How would this SVR song sound played with a (relative) cheap guitar?

[mercifulfuzziness]

For those who have not heard it, see below. However, on Tidal (or Spotify) it sounds way better.



I know almost nothing about gear. I will never reach this level. This question is out of pure interest and trying to get a better understanding, because I am, like everybody else super susceptible for marketing. And so it's important to understand whats marketing and whats real.

How would this have sounded on a Squier (or any other "cheap") guitar and amp?

Would it sound like 99% of this.. or does at some point the quality of the gear matter? And by how much? Is it 10%? is it 5% .. ? Since "tone is in the fingers" I assume it's not 40% or anything big.

 

[the-trooper]

The same - just as bad.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

The same - just as bad.

 

[duzie]

Video is unavailable in the US ?

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

Video is unavailable in the US ?

Hmmm SRV - little wing

 

[Sascha Franck]

Can you play halfway close to it? I'm not really talking about speed and what not, but can you rip it along the lines at least in "ballpark" territory?
Because if you can, you should be able to almost completely nail the tone with pretty much any Strat (that is not a dud) and your Stomp.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

Can you play halfway close to it? I'm not really talking about speed and what not, but can you rip it along the lines at least in "ballpark" territory?
Because if you can, you should be able to almost completely nail the tone with pretty much any Strat (that is not a dud) and your Stomp.

Cool! Thanks for that! What amp and cab do we need?

Ballpark, yes .. but depending on my vibe

 

[JasonE]

Cool! Thanks for that! What amp and cab do we need?

Ballpark, yes .. but depending on my vibe

Stevie used Fender amps with 12" speakers and a modified Tube Screamer. If you have a Fender amp with a 12" speaker and a Tube Screamer and a Strat, you will be able to get in the ballpark if you can play the tune. You may have to crank the amp a good bit as well. He ran his very loud.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Cool! Thanks for that! What amp and cab do we need?

Stevie Ray Vaughan's Guitar Gear, Pedals & Amps

Stevie Ray Vaughan's gear and equipment including the 1965 Composite Fender Stratocaster "Lenny" and James Hamilton S.R.V. Custom Hamiltone Strat. Get the gear to sound like Stevie Ray Vaughan and get their tone.

equipboard.com

From what I seem to remember, he often used two stacked Tube Screamers running into Bassmans live. No idea whether that is true.
It's not exactly a sound depending on the equipment anyway but rather about playing attitude.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

Stevie Ray Vaughan's Guitar Gear, Pedals & Amps

Stevie Ray Vaughan's gear and equipment including the 1965 Composite Fender Stratocaster "Lenny" and James Hamilton S.R.V. Custom Hamiltone Strat. Get the gear to sound like Stevie Ray Vaughan and get their tone.

equipboard.com

From what I seem to remember, he often used two stacked Tube Screamers running into Bassmans live. No idea whether that is true.
It's not exactly a sound depending on the equipment anyway but rather about playing attitude.

That’s unfortunate. I have decided I truly truly hate tubescreamers (for me)

 

[Sascha Franck]

That’s unfortunate. I have decided I truly truly hate tubescreamers (for me)

Then use something else. The Teemah is pretty allround-ish.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

Then use something else. The Teemah is pretty allround-ish.

But it was not really about that. You guys are really opening my eyes that you don’t have to spend a lot of money on gear to get somewhere.

Probably lessons learned from spending thousands? :)

 

[Sascha Franck]

But it was not really about that. You guys are really opening my eyes that you don’t have to spend a lot of money on gear to get somewhere.

Probably lessons learned from spending thousands? :)

Once you get rid of any fantasies to recreate whatever sounds played by whatever iconic guitarists, it'll save you even more. Doesn't make much sense anyway. In case you ended up to exactly nail a sound, you'd have to play like the guys in question, too. That'd make you a copycat. And in case you'd roll your own - well, you can just do that without copying a sound.

 

[FuzzyAce]

The same - just as bad.

 

[FuzzyAce]

@mercifulfuzziness
Practice more, less tone tweaking.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

@mercifulfuzziness
Practice more, less tone tweaking.

I haven’t touched my modeler in days.

EQ block > Super Reverb > Marshall cab

On a side note: I checked with a DB meter and i rarely play louder than 70. At its loudest 80 db but that’s even more rare.

 

[FuzzyAce]

I haven’t touched my modeler in days.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

True story

Okay, okay ..

100% honesty? I picked the 25 Marshall cab to realize the 20 sounded really good and I changed it back and since then I have the York IR for that same cab in my tabs.

 

[dk_ace]

The main trick to sounding like SRV is playing like SRV, it’s also the hardest part by a long stretch.

His tone on its own, just simply strum a chord, is fine but it won’t strike you as anything all that special. Glassy fender/dumble, sometimes a not that dirty Marshall mixed in, played with a strat and pushed with a boost at times. He liked clean speakers like EVs and 15” JBLs.

A nice strat, a cheap strat, it doesn’t really matter. If you can play like him and have the amp sound in the ballpark, you’ll sound like him. The hard part is playing like him.

I’ll add that if you learn to play like him and try to sound like him and you have an ear for tones, you’ll find that tone in unexpected places too. Sometimes I have an easier time copping someone’s sound by just using my ears and what gear sounds right to me in my own hands for getting the sound instead of using what they used.

Good luck and have fun. Any one of SRVs best performances is a master class in guitar.

D

 

[FuzzyAce]

One thing about SRV like many of the greats, is that every note has intent and energy behind it. His right hand technique dictates a lot of that. Kind of like EVH, his rhythm playing gets a bit overshadowed by his lead playing -- but it's really their right hand and rhythm sense that made them special. So the best way to copy these guys more so than tone searching (if that is the goal), is to learn their techniques.