SRV pickups

[Strat-Mangler]

Stratmangler, there is much truth in what you say.

Nice to see some people agree with my logical point of view. Getting the $ to buy the gear is easy. Having the dedication to practicing and mastering his style is something else entirely.

[tonemonkey]

As far as I'm concerned, it's vastly more important to find your own voice. It can be a valid goal to go out to make the sounds of a hero, then you can get a better idea of how they do it. It is of course how they do it, not what with, as the mangler says it's important if you want to match a players sound, that rather than match their gear, you match their chops.

However, if all you do is emulate, you fail to create. Music then becomes a mathematical science rather than an art form. You begin to think in terms of what SRV or Eric or whover would do here, rather than what would I do. Self expression is lost, and what gives me joy in music goes with it.

Now, don't get me wrong, if you wish to take things from your heroes then DO IT. Everyone from Stevie and Eric down to me freely appropriates licks and sounds from their heroes, what has been achived by the best though is important...........assimilation. The combining of what has been taken into a seamless whole that becomes your own voice.

You should look for this, it is always going to be fruitless looking for an item of electronics that will make you into someone that you aren't.

[GhostofJimi]

I've heard that SRV always played with the rounded side of his pick, not the sharp end. Not sure if this was true, but if so, that would be an obvious place to start.

Plus, I would go with Van Zandt Blues over Texas Specials any day.

That said, I agree 100% with Strat Mangler, Tonemonkey and others who state that no one here will EVER sound like SRV, just pale imitations. Just like SRV could NEVER sound like Jimi Hendrix, just a pale imitation. Don't get me wrong, I love SRV, just not when he was doing Hendrix covers. His original stuff was great, because it was HIM. Not that his versions of Little Wing and Voodoo Child were bad, not at all, but they always sounded to me like a polite, technical, overplayed version of these tunes, leaving me feeling a bit cold.

SRV himself said in interviews that he spent YEARS trying to nail the exact phrasing of Hendrix for those tunes. Personally, I don't feel he succeeded -- it's impossible to convincingly emulate the eccentric phrasing of Hendrix. Just like none of us will ever be able to convincingly emulate SRV.

But I agree with those here that the place to start is technique, not gear, if your goal is to sound like SRV or any other player. WHY any artist would want to sound like an exact clone of another artist is way beyond me, however. KWS as an example -- how freakin' boring.