A better understanding of how Stevie Ray Vaughan built his sound
Stevie Ray Vaughan was an incredible guitarist, and a huge factor was his tone. Undeniably great tone for sure. There are many websites that you can find that will give you more information about his tone than you could imagine, and I’m sure many people will chime in here as well with ultra-specifics. I’m a big fan of Stevie, but probably not an ultra-expert. So, I’ll offer what I do know, hopefully this will be helpful to you:
Guitar
Steve used a Fender Strat, pretty much exclusively. The one he used was pretty old, not sure of the exact year, but the most important thing is that it was more stock than custom. So, the pickups were traditionally (and not the modern hum-canceling types often used today). The wiring was standard, no coil tapping or funny inversions of the 5-way switch. One thing that was unusual about his guitar is that at some point, he installed a “Lefty” vibrato bar. Not a modification that I would recommend you do your self. Some think that this left vibrato bar was a key element to capturing Hendrix’s sound, as Hendrix was truly one of Stevie’s main influences.
Recommendation
The Fender “Stevie Ray Vaughan” model strat is actually a very good guitar. Really well made and pretty much captures the exact vibe you are looking for:
http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0109200800
Note: If you cannot afford this guitar, which can cost as much as $1,200 new, a decent American, or Japanese Fender strat will do the job. Although if you want to really nail his tone, bet yourself a set of Fender “Texas Special” pickups, they really sound great, and will get you closest to the tone he most often had:
http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0992111000
One of the most important aspects to Stevie’s sound was how BIG it was. Well, no wonder. He used .12 gauge strings (possibly even heavier), and he tuned down a half step. So, you’ve got really big string, and they are a half step flat, witch makes them loose, with more of a slinky sound. It may annoy your band mates, but if you really wanna nail his tone, use heavy strings and tune down a half step.
Amplifier
Stevie used a variety of amps over the years, but the ones he seemed to use quite often were the Fender Super Reverb, assorted other fenders, and a Marshall 50-watt head with 8X10 cabinet (more for the studio I believe, and not so much live)
Recommendation: Fender Super Reverb, although the less expensive and less heavy Fender Deluxe Reverb will work as well at reasonable volumes:
http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0217600000
Pedals
Ibanez Tube Screamer (probably the pedal that was on most of the time), Dallas Arbiter “Fuzz Face” (what you hear most of the time when Stevie plaed “Voodoo Chile”), Cry Baby Wah (possibly the “Thomas Organ” version), as well as putting his guitar through a leslie (What you hear on “Cold Shot”)
Recommendation: Ibanez Tube Screamer Reissue or Fulltone OCD, Fulltone “69″ full pedal, Fulltone “Clyde Deluxe Wah” pedal:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibanez_Tube_Screamer
http://www.fulltone.com/CDW.asp
http://www.fulltone.com/69.asp
http://www.fulltone.com/stpframe.html
The bad news is that 99% of what you like most about Stevie came from his hands, he just played guitar as much as humanly possible, which is obvious in his music because he sounds so good. He had some serious soul, and to capture THAT you have to do three things and do them alot:
- Live Life
- Play Guitar a lot
- Repeat steps 1 and 2 over and over again
Again, I am by no means a Stevie Ray Vaughan expert or historian. So if you really want to dissect his tone, there are better resources. But 99% of of the time, when guys ask me about this tone, they are looking for a more general overview, trying to better understand what tools he used. I hope this was helpful to you.
