Amp settings for SRV tone?

[Kamen_Kaiju]

Good advice there.

Also he'll need to work on raking and muting.

SRV had a very loose, aggressive right hand, which means his left hand was doing a ton of muting.

It was an odd style because his right hand was so loose and sloppy, but his left hand was super tight,...the end result was tight playing with an incredible attack.

Not easy for most, but if you get the hang of playing that way you can grab a $100. Squier Strat off a wall, plug it into just about anything, and it'll sorta sound like SRV.


A Strat + that particular attack he had pretty much equals "SRV Tone"

It's all about the attack.

So much of a persons, "Tone" is in their individual attack style.

 

[frisco]

ditto on string gauge... just because SRV used 13's doesn't mean that you will able to handle them. maybe it will be too hard for you and get frustrated.
start with a string gauge that allows you to play comfortable.

Also SRV vocabulary of licks were from Albert King and Buddy Guy so i highly recommend you to gve them a listen.

 

[Woderwick]

Be yourself. Everyone else is taken. No I am not taking the piss.

 

[d1m1]

he used 13 gage strings, a really high action setup and punchy picking.
so a big part of his tone was that wide vibration of the thick strings which produced a huge magnetic field in compare to thin strings which cant swing because of a low action.

he also used 2 ibanez ts808 tubescreamers at the same time.

his favorite pickups (van zandt) played a role too.

and of course his cranked fender amps.

the rest is in the fingers...

 

[Tanqueray]

ditto on string gauge... just because SRV used 13's doesn't mean that you will able to handle them. maybe it will be too hard for you and get frustrated.
start with a string gauge that allows you to play comfortable.

Also SRV vocabulary of licks were from Albert King and Buddy Guy so i highly recommend you to gve them a listen.

For reference, the strings that come standard on most Strats are 9s. Which means you should probably work your way up to heavier strings if that's the route you want to go. Kenny Wayne Shepherd has been compared to SRV a lot, and I think he uses 11s so it's not like you need to put bridge cables on your guitar to get the sound, but you probably want to get something heavy enough to withstand a good beating from your picking attack.

 

[TerryH]

For reference, the strings that come standard on most Strats are 9s. Which means you should probably work your way up to heavier strings if that's the route you want to go. Kenny Wayne Shepherd has been compared to SRV a lot, and I think he uses 11s so it's not like you need to put bridge cables on your guitar to get the sound, but you probably want to get something heavy enough to withstand a good beating from your picking attack.

Yeah, I had no plans on trying 13s myself.. I was thinking 11s already too.
I have a few extra sets of 10s for the T+, that I might try first too...

VinkuhippulaRe: Amp settings for SRV tone?

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.

She ended up giving it back to me anyway, after she took up the sax at school.

Since I got my Epi's, the Strat hardly ever gets played, but if I can get it sounding better, it might start getting a little love too...

 

[Johnland82]

Get your guitar setup when changing gauges. I remember going between 9's and 10's on some Schecters I had without doing a setup in between. It didn't hold tune very well.

 

[Gridlock]

I love SRV's sound also and have been chasing his tone since buying my first Fender amp (in many years) a year or so ago.

Start with using the neck pickup on your Strat, tune down 1/2 step, a Tube Screamer type OD pedal, lots of vibrato, and lots of practice.

I use 10's on my guitars, that's a good start to using heaver strings without hurting fingers...

There are lots of good "how to" play SRV guitar videos on the web for free and a good guitar instructor won't hurt.

Your young, stay with it, and who knows how close you will get.

Congrats and enjoy.

 

[Splattle101]

Yep. He used 13s on his strats.

Yes, he did.

He also commented on this practice later in his life, saying his preference for 13s early in his career may have been connected to the amount of coke he was using.

13s are highly unlikely to make you sound better. At anything.

 

[Splattle101]

Seriously, WTF?
...

Just wondering.

No need to wonder. Some people get their psychic income from shitting on people's questions in interwebz forums. Dennis being prominent among them. I liked him better when he was banned.

 

[Splattle101]

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

This.

A blackface Fender will get closer than a modern Blues Deluxe or Deville. A blackface with 6L6s will get closer again than, say, a Deluxe Reverb.

For that sound, the black (or similar silver) face amp has to be turned up loud, but not so loud it's crunching too much. To find this spot you plug your strat into input 1 of the reverb channel, turn the bass down to 3, adjust the treble to taste, and the midrange control to ~50% on those amps that have it. You then turn the volume up on the amp until it crunches when you hit a big open A chord. Then turn it down a whisker from there, until it's almost clean when you smash it.

That's the spot.

You then put a tube screamer type pedal in front, set for more level than gain. At that point you're close.

Searching for a tone is part of developing an ear...

So very, very true, Bede.

Good to see you around in here again, mate.

 

[d1m1]

Yes, he did.

13s are highly unlikely to make you sound better. At anything.

better is relative. it´s a matter of taste. but 13´s will definitely make you sound different.

 

[st.bede]

for the sake of acknowledging my foolish past...

fender tube amps typical come into a sweet spot up pretty loud (as mentioned by splattle) so an attenuator can help to save some hearing...

I hate when I have to ask my kids to repeat what they have said a dozen times. Not only is it just bothersome, but it probably makes them less likely to share things with me.

Being that one of the few things I know, is that my kids are way cooler then even music, I wish I would of been a little more thoughtful about volume issues. (Me having children was not something I would of ever bet on in the past so trust me: if it could happen to me, I could happen to you. The future is just like that).


I would rely a little more on the ts8 (or what ever TS type pedal) and a little less on the fender amp until I had a good attenuator.

(also, thank you splattle for your kind words ).

 

[Splattle101]

...(double)...

 

[Splattle101]

better is relative. it´s a matter of taste. but 13´s will definitely make you sound different.

Yeah, well, SRV's blues style is one involving a lot of bends; both full semitone, tone and 3 semitone bends, but also a lot of little fractional bends for accents. Heavy strings make these bends more difficult, and most players that I hear have trouble bending accurately in the heat of battle anyway.

For many players, what was merely difficult with 0.009 or 0.010 strings becomes impossible with 0.013s. I don't recommend it. String guage is overrated as a determining factor in tone.

 

[st.bede]

(my hands can bleed with 9s so...

did not SRV have huge hands?

In other words, I tend to think of string size based on a relationship between a persons hands and how big or little they are. I can not get Albert King type bends with out ripping my fingers up badly with 9s and this has never been based on how much I play).

 

[st.bede]

(Splattle, that was not a double post, it was just in stereo).

 

[Spoone]

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?

Play.
Every single day.
Play.

Along the way, don't try to sound like anybody but you.
Just play.
Get better. Learn more.

And above all?
Play.
That's all you need.
Maybe you'll get close to what SRV sounded like. Probably, you won't.
But play.

 

[Stuart_tate41]

One of those Should do it lol

 

[jerrypilot]

Let's forget the gear , strings etc . for a moment , SRV swung , especially when playing shuffles , that slightly behind the beat feel is a lot to do with what made him sound like he did .