Summer is on the way, and that means it’s time for surf music; not political, not controversial, just good mood, energy, and fun guitar licks. This month’s “Guitar Journal” is broken up into three segments, and is based around a short instrumental tune I wrote for the occasion, “Astro Atlantic Cumulus”. It’s an example of some of the classic surf guitar ideas, and proof that there are still a lot of ways to turn the old ideas to get a new tune out of them.

The Fender Strat is important for getting a lot of classic surf guitar tones, but the tremolo can be a pain to keep in tune. The key to getting this working right is not replacing any of the stock parts, but making sure your guitar is set up correctly for the strings you are using. If you need to know how to properly string and set up your Strat, the Guitar Concepts DVD covers that in detail. Here’s part 1, with a performance of the tune and tips on getting your your Stratocaster to stay in tune when using the trem bar: