Hes been my hero since I started playing. Im just now getting the conficence to attempt to learm Pride and Joy. I know his strings were incredibly thick for most players to play. I cant get his tone using 10s. I sound to twangy. Were the thick strings what gave him his tone or is there more to it than that. I was also taught to control my picking and SRV just sawed away at the strings. I have trouble playing like that. Were these the secrets to the SRV tone??
Consider two things here. (1) If it doesn't come naturally to you, then perhaps you are overlooking your own strengths in other areas of your playing. After playing for 30 years, I realize that although I am totally blown away by certain players, I will never be able to play like them or sound like them. That used to bum me out. But after some time, "I" began to emerge as a player with his own style and tone. I feel I have something to offer as a player because I don't sound like other guys. I sound like me. And personally, I find it much more rewarding to hear someone say, "Wow man, you have a cool, unique style", instead of being told "dude you sound just like SRV."
(2) If you want to capture the vibe of a song, then go ahead and do it as best you can with the equipment you have and are comfortable with. Once you have done the "due dilligence" of copping the style and groove of the song, then expand on it and make it your own. Is it really that important to sound like someone else to the extent that have to suffer playing much heavier strings than you like, and amps that don't really suit you?
I'm just trying to offer a different perspective here. Others will tag on to this thread I'm sure, with links to websites that show SRV's entire set-up down to the last detail. And while it's cool to cop someone elses vibe, we often do it at the expense of our own. Rock on man!
If you're bored, you're not groovin'.
lets see....first, you should always do a search before starting a repetitive thread.
but to answer your question, it's partially a combination of heavy strings (12's or 13's), high action, the perfect strat (for SRV anyway) and fabulous tube amps. a tube screamer, and years upon years of practice wouldn't hurt either.
while you can go out and copy the equipment and get close, the majority of his sound came from HIM. no way to duplicate it. don't try. take the parts you like from him, mix it into you, then make it yours.
Such a much talked about subject, yet I`m still compelled to respond!! Its definitely in his hands, but its also how you attack the guitar. He was brutal on it, smacking the strings, snapping them, and his pick attack also had a bit of thumb meat in there. It is said he used the round side of the pick, and held it tight and close to the flesh on his thumb, so that both pic and meat hits the string at the same time. It does thicken the tone quite a bit. Its not that hard a tone to get close to with a good amp. I get real close with old Traynor amps,,,my Super never gets used anymore!!!
CT.:ahem
We all have to realize that when someone asks the "SRV" question, they are asking it for the first time. They don't know that there is a deep history on this topic. It's like asking "how do I tune my guitar". The experienced players owe these guys an answer, just like our now cliche questions were all answered in the past.
If you're bored, you're not groovin'.
I still say it's the kimono.
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
Naw it's the hat..
Originally Posted by Tele-Bob
I agree, Tele-Bob. When I played Voodoo Child at last week's jam, I knew damn well I wasn't gonna sound anything like Hendrix, I just wanted to capture a little of the spirit behind the song. And I think I pulled it off, somewhat.
A good analogy to this whole "I wanna sound like...." thing is back when I started playing golf I wanted nothing more than to swing like Fred Couples. He had the smoothest swing there was, kind of like the Clapton of golf swings. I soon learned that I couldn't swing anything like him. But I did learn to incorporate some elements of his individual style (along with other player's swings) into my own swing and it improved my swing. The same with guitarists. I have a lot of favorite guitarists (Alex Lifeson being my current fave) and I've learned a lot from them lo these 33 years, out of which I've synthesized my own style, which, like a golf swing, is as personal as a fingerprint. So, learn from the greats by all means, but try not to fall into the "I wanna sound like..." trap, develop your own style instead, you'll enjoy it a lot more. It's a lot easier, too!!
I was visiting my brother-in-law in Las Vegas this week and saw and old 1985 concert of SRV. He used a white strat with "lipstick" pickups and his Tokai set-neck Strat type guitar. I've done a bit of research and read some stuff his guitar tech said also. Stevie used string guages I'd never think of using and "Texas Special" pickups won't get you there either...it's a nice marketing hype by Fender, but...nahhh...we tried that pickups swap on my neighbor's Strat.
most good tube amps give you only a few good tones. That being said, I'd recommend getting a good tube amp...a Fender Deluxe or something similar, a good distortion stomp box-pedal...try some out at a store if you can...then play with the tone controls on the amp and the pedal...vary the amount of distortion until it "feels" right....then use your amps tone controls until you get as close as you can to that tone.
Heavy strings yeah. But tuned down a bit, I believe.
Yup. Heavy strings tuned down a half-step. Makes 12s seem like 11s or so I've been told.
I used to try to chase SRV's tone; then I realized that whatever he was playing through be it the TS9, the Fuzz Face, whatever...still sounded like him. He sounds great but it's all in the hands. I agree with T-B...develop your own style, and cop elements from SRV.
I myself am trying to 'grok' Brian Setzer's style. I've got the Fender amp and the Gretsch guitar, and that's as close as my gear's gonna get me...I need to woodshed his note choices and phrasing...
Edited to add: I don't want to be a Brian Setzer clone, but I want to put more interesting scalar runs into my playing as well as those tasty double-and-triple-stops.
JB
"I'm gonna find myself a girl
that can show me what laughter means
And we'll fill in the missing colors
In each other's paint-by-number dreams..."
OK...first off, you haven't mentioned what gear you have??
Like some of the guys mentioned above, tune to E-Flat, this does yield a different, even fatter tone in itself. A Fender Strat with a rosewood neck, nickel strings, A Fender tube amp with 6L6's and a Tubescreamer will get you in the vicinity. Drive the amp harder than the pedal...Keep the pedal with lower gain and higher volume, tone knob neutral. I can greatly elaborate on this if you tell me what gear you are trying to achieve this with. This is the basic foundation.
Nah...All you need is a hat, and one of these:
And the face:
You must have this face!:lol
Then play Albert King, Lonnie Mack, and Hendrix licks with extreme emotional intensity and viola! :hee
Viola?
I did the Google. Do you mean this?
This
or this?
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
*****A Fender Strat with a rosewood neck, nickel strings, A Fender tube amp with 6L6's and a Tubescreamer will get you in the vicinity.*****
Not if your playing technique isn't SRV like.
Its funnier than vuwala.
et voilŕ qu’il était lŕ!
Last edited by fezz parka; 02-24-2005 at 01:25 PM.
Wow! This is one of the greatest urban legend threads of all time. Strarted off with SRV tone and somebody brought up rosewood vs. maple!
WOW!!!
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
I have noticed that the animals on this forum are all barking, miawing, and .. ehm.. swinging at the moon tonight (It's dark here). Can you critters stay in the barn for a while, while the humans and hardware talk?
OH forgot:
( :rl )
Really? Duh!
Maybe one of these for SRV isn't far behind:
The sound of a legend.
DigiTech and Eric Clapton have worked together to recreate 7 of his most famous tones. Using Production Modeling® technology, everything from Sir Eric's speaker cabs to the recording engineer's magic come together to give you the sound of Slowhand himself.
Features:
7 signature Clapton tones
"Badge" from Goodbye
"Crossroads" from Wheels of Fire and Live at the Fillmore
"Sunshine of Your Love" from Disraeli Gears
"Layla" from Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
"Lay Down Sally" from Slowhand
"Layla" from Unplugged
"Reptile" from Reptile
:rofl :hee :lol!
Jeeesuz! I thought that was fake, but: http://www.digitech.com/
(Still I'd like to hear them - also the Jimmi issue)
SRV used the rounded side of the pick. He went at it real hard. Using the rounded side, to my ear, yields a little fatter tone. Unfortunately it wreaks havoc on my picking technique. A lot of it was in the fingers. He had a great touch,impeccable phrasing and strong hands. SRV's attack was violent...he had the uncanny ability to mute and still go after it!
You think I'd put up something fake? It's real, and it's fake...
OK, let me rephrase. None of the things you mentioned to get you "in the vicinity" matter much at all if you got the technique.Really? Duh!
I love Clapton, but I question him going with Digitech... Every Digitech device I've ever owned sucked the life out of every guitar and amp setup I have....
I've heard only one guy make a Digitech sound good, and it was the cheapest RP-50 you can get. But that is a fluke.
The Best Guitar Photos On The Net!
Photoweborama
My answer is still the same. Those are some of the tools, technique goes without saying..That's a whole different story. :)
It's not Stevie, but an incredible simulation...You think I'd put up something fake? It's real, and it's fake...
The Number One pedal helps you recreate all those legendary Stevie tones from the past.
Setting 1: Pride and Joy. Makes your amp sound like the inimitable combination of a Strat and a blackface Fender reverb amp. Really puts the conchos on your hat!
Setting 2: Texas Flood. A sound like no other. A Fender reverb amp, pushed hard, with a Stratocaster. A real kimono party!
Setting 3: Change It. This unique combination of Strat and Fender reverb amp, when combined with the face, will have the other guys at the blues jam thinking, This guy sounds just like Stevie!"
Setting 4: Willie the Wimp. A potent blend of Strat, Fender reverb amp and vibrotone cabinet. Who you callin' wimp?
Setting 5: Lenny. This tone sounds great playing slowly with the neck pickup. A sound like no other.
Setting 6: Rude Mood. Pardon me? A screamin' sound with Strat and Fender reverb amp!
Setting 7: Say What? Strat, 'screamer and Fender reverb amp, with auto-wah for the rhythmically challenged.
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
The fact is, to imply that you can get those "sounds" (Sir Eric's speaker cabs and the recording engineers magic!) out of a pedal is laughable. What a joke!
Kap'n....:lol
Last edited by fezz parka; 02-24-2005 at 03:22 PM.
And who could forget the Redteletronix pedal:
DAMN!
Try this link. About halfway down the page...
http://www.angelfire.com/yt3/redtele/
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
Hehe! I tried that one first, but had to make my own...
I noticed they didn't have "Forever Man," "Tearing Us Apart," or "Promises." :bwa
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
If it don't have the Scuttle Buttin' sound, I ain't buying it. You know, the one where he uses a Strat and a Fender reverb amp.
You're either gonna have to wait for software upgrade 1.1, where they replace Texas Flood with Scuttle Buttin', or firmware upgrade 2.0, where they also add Mary Had a Little Lamb, Couldn't Stand the Weather, Telephone Song, Crossfire, Hillbillies from Outer Space, and Pipeline
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
Our engineer for our new album, was called to Kiva studio to fix a problem with a ground loop hum when SRV was cutting an album. He said Stevie had 20-30 amps going at one time, and could tell you exactly which one wasn't giving him the tone he wanted...
Through headphones..
Jeff had to run an extension cord across the street to a machine shop, to get him off the circuit at the studio to tame that 60 cycle....
And don't kid yourself. A Dumble was VERY instrumental in Stevie's sound. A steel string singer...
JoeP
www.liquidgroovemojo.com
Maybe on record. When I saw him in '83 it was a couple of Vibroverbs and a Club & Country Marshall.
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
Texas Flood was recorded with Jackson Browne's Dumble.
The classic SRV tone in my book is when he was using a Super Reverb & a Vibroverb together. True, he did use alot of different amps though.
It's interesting how he udes so many different amps and yet still delivered basically the same tone. hmmmmmmmmmmmm.
If you're bored, you're not groovin'.
Exactly...It is so true that no matter what you play through, you still sound like you...within reason of course. Proves the theory that the tone is in your fingers. :)
Last edited by Troy T. Blues; 02-25-2005 at 06:33 AM.
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