Amp settings for SRV tone?

[Jas32596]

I have an epiphone special ii and a fender squier bullet strat. My amp is very cheap cause I'm in high school and broke so all it has is overdrive and a high and low EQ. How would I get as close as I can to a stevie ray vaughan tone?

 

[Guitarcats]

By putting down and not playing your gear and turn up your radio because that's as close as your going to get.

 

[dennistruckdriver]

Regardless of how many threads you make on this subject, you can't sound like SRV, because you're not SRV.

 

[Vinkuhippula]

How helpful a thread!

Well, you want to use the squier, although that's not really in the scope of things on this forum. It's also true that you'll unlikely ever sound 100% like him. But you can get closer if you know where to begin. With your current amp, you might not get too close to the tone, but try this for help:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U9iBsvDUf8]Guitar tuition: Get the Stevie Ray Vaughan (SRV) tone lesson - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Paulie C]

Believe he tuned down a half step and used heavy strings to achieve a fatter tone.

 

[Tanqueray]

Yep. He used 13s on his strats.

 

[st.bede]

(I own a blues deluxe and I do love it. If you are going to push it, buy a attenuator, if you want to keep your hearing... also, not really sure about getting SRV tone from it but what it can offer is pretty cool in my book).

 

[Kamen_Kaiju]

play the Squier and hit the strings hard

 

[Wekkuli]

Even SRV had to push it for years to get where he was at his days on the top.You can feel it in every hit you put on your strat.That teaches some respect for the master.

 

[MooCheng]

amp settings wont help very much, although I guess he upped the mid's,
heavy strings an heavy attack helps, but you carnt get away from the fact SRV
sounded the way he did because he was SRV

 

[Lolly]

amp settings wont help very much, although I guess he upped the mid's,
heavy strings an heavy attack helps, but you carnt get away from the fact SRV
sounded the way he did because he was SRV

This

 

[Vinkuhippula]

Seriously, WTF?

I see a lot of someone asking after a certain tone, usually they are after something on their favourite album or by their favourite artist. Something to reach for, cool. It's true they are unlikely to ever acheive that tone 100% It is also true that spending money on gear for the wrong reasons is bad for finaces. It is also true that practising gets you further than buying gear.

But why can't tips be given? Maybe because these threads are way too common, and people tire of them. "You'll never.." will not help ANYONE. Seriously. Obviously, the guy or gal asking may well be a troll or some other mythical being from the land of internet lore. But some other dude may come across the thread and find what they are looking for.

I don't understand why anyone wastes a breath saying nothing but "you'll never". Especially in the case of the young'uns. That's the spirit of encouragement.. How about saying "you are unlikely to get that tone, but you can try approaching it like.." or "well, it comes down to his playing technique, which was.."

Just wondering.

 

[Sustainamaniac]

Keep playing and practicing for about 4-8 years until you are out of college and can hope to buy gear that can do that. And then you will realize that the thing that made the biggest difference was the practice, and not necessarily amp settings or gear.

 

[Tanqueray]

Well, some people have mentioned it, but it's HOW he plays rather than WHAT he plays that matters.

But to answer the question as best I can:

Get a strat type guitar, a decent tube amp (SRV played tons of different amps throughout his career and he sounded like SRV whether it was a Fender or a Marshall), a Tubescreamer for overdrive, and proceed to beat the living hell out of the strings. SRV played with 13s and a heavy (which may be an understatement) hand.

That's pretty much it. No need to get caught up in anything crazy.

 

[TerryH]

Yep... I learned something from this thread! I didn't know SRV used such heavy strings...

My first electric that I gave to my daughter is a Squier Strat. I'm about to order some new pups, pots, and 5way switch, (nothing too extravagant or expensive), and now I may order some heavier strings just to see how it all sounds!

 

[kevinpaul]

It took a long time to learn his songs but more important what was it all about. With his stuff working it sounded like the great SRV!

 

[Wekkuli]

It took a long time to learn his songs but more important what was it all about. With his stuff working it sounded like the great SRV!

Yep,depending on music style and effects,you can sound like anyone special with same settings,then it is up to you do you seek the talent and precision to be exact or do you do your own thing..

 

[st.bede]

Sure he down tuned and yes he used heavy strings but how close do want to get...

...nothing wrong with getting 75% of the way there until you have the funds to get some gear that will get you there 90%. (SRV tones were achieved not just due to his amp but mic choice and placement and many other factors. The biggest factor is how he approached playing).

A clean fender amp, some nice SC pick ups, and a TS9 or 8 will basically get close enough for typical situations.

Searching for a tone is part of developing an ear in relationship to timber and frequency. Basically if you devolve strong skills in regards to timber and frequency, you can spring board off it to engineering and probably make more money (with a strong skill set) then any of us gigging musicians.

I have to admit that telling someone you will never sound like x is true but not really useful.

How many times have you had to sound like someone else for a gig?

Do you go out and buy all new gear?

NO... you work with what you have and get close enough to do the work. (Over the years if you find yourself having to sound like a lot of different people for work, you build up a nice little collection of stuff you can use).

We all started with a cheap amp and hopefully a playable guitar that would maybe stay in tune enough of the time.

We all then said "I want to sound like x" asked the music store salesman "how to do that" and probably received dubious advice. After having been "ripped off" we started to talk to other musicians about these type issues and received many myths and some decent knowledge along the way.

Yes, a fender blues deluxe and a SC guitar will get close enough for R+R...

I say more cake and less frosting in this thread. Peace

 

[Vinkuhippula]

Yep... I learned something from this thread! I didn't know SRV used such heavy strings...

My first electric that I gave to my daughter is a Squier Strat. I'm about to order some new pups, pots, and 5way switch, (nothing too extravagant or expensive), and now I may order some heavier strings just to see how it all sounds!

Just make sure she'll still be able to play it!

Same goes for anyone who tries thicker strings. It does require more finger strength than thinner strings, you'll likely struggle at first. Keep at it, but if it feels too much of a struggle, go back down a gauge or two.

 

[Syrus]

Here's some tips.

STICK TO THE SQUIER - Correct scale length and feel.
Tune half step down (Eb-Ab-Db-Gb-Bb-Eb)
Get a capo - if you want to play regular songs - put it before the 1 fret - PRESTO - guitar will then be just like regular tuning from 1 up - 1 becomes 0 again.
Don't go bananas on the string gauge - fingers, nut, trem, neck and so on will all create problems. Just don't.
Get a tube screamer style Overdrive -> Joyo vintage OD / Boss SD-1 (Both affordable) (KEY PART!)
Cheap tube amp for clean tone. Spongy tone.
Practice!
Practice string attack - soft plecs pref.
In the future you might want to get a tex-mex set too. (AlNiCo)
Blocking the trem would also be a wise choice. (Piece of wood and you are of to the races)