Surf music

Surf music electric guitars, often reverb or delay effects.

• The Shadows
• The Ventures
• The Chantays
• The Bel-Airs
• Link Wray
• The Trashmen
• Dick Dale
• The Beach Boys
• The Gamblers
• Duane Eddy

Tone

Usually clean amp, sometimes turned up to the point of overdrive or distortion.

Link Wray experimented with distortion, punching holes in a speaker with a screwdriver.

Spring reverb, but not always. Fender external unit. Plate reverb and oil can reverb also available at the time.

Delay - Binson used by the Shadows.

Guitars - Most often Fender Stratocasters, but also Jazzmasters and Jaguars. Other brands too, sometimes hollowbodies.

Vibrato - usually using vibrato (aka tremolo on Fenders) arm on guitar).

Tremolo effect (aka vibrato on Fender amps) - bias or optical

Tremolo picking - rapid alternating picking, popularized by Dick Dale.

Fender amps, development of the Showman.

Influences

Mexico, Spain.

Hawaii

Blues, R&B

Pop, country, jazz, rockabilly

Middle East - Dick Dale song Miserlou possibly of Greek or Egyptian origin. He learned tremolo picking from his uncle who was from Lebanon.