Stevie Ray Vaughan Discussion

[Blind Melon Chitlin]

[kenny74]

Yeah, I'd think that too, on this little beast it still has bass when its down all the way!

[Blind Melon Chitlin]

[kirk95]

[Blind Melon Chitlin]

Will do.
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[kirk95]

Cool!
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[stratovarious]

You know, all of this depends on which SRV tone you mean. There is a world of difference between his (most excellent) El Mocambo sound and the last Austin City Limits gig. Also, I saw him quite a bit during the height of his "booze" period, just before he sobered up, and his sound was something other (too loud on stage and not too refined) then.

I remember one gig in particular where did got so ticked off at his sound that he was kicking the plexiglass sound deflectors around the stage and away from his amps.

My personal sound fav is that El Mocambo gig in Canada. That was mainly #1 through standard wah, fuzz and TS-9 into Cesar Diaz modded Vibroverb. On the amp, the rectifier tube was replaced with trans cap and the tubes were biased a little on the hot side.

By the way, assuming noise and hiss are part of all this tone we're talking about, as others have witnessed before, up close his rig sounded like a huge nest of killer bees when cranked. I'm only considering here what he sounded like live. You can get anybody to sound pretty good in the studio.
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[voodoo364]

Yeah the El Mocambo is my fave tone. Is he using a VV and the Super?

[stratovarious]

Interesting that you brought it up. From years of owning the video of the El Mocambo show I thought he had a super on, but finally I saw a separate photo of his rig there and, sure enough, the other amp was a stanby. He was using a '64 Vibroverb. And it's fairly cranked up; you can tell from the video.

The Cesar Diaz mods (somewhat different from the RI Fender is now selling) are pretty well known, as he was interviewed before his death.

Finally, watch his fingers up close. This gig, more than any other I have or have seen, shows so well how much of his tone came from his hands. This so often gets said about good guitarists and then immediately forgotten in our discussion of gear and gadgets. Watch how he wrenches and strangles those strings!

The El Mocambo DVD is a prerequisite to any study of Stevie Tone. I'll have to watch again, but the Wah was either a standard Cry Baby or Vox. You can see it.
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[Blind Melon Chitlin]

[Blind Melon Chitlin]

[TTrahan]

I think it's Vibroverb+Super Reverb as well. There's a good mix of crystal clear high end and big bottom end, something that a VV and SR together would create.

I could almost gaurantee that there is a TS808 and a Vox Wah. I hear nothing that sounds like a fuzzface on that at all, that's just me though.

Either way, the tone he gets on that is unbelievable, I haven't heard a show match it yet.

My .02.

Cheers,
Troy

[voodoo364]

Yeah...I am sure there is no fuzz on El Mocambo. Austin City is another story. Great thread guys...the info about "frequencies colliding" in a live setting is interesting. I have this discussion often with friends. What sounds good in the bedroom/basement, rarely sounds good with the bass and drums. I find myself having to be very aware of getting lost in the mix. I think that is why the TS is imperative in my rig. It might sound nasally or honky on it's own...but in the context of a band it provides the "cut". Blackface amps have a scooped sound to me, they sound great on chordal stuff..but IMHO thet need some mid frequency augmentation

[TTrahan]

[stratovarious]

Okay, my mistake on the fuzz. Yeah, you can see it clearly (and hear it, too) on the Austin City limits DVD, and that's what I was thinking of.

On El Mocambo there are two quick camera shots of the floor where you can distinctly see the little green guy -- unmistakeably a Tube Screamer. Whether a TS 808 or TS 9, I can't see. I have a TS 9 that has the newer chip, yet my TS 10 (discontinued) has the earlier chip. Subtle difference; I like them both and occasionally have both in my chain and on.

As to the Mocambo amp thing: I agree that I am hearing something more and clearer on the treble side of things. If you've seen the video, do note that after he pogos around on #1 and ends Third Stone, he goes to the Vibroverb and turns the volume to off with one quick flip of the knob. This kills ALL his sound, and he walks off stage. My question is, How then is he also running the 2nd amp so that it goes silent, too. I mean, how is he jumping to the other amp?

So, this was about how we get Stevie's sound. I get the best results from medium hot single coils. I love CS '54s, but I really get much closer with Tex Specials or CS '69s. I'm sure others in this range will do the trick.

I have a basic (non-fasel) Cry Baby wah which sounds just fine to me. Wouldn't mind having a Clyde McCoy or Vox as well, but the Cry Baby gets it (you know, they are somewhat adjustable).

Strangely, I'm using a new Twin set on the 25 watt thingy right now, giving the RI '63 Vibroverb and RI Bluesbreaker a rest. I really think any Fender-like tube amp is good, although tweeds can get a little woofy at times. Bluesbreakers and JTM 45s do pretty well and are basically copied from the tweeds, so what I find is that 6L6 tubes are critical for much of Stevie's amp sound.

Finally, over the years I've really learned to make love to that guitar neck. There are times to caress and times to drive it home. Again, watch the El Mocambo show, watch his left hand. I don't know how it happened; I've been playing many years, and then one day my fingers just seemed to know what they were supposed to do without me having to think so intellectually about the whole thing. Handle a Strat (or Tele) enough and I think it just comes . . .
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