Stevie Ray Vaughan's tone ????

[Axe Chemist]

I apologize if this has been asked before, I did a search before posting this and couldn't come up with much so:

I've been listening to a lot of SRV lately and I love his tone! I know it has everything to do with his "Number 1" and all his vintage amps, etc...however I also read that he played an Ibanez tube screamer. If I was to hook that up to my DK2 and my 212 combo, could I expect somewhat similar results? I know there are a ton of variables to consider but I'm just looking to find out if I could even get in the ball park by adding that pedal to my setup? Just curious!

Thanks.

[Chuckracer]

Re: Stevie Ray Vaughan\'s tone ????

Nope. Not even in the same stadium. Stevie got his tone from his hands and HUGE strings. He was one with the guitar and his tone poured out of him like mindless posts pour out of RacerX. ( [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] )

Does Kenny Wayne Shepard sound like Stevie? He wishes. He uses darn close to the same gear (vintage strats and Fender amps with tubescreamers among other things) but the their tone comparison is apples and shovels.

You will be able to get an overdriven single coil type sound out of the neck pickup of your DK2, but even the pickup is in the wrong place. Stevies liquid soul sound was his and his alone.

[Boxcar Willie 84]

Re: Stevie Ray Vaughan\'s tone ????

Chuck's exactly right...when I go to play Stevie's stuff, I don't even bother with trying to get a comparable tone, I just use mine. You should try and do the same...because my friend, all we are ever gonna be is ourselves. Make the most of that!

[pro-fusion]

Re: Stevie Ray Vaughan\'s tone ????

All of the above is true. Also, remember that SRV had very huge and strong hands--if I tried to play his guitar (strung with 13s, but tuned down a half-step), my carpal-tunnel syndrome would come back in about 30 minutes! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Some of the time, he used Dumble amps, each of which supposedly sounds very different. And many of his rockier tunes were recorded with him in the same room as his Fender amps, which were turned as loud as they would go--which is only real to get a rock tone out of Fender amps, from my limited experience.

In any event, back when I was trying to do that kind of stuff, I found that the key to his sound (besides all of the above) was that he used a VERY percussive picking attack on most of his stuff. He specialized in a lot of 'power trio'-style combining of single notes and chordal patterns in his runs which came off huge due to the percussive attack. If you want to get in that ballpark, don't be afraid to hit the strings pretty hard, and combine that with lots of quick string bend/chokes and pull-offs.

Regardless of your guitar and amp setup, you'd at least get a faux-SRV thing going on by focusing on those techniques.

[Axe Chemist]

Re: Stevie Ray Vaughan\'s tone ????

Thanks for all of the input so far.

Since we're already talking about SRV, maybe this would be the best thread to post this question:

I'm considering saving some hard earned cash to buy Fender's SRV signature model. I've read all of the stats on it and it sounds like it's an incredible guitar for the money. Now, I've noticed what appears to be basically the same guitar for half the price, the Deluxe Super Strat. (If you have the latest musician's friend catalog it's on pg 121) If you were to compare these guitars on quality and finish, how close would they be? I can't tell if the Deluxe is American made. It's on the same page as the US models but that one in particular doesn't mention where it's made unlike all the other ads. I know I'm going to have to "see for myself" by playing one, but I'm just curious if you guys have taken a close look at either of them. Thanks again for the input and advice.

[Boxcar Willie 84]

Re: Stevie Ray Vaughan\'s tone ????

I'm reading the specs of a Deluxe Super Strat right now, and it doesn't seem very similar to the SRV strat. My old bud who used to post here a lot was really into SRV, and he got a pretty cool SRV-type tone with a Squier strat (I'm not joking) that he outfitted with new tuners and Texas Special pickups. I think if you want a guitar like his, a Strat with an alder body, maple neck with a rosewood fretboard, a big neck and those pickups might be your best bet.

[Plazmawine]

Re: Stevie Ray Vaughan\'s tone ????

Each and every one of us should find our own tone. Just like our influences did.

[Chasbo]

Re: Stevie Ray Vaughan\'s tone ????

Each and every one of us should find our own tone. Just like our influences did

Man, that is the whole point to playing if I ever heard it. Nothing matters nearly so much for a musician as being an individual.

Chuck

[Axe Chemist]

Re: Stevie Ray Vaughan\'s tone ????

Each and every one of us should find our own tone. Just like our influences did

Man, that is the whole point to playing if I ever heard it. Nothing matters nearly so much for a musician as being an individual.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Well, I agree to a point. Everyone has their big influences in music and at some point all guitar players try to emulate their sound. For most of us that are just playing for a hobby, it is probably normal to want to sound like a famous player, whether we can play that good or not is besides the point. If nobody wanted to sound like EVH I doubt Peavey would've designed the 5150 amp, case is point! For everyone else that plays in bands and performs gigs and trying to make a name for themselves I would agree that you need your own sound more than a casual player like myself. If you took a poll on this board and asked how many players started playing Jacksons because they liked the sound and style of Randy Rhoads, I bet a lot of people would agree. The whole point in owning an SRV signature model (for me) would be for the enjoyment of collecting as it would be for the tone and sound that guitar could produce. But the original question is whether the $600 look-a-like Deluxe Strat would be just as good as the $1300 SRV model without the gold hardware [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Chuckracer]

Re: Stevie Ray Vaughan\'s tone ????

I think the Deluxe with some Texas Specials would work just fine. The one thing you wouldn't be getting is the beefy neck which has a lot to do with the tone of an electric guitar. Wether thats a $600 difference, thats another call.
Personally, I'm an SRV freak MUCH more so than a Randy fan (hell, I don't even own any Jacksons anymore-I used to have a room FULL!) and if I could swing it, I'd buy the SRV Strat, just cause.

[Firebird V]

Re: Stevie Ray Vaughan\'s tone ????

Hey guys.. Good stuff here. I don't know of a guitar polayer that isn't a SRV fan... Anyway, Pretty much all of the tone talk has been covered already here... As for the guitar though, If you already have a Strat you could look into a Warmoth SRV neck too. Everything I have ever bought from Warmoth has been top shelf. It might save you a few bucks... Then again, The Fender SRV signature guitar looks just great so...