Dick Dale Guitar
Wednesday, June 25th, 2008Dick Dale was heavily influenced by Middle Eastern music, and is often credited as being one of the first electric guitarists to use non-Western scales in his playing.
He introduced the use of guitar reverb often used in surf music, and also excelled at fast staccato picking. He was lefthanded but played a righthanded guitar without restringing it, effectively playing it upside down. He used extremely heavy gauge string sets, and often pushed the limits of his equipment.
He also made use of custom-made Fender amplifiers, including the first ever 100-watt amp. Dale is also associated with the Fender Stratocaster guitar and his signature model, the Dick Dale Custom Shop Stratocaster. As of 2008, Dale continues to play with his original reverb unit and Showman amps from the early 1960s.