.
Today's SurfyMan preamp pedal follows in classic Surfy tradition through the exploration and celebration of classic analog amplification sounds. The sounds in question belong to a classic American amp: the Showman. Alongside their "bassy" counterpart, the Showman played a pivotal role in the development of the surf music native to the sunny Californian shores from which it came.
Is it any wonder why Surfy might be smitten with an amp like the Showman? No, not at all. As a somewhat unsung hero of vintage American amplifiers, the Showman's got all the tube-driven personality of its siblings, so why not give it a shot in its own dedicated preamp pedal?
Why waste any more time? Let's talk about it.
Surfin' USA
Surfy Industries SurfyMan Preamp Effects
The SurfyMan sets out with a pretty intuitive set of controls. Basing its interface off original Showman amp configurations, the SurfyMan lays it all out plainly with ready-to-go tonality through knobs oh so twistable. Across the face of this pedal, you have dedicated knobs for your amp tones and your tremolo effect. Let's get into some amp sounds.
Amp Tone Controls
Onboard the SurfyMan, you have controls for Volume, Bass, Treble, and Presence. These controls operate how you would expect. If you've ever had the pleasure of playing early American-style tube amps, you've likely ran into these kinds of configurations before.
Treble and Bass are your traditional treble and bass controls – no surprises here. Go clockwise for more treble or bass in the signal and go counterclockwise for less – easy, right? Things start to spice up a little bit when you introduce your Volume control into the equation.
Master and CommanderYour Volume control will differ in use from your Master control. While the two might have similar functions, your Volume control will adjust the output gain of the SurfyMan's amp qualities while the Master control will handle the output of the entire unit. What this means is that you can crank the SurfyMan's Volume to summon some more amp-like warmth and roll back the Master to play with that heat at more controlled output volumes. In contrast, you can punch up the Master control and reel in on Volume to keep the amp a little cooler and more collected at louder output volumes. This push and pull makes the SurfyMan incredibly interactive and compatible with a variety of room sizes and performance scenarios!
The pièce de résistance of the SurfyMan's amp interface, however, is definitely its Presence control knob. Commonly making appearances on tweed-style amplifiers of the mid-century, Presence is a unique control that brings about exciting tonal conclusions. Those familiar with Presence knobs will note that they do not operate on a strict zero-to-one-hundred basis as they turn and rather work to highlight distinct frequencies across its range. The Presence knob acts as a great final component of your amp sound as you set your gain, volume and EQ, and pluck out some interesting amp frequencies by rolling through the Presence knob's full range.
What's interesting to note is that the SurfyMan utilizes the same tone-stack circuitry as original Showmen amplifiers. This authenticity makes the SurfyMan's tone controls anything you need them to be. Want to crank everything up to get reliable tube-like warmth? Want to roll it all back to play it cool? The SurfyMan has all that and more when you're in the market for charming tube warmth at any dosage.
Onboard the SurfyMan, we have yet another Surfy specialty: tremolo. The SurfyMan features a built-in tremolo effect and offers players a choice between "black" and "brown" tremolo tones à la the SurfyTrem tremolo effect pedal. "Black" and "brown" in this context refers to "black" and "brown" amplifiers of the '50s and '60s which produced different tonalites of tremolo. For reference, your "black" tremolo will produce your traditional, choppy, tremolo effect while "brown" will summon a shallower tremolo, akin to a "vibe" modulation. If more washy, spacey tremolos are your cup of tea, swap over to this setting and drink up.
The Greatest Showman
Surfy Industries SurfyMan Preamp Connections and Features
A large part of the SurfyMan experience that we simply cannot go without mentioning is its lineup of connections and added functions. Across the top of the SurfyMan, you'll find a host and inputs and outputs that really set this unit apart from other similar preamps.
For one, the SurfyMan offers up functionality as a traditional effect pedal or as a PA-ready preamp unit. In short, you can hook the SurfyMan up to your pedalboard or run it on its own out to a dedicated mixing console or PA using its TRS line out connection. This functionality exponentially expands the SurfyMan's utility as a unit, as it can both do plenty of heavy lifting on its own through a PA or work alongside your other effects in the usual signal chain fashion. The unique functionality of the SurfyMan makes it compatible with many modern performance situations.
The connectivity for performance is matched with connectivity for practice. Alongside the SurfyMan's dedicated TRS output comes a dedicated headphone output for connecting ¼" headphones. This connection allows the SurfyMan to be used as a headphone amplifier for silent practice. Perfect for your apartment setups or just for the days you don't want to hook everything up, this headphone connection is the perfect addition to this equation.
The SurfyMan requires nine to eighteen volts to operate through a DC supply with any polarity. What this means is that your industry standard nine volt DC center negative power supply will work just fine to power the SurfyMan, so no special gizmos or gadgets required, here!
Finally, one thing that we should not leave on the table, the SurfyMan comes designed with an oxblood grille cloth in tribute to the "brown"-style amplifier aesthetics of the '50s and '60s. Perhaps it goes without saying, but the SurfyMan is incredibly stylish and captures that mid-twentieth century amplifier look to a tee. If you're a fan of not only early, west coast American amplifier sounds but their looks and design as well, then you've really found something special with the SurfyMan*.
Though you probably didn't have to read this far to know that
Surfy Industries SurfyMan Preamp Final Thoughts
So, where does this all land us? Tube amp tone emulation, modern connectivity, timeless style? Well, it puts us at a particular vantage point. The SurfyMan, like many Surfy Industries creations, is a unit for those looking for – above all else – functional uniqueness and analog authenticity. We think it's fair to say that you won't find an amp pedal experience quite like this anywhere else, never mind the specificity to which Surfy designed this pedal to a somewhat unsung hero of early American amplifiers.
If Surfy is your kind of company or if the Showman is your kind of amplifier, then we don't need to say much more to express the it factor that this pedal will embody for you. If you're new to the Surfy experience or if the first Showman you think of is Hugh Jackman, then there's still plenty to be excited about when it comes to the SurfyMan. It's an all-in-one encapsulation of one of surf music's most enduring amplifiers, it's an easily workable preamp and tremolo unit for any number of rigs, it's a well-designed and well-assembled piece from Sweden's finest surfers. However you tackle the SurfyMan, it's sure to inspire you.
At the time of writing, it's a grey, cloudy February morning. New Jersey is anticipating another snowfall soon and Punxsutawney Phil just predicted six more weeks of winter. We may as well be in for another ringer as Tri-State winters rarely go quietly, but who knows.
With a horchata in your hand and a SurfyMan at your feet, summer is more than a feeling you thought you'd forgotten.
