SRV FAQ

5.0 SRV'S GEAR, PLAYING TECHNIQUES, MISCELLANEOUS

Stevie Ray Vaughan has a guitar sound and playing technique that are as unique and identifiable as that of any other guitar great. Even so, his playing habits evolved through the years, along with his equipment and song writing skills. His guitar tone and playing style can even help identify the particular year a recording was made. What we'll attempt to do in this part of the FAQ is trace his guitar playing and stage setup evolution. It might help you get "that tone" for yourself, or even pinpoint the year of that obscure boot you picked up!
--(Major contributor: Tony Wojnar)

5.1 #1, LENNY, AND HIS OTHER GUITARS

STEVIE'S GUITARS
Stevie was a confirmed Strat player. He owned many Fender Stratocasters in various stages of repair or modification, but repeatedly used only a small portion of them with which he was very comfortable. Some of them have names, others don't. Even so, he did own several non-Fender guitars, but rarely used them in public, or on record.

5.1.1 SUMMARY OF GUITARS OWNED

EARLY YEARS
Stevie started playing guitar at about the age of 8, he recalled in several interviews, in 1963. His first guitar was a cheap "Roy Rogers" kid's guitar, which he described as being made of "cardboard", and would never stay in tune.

His first "real" guitar was a Gibson Messenger with a Silvertone amp, then later a Fender Champ 600 amp. This and various other electric guitars and amps were hand-me-downs from his brother Jimmie. Some of these included a 1952 Fender Broadcaster, around 1966; a 1954 Les Paul T.V., about 1968; and a 1952 gold-top Les Paul, about 1968. The gold-top was equipped with the single coil "soap-bar" pickups. It was either one of the last hand-me-downs, or the first guitar Stevie, himself, purchased. It is known that Jimmie also owned a gold-top Les Paul, but not sure if this is the one. In the Kerri Leigh biography, "Soul To Soul", the story is that Stevie borrowed Jimmie's gold top on-the-sly one night when he and a friend snuck out to play a school contest gig. The gold top got damaged and Jimmie almost KILLED Stevie. The book implied that Stevie had to pay Jimmie back, which might mean that he eventually "inherited" the guitar, but basically bought it off Jimmie.

EARLY PRO CAREER
Stevie began his career with the band Blackbird playing primarily the 1954 Les Paul T.V., and the 1952 Les Paul gold-top. His first Fender purchase was a 1963 maple-neck Strat, in 1969. The tone was what Stevie was looking for, but the playability was awful. This was the guitar that was traded in 1973 for the now-famous "Number One".

Other guitars purchased in this early period reflect the moods, attitudes, and type of music Stevie was playing during these early years. They included a Kay Barney Kessel, purchased in 1972, which was subsequently stolen in 1975; a 1948 Airline with three pickups (like the Barney Kessel Kay, but smaller); a 1958 Gibson dot-neck ES-335; a Rickenbacker prototype, which was later stolen and then recovered, and which Stevie ultimately presented as a gift to Hubert Sumlin; and a 1928 National rumored to once belong to Blind Boy Fuller (given to him by roadie Byron Barr).

Once Stevie purchased Number One, he entered the period of his greatest playing evolution.

STEVIE'S GUITARS THROUGH 1990
Stevie was not shy about buying a guitar for its sound, and modifying it until it met his needs. While the guitars sported primarily stock Fender components, they were rarely "original equipment" as the guitar was originally issued. Necks, especially, were regularly changed simply because Stevie wore them out with his extremely aggressive playing style. Pickguards, vibrato bars, saddles, and nuts were also regularly modified. Five-position switches were installed in all three-pickup Strats.

Here is a rundown of the guitars he most often played:

"Number One" - Also called "First Wife", a 1959 Strat body with 1962 neck, received in 1973 in trade of 1963 Strat with Ray Hennig, Heart of Texas Music
"Lenny" - Brownish 1963 or 1964 Strat, received as a gift in 1976 from wife and friends
"Main" - Custom Hamiltone Lurktamer built by James Hamilton of Buffalo, NY Received as gift from Billy Gibbons in 1984
"Charley" - White customized Strat built from spare parts by Charley Wirz.
"Yellow" - 1964 Strat, single pickup, originally owned by Vanilla Fudge guitarist, received as gift from Charley Wirz in 1981.
"Scotch" - Cream-colored 1963 Strat received from Rene Martinez 1960 orange Strat, the first guitar received from Charley Wirz, later stolen
Gibson Johnny Smith, used on "Stang's Swang"

5.1.2 GUITAR DESCRIPTIONS

Each of Stevie's guitars had a personality all its own, so much so that Stevie named a few of them. What follows is a description of each. This information is derived from many interviews and magazine articles. Bear in mind that some magazine articles do not present a complete picture of particular guitars, and others are just plain incorrect. Thus, this part of the FAQ is a composite picture of what we know is true.

"NUMBER ONE"
"Number One", also called "First Wife" is the beat-up mongrel Strat that we all know and love. Constructed of a 1959 body, and (originally) a 1962 neck, it possessed a deep, dark growl of a tone that was immediately identifiable. Even though it used all "stock" Fender Strat parts, about the only "original equipment" parts it possessed by 1990 were the body and the pickups. Over the years, Stevie and Rene Martinez, his guitar tech, replaced the pickguard, vibrato unit, saddles and neck. Some modifications were purely cosmetic, some were functional (to derive a particular feel or tone), and others were out-and-out repairs.

Number One was obtained in 1973 in a trade-in of his first Strat, the 1963 he purchased in 1969. According to Stevie, he saw the Strat in Ray Hennig's Heart of Texas Music, in Austin. He said he knew that this tobacco-sunburst, used Strat was, just by looking at it, the guitar for him. The neck was an oddly-shaped rosewood D-neck, very large, which fit Stevie's large hands like a glove. The body was stamped "LF-1959", but the neck was stamped "1962". Stevie surmised that Leo Fender probably assembled this guitar from left-over 1959 production parts in 1962. It was rumored that the "LF-1959" actually meant "Louis Fuentes" and not Leo Fender. Neither was ever truly verified.

In interviews, Rene sometimes took issue as to the date of manufacture of Number One. Rene claims he has found that the pickups are 1959, while both the neck and body are 1961. In Stevie's mind, the guitar was a factory-cobbled-up 1959, so all discussion ended there.

The guitar originally came with a stock, early-sixties style white pickguard, a right-handed vibrato unit, and 1959 pickups. It is rumored that sometime during the life of the guitar, either Stevie or a previous owner had the pickups rewound at the Fender factory. The result was a slight overwind from original, which is duplicated in the SRV Signature Strat. I cannot find proof of the pickup rewind.

Over the years, Stevie replaced the pickguard (several times) with a black pickguard and added his "SRV" initials in iridescent lettering of several styles. Rene Martinez remarked that he would prowl truck stops to obtain letters to replace the ones that wore away. Eventually the iridescent "SRV" was replaced by Letraset script-style lettering, first seen during his appearance on the "Tonight Show" in 1989. This show introduced the SRV Signature Strat prototype. Stevie was to play this prototype, but it did not sport his trademark initials. The "Tonight Show" art department came up with this new lettering style at the last minute. These script letters are what is engraved in outline form on the SRV Sig Strat.

The vibrato was replaced with a gold left-handed unit sometime around 1977. This was the beginning of Stevie's "Hendrix period". Since Jimi Hendrix and Otis Rush played a right-handed guitar turned "upside down", therefore putting the vibrato bar on top, Stevie emulated this by installing a left-handed vibrato unit in Number One. He also felt it gave him better access to the bar, but did remark that several times, during especially manic performances, it fairly well tore half his sleeve off when he got caught-up on it. Stevie normally used four or five springs in this unit, and had the pivot plate pulled tight against the body. This meant he could only push the bar, and not pull up on it.

Another significant change from stock were the installation of jumbo bass-style frets. This added to the sustain, and gave Stevie added ability to bend the strings with the enormous strings that he used. He gradually went to smaller strings as he got older, but they were still heavy by modern standards. His string sizes in 1984 were generally .013, .015-.016, .019, .028, .038, and .056-.060. In the 1970s, his high E string would sometimes go as high as a .018! By the time 1989 rolled around, Rene convinced him to use a .011 or .012 to save his fingers. His fingers would get torn up so badly that he would actually use super glue to re-attach torn callouses.

The finish of Number One became progressively more beaten up as the years went by. Stevie would pound, scrape, kick, stand on, and otherwise torture the guitar during his performances. Eventually it developed a quarter-inch gouge just above the pickguard where Stevie's manic strumming continually bashed it. There probably was not a square inch of lacquer remaining by 1990. That certainly did not detract from the wonderful sounds it made.

It is not known when the original neck was replaced. Number One had many repairs throughout Stevie's career. An early mishap can be seen on the liner photos for the IN THE BEGINNING album. Stevie had watched how his brother Jimmie would bounce his guitar off the wall, and he thought it was a cool trick. During an early performance of "Third Stone From the Sun", he recalled, he tossed Number One a little too hard. It hit the wall at a bad angle, and severely split the headstock. The photos in the album show the taped-up headstock. Either Rene Martinez or Charley Wirz eventually repaired this damage, as Rene has said that Stevie used the original neck until 1989.

Stevie briefly considered retiring Number One by late 1989, when the neck became unusable. It had gone through so many re-frets and repairs that it just could not hold another re-fret, and its playability was near impossible. So, Rene swapped the neck from "Scotch", a 1963 Strat, onto Number One. This was the neck that was snapped on July 9, 1990 at the Garden State Art Center in New Jersey, when a heavy piece of stage scenery fell on several guitars. This prompted Stevie to beg Rene to try and get one more life out of the old neck. Rene ended up ordering a replacement vintage neck directly from Fender, and received (according to Rene) a 1963 copy, similar to what was destroyed in the accident. Stevie was without Number One for only one show.

Number One was originally rumored to be buried with Stevie at Laurel Land Cemetery, near Dallas. Current reports indicate that Number One actually "resides" with one of the Vaughan family members, either Jimmie or his mother. Rene Martinez swapped the original neck back onto Number One and gave it to the Vaughan family.

"LENNY"
Another readily identifiable guitar in Stevie's arsenal of axes was the brownish-orange 1963 or 1964 maple-neck Strat he called "Lenny". This was another guitar that, over the years, produced Stevie's trademark jazz-like tones on songs such as "Lenny" and "Riviera Paradise".

Lenny, the guitar, is named after Stevie's ex-wife. Legend has it that Stevie found this guitar in an Oak Cliff pawnshop, but couldn't afford it. Byron Barr, one of Stevie's roadies at the time, ended up buying the guitar. Byron and Lenny presented it to Stevie for his birthday, with the agreement that Lenny would reimburse Byron. She started a pool among friends to collect the money, but never did receive enough. In the end, Stevie repaid Byron, himself, with some cash and a leather jacket.

Lenny, the guitar, originally came with a fairly thin rosewood neck. Stevie ended up replacing the neck with a thicker non-Fender maple neck, given to him by Billy Gibbons. He kept the right-hand vibrato, and set it to both pull up and push down, unlike Number One. Lenny was also strung lighter, but only by one step or so. He only used four springs in the vibrato.

Stevie kept the stock pickups in Lenny. These pickups were also microphonic (meaning, if you would tap them with your finger, you would hear that sound coming through the amp). These pickups, combined with the maple neck and slightly lighter strings, gave Lenny that characteristically sweet, bright, ringing tone that is immediately identifiable as a Strat. Stevie loved to use this guitar for songs played softly, and regularly finger-picked solos to even further soften the tone.

Lenny didn't change much through the years. One thing Stevie did was to add a filigree-style decal at the bridge, and add his "SRV" initials on the pickguard. He did this sometime after 1986.

"CHARLEY"
"Charley" was a Strat-style guitar assembled from spare parts by Charley Wirz in 1983. Charley Wirz was a close friend of Stevie's, and he regularly worked on Stevie's guitars in the early years. Charley owned Charley's Guitar Shop in northwest Dallas, until his death in 1984.This guitar was a gift to Stevie, from Charley. A girlie-pinup style caricature decal was placed on the back. On the neck's heel plate is engraved "To Stevie Ray Vaughan, more in '84".

This is an all white guitar, with a rosewood neck, and a white headstock imprinted with the "Charley's Guitar Shop" logo. Charley Wirz installed three Danelectro "lipstick tube" pickups, and wired it using his own custom, non-Fender configuration. The guitar had a tone similar to Number One, with a little more top end, and a slightly more "bell-like" quality. Stevie liked to play it rather clean, sometimes with an Echoplex and the Vibratone unit. You can hear it on the album versions of "Tin Pan Alley", "Life Without You" (which was written as a tribute to Charley), and "Couldn't Stand The Weather".

"RED"
Believe it or not, "Red" actually started out black. "Red" is a 1964 or 1965 rosewood neck Strat with relatively little modifications. It was originally black, but was repainted red around 1985 by Fender with a hue later offered by Fender as a custom color.

Red later had its neck replaced with a 1964 left-handed rosewood Fender neck. The requisite "SRV" decals were added to the pickguard. Other than these changes, "Red" was basically stock. Stevie would regularly use Red on stage for "Love Struck Baby" and "Rude Mood".

"MAIN"
"Main" was the custom Hamiltone Lurktamer Strat-style guitar, built by James Hamilton of Buffalo, NY. The guitar was given to Stevie as a gift from Billy Gibbons in 1984. It has a highly figured, book-matched reddish top, bound on all edges. The body is slightly thicker and slightly heavier than a Strat, with little contouring.

"Main" featured a neck-through-body design, unlike any other guitar Stevie owned. This resulted in the pickups actually being mounted on the neck, itself. The neck shape is similar to that of a Gibson Super 400, and was practically the same width as Number One.

It has an ebony fretboard, with "Stevie Ray Vaughan" inlaid in pearl across it. Pickups are active EMG with an onboard preamp. The guitar has a jangly, jazzy tone that was beefed-up by the active onboard electronics. Stevie regularly used Main on stage for "Couldn't Stand the Weather" and "Cold Shot".

"SCOTCH"
"Scotch" was a semi-mongrel 1963 Strat, a sort of a dark cream-colored ("butterscotch") body with a rosewood neck, and a "tiger-stripe" pickguard custom-made by Rene Martinez. Stevie favored this Strat once Number One began having serious neck problems. A notable change to this guitar was the installation of a brass nut, rather than the bone nuts that Stevie used on his other guitars. In late 1989, Stevie swapped the neck from Scotch onto Number One, and installed a left-handed neck onto Scotch. Stevie regularly played this guitar on "Leave My Girl Alone" on stage, and it was well on its way to becoming the "replacement" for Number One.

"THE YELLOW ONE"
That wasn't really it's name, but this Strat didn't really have a name. Yet, it had a very distinctive tone that is worth noting.

This was a yellow 1959 Strat that was originally owned by the lead guitarist from Vanilla Fudge. Charley Wirz once again worked his magic to resurrect this guitar from the graveyard. By the time Charley received it, the body was hollowed out to accept four humbuckers. Charley removed the humbuckers, and fashioned a new pickguard in which he placed a single Fender Strat pickup in the neck position. Stevie placed his "SRV" stickers directly under the strings, where normally the other two pickups are installed. Not only was this a distinctive looking guitar, but it had a very unique, "ringing" sort of tone due to the hollowed-out body. This was supposedly the guitar played on the album versions of "Honey Bee" and "Tell Me". It was stolen in 1985 and never recovered.

5.1.3 NUMBER ONE'S SETUP

Here is the setup info for Number One, circa early 1989. This information was gleaned from several sources, including interviews with Stevie and Rene Martinez. Some important technical info is from the GUITAR PLAYER REPAIR GUIDE by Dan Erlewine.

This data is specifically from Number One. Stevie's other guitars were set up similarly to Number One, but they were not identical. Number One generally had the heaviest strings and highest action.

Neck Statistics
Nut: Standard bone Fender-style nut Relief: .012" around the 7th and 9th frets, level for the remainder of the board.
Strings: Tuned to Eb GHS Nickel Rockers measuring
.013, .015-.016, .019, .028, .038, .056-.060
Sometimes uses .011 or .012 on high E to save fingers
Strings changed before every show
Fretwire: Dunlop 6100 or Stewart MacDonald 6150 wire.
String Height: Distance from the underside of the strings to the top of the fret at the 12th fret 5/64" on the treble E string, 7/64" at the bass E string
Fingerboard: Due to re-frets, fingerboard developed a compound radius
Radius: Approx. 10" radius past 12th fret
Tuners: Originals, each with three full string winds

Body Statistics
Vibrato Unit: Fender vintage-style, left-handed, not original. Stainless steel replacement bar. Lubricated with graphite/grease mixture at pivot plate; all string contact points, including saddle peaks; block and claw; nut; string trees

Saddles: Fender vintage-style, not all original. All edges that contact strings are ground smooth and radiused. Plastic tubing slipped over strings and positioned over saddle "break points"

Pickups: Original Fender single-coil, rewound. Pickup body routing painted with metallic shielding paint. Pickup heights, measured to polepieces from straightedge laid on frets:

Treble side - bridge PU 0", middle PU - almost 0", neck PU - 1/16"
Bass side - bridge PU - 1/32", middle PU - 1/16", neck PU - 1/32"

--(Major contributor: Tony Wojnar)

5.2 SPECS AND OPINIONS ON THE SRV SIGNATURE STRAT

5.2.1 OFFICIAL SPECIFICATIONS

The Fender Stevie Ray Vaughan Signature Model Stratocaster respectfully reproduces Stevie's unique guitar. Body: Alder; Neck: "oval" shape, Pao Ferro Fretboard, 12" radius, 21 American Standard (medium jumbo) frets, vintage tint finish; Electronics: 3 Texas Special single coil pickups, 5 position switch, volume control, 2 tone controls (middle, neck); Other: left hand vintage style tremolo, B/W/B pickguard with white knobs and pickup covers, "SRV" initials in pickguard, gold plated hardware.
--(From "FenderWorld" http://www.fender.com/)

COMPARISON
The SRV Sig Strat comes very close to reproducing Stevie's Number One. There are several differences, many simply because Stevie regularly repaired and modded his guitars. The Texas Special pickups are rumored to be modeled after Number One's pickups. They are hotter (have a higher output) than today's American Standard pickups, and many players feel they give a similar growl (very "dark sounding" tonally) as the real Number One. Some players feel that this is an acceptable re-creation of Stevie's Number One, as close as you can get with current wood availability. Others feel it could be closer with some minor changes. Specific opinions are given in the following sections.

SIMILARITIES
The SRV Sig Strat supposedly has the same body wood, the same neck wood, and the same bridge unit that the real Number One did. The Texas Special pickups were developed specially for the SRV Sig Strat to duplicate the tone of Number One. Number One reportedly has pickups that were rewound at the Fender factory unintentionally hotter than stock. The neck is larger and "rounder" than most Strat necks.

DIFFERENCES
The fingerboard on the Sig Strat is a particular type of rosewood, Pao Ferro, chosen because of availability rather than playability or "correctness". Pao Ferro may be an adequate rosewood, but it is not identical to Number One. The early SRV Sig Strats may have had a different type of Brazilian rosewood than the current models.

The frets are a medium-jumbo size, and are noticeably smaller than the Dunlop 6100 on Number One. The frets were measured on Number One to be identical to Dunlop 6100 fretwire ...probably the very same but perhaps a different manufacturer. It looks like Dunlop 6105 fretwire on the SRV, since they have the same specs. They are most likely the same manufacturer (Dunlop), but not necessarily.

The pickguard has non-current-standard screw hole spacings, which means anyone who wishes to preserve the original pickguard will have a hard time finding a replacement pickguard with the same number of holes. Current Fender replacements have too many. The SRV Strat is modeled after a pre-CBS Strat, which had fewer screw holes in the pickguard.

5.2.2 OPINIONS FROM OWNERS

ACCOLADES

[Player 1]:
"I bought mine new about 3 years ago and I love it. Contrary to the Fender literature about the "steel wool and super glue neck finish" it appears and feels like any other polyurathane coat. The neck shape is comfortable and the radius I like. The left handed vibrato bar takes a light touch and you can't lay your hand on the bridge without the famous Fender de-tuning phenomenon. I've had no problems with mine. It helps to keep your frets polished for a really smooth feel (any guitar)."

"As far as versatility, I feel that it is extremely versatile. It has all the Fender sounds that one would want for that "King Tone", especially through tube amps. I don't think it sounds hugely different from most other strats but it does have quite a "feel" which is hard to describe. If you read the Fender literature closely, you will see that it is quite unique taking all the specs into consideration."

[Player 2]:
"Nice and solid, resonant body. Not as bright as an American Standard, or the reissues. Feels as unique as a Rickenbacker, IOW, you just KNOW this is an SRV. Also own a Bonnie Raitt Sig Strat, which has the same Texas Special pickups, and the SRV sounds very different -- less bright, deeper, more growl. I have it set up with .011-.054, and close to the same specs as SRV's Number One. It captures most of SRV's tone. Got it for $900 out the door a few years ago, a 1992 or 1993 (can't remember).

I use it for all of the blues and rock tunes I play. It's paired with a Blues DeVille and a TS9. I'll sit-in sometimes with a friend's country band, and it just doesn't have that twangy country sound. I have to use a different guitar for that type of gig."

[Player 3]:
"I own and play a SRV Signature Strat and love every minute of it. Though it is not an exact replica of No.1 it really has a great feel and outstanding tone. I consider it to be a very close match in the most important areas.

Neck - Pao Ferro fingerboard and very tall narrow frets. Also 12" radius.

Body - Heavy, great work on the 57 reissue body.

Pickups - Texas Specials, Killer Tone ('nuff said)

Hardware - All vintage reissue (almost nuff said). The gold plating does need to be polished off of the string saddles to cut down on string breakage. Otherwise, killer tone.

PickGuard - Has the "Letterman" (sic) Logo. Its cool, but I took it off to save it for potential resale of the guitar. Even though I think this is going to be my Numero Uno.

List: $1350.00
I Paid: $850.00 (new, Guitar Center)

"Basically if you are searching for SRV tone, this guitar will be a great baseline. However you will still need a gift from God to ever get The Tone. 75% of the sound comes from talent. Mere mortals rarely achieve it."

RASPBERRIES

[Player 4]:
"Overall, I feel that the SRV Strat is a great guitar, but my biggest bitch against it is how high the neck sits in the pocket. If you were to take a measurement from the top of the fretboard (at the last fret) to the top of the pickguard, and compare this to earlier Strats (and even photos of Stevie's Number One) you would find that the Sig Strat's neck is way up there. I've noticed this on a lot of the newer (non-Sig) Strats also, so I'm not sure if it's what Stevie said he wanted to see in the guitar, or if it's just the way that Fender is now making most of their Strats. Mine is a 1994 model, and I don't know if the first SRV Strat's were made this way, but it seems like all the recent ones still are.

"On my older '73 Strat, the neck pocket is much deeper, hence the neck sits lower, just like Stevie's original. What this means is that the action is much easier to adjust, and you don't need to have the bridge saddles adjusted to their max to get a decent action. This was my problem on the Sig Strat, I had to adjust the saddles so high that some of the adjustment screws were starting to fall through the bottom of the saddles before I got decent (fairly high) action. By the way, the neck relief looks fine on my model, so it wasn't due to a bad neck that I needed to adjust the saddles so high. I also have the bridge plate resting flush against the body, which means the saddles need to be higher than if the bridge was floating a bit, to get the same action.

"I don't know if you've ever taken your neck off, but when I took mine off, I found a shim made out of two strips of heavy brown paper sitting towards the rear of the pocket. My Strat was direct from the factory, so only Fender could have put this in.

"As you know, a shim towards the rear will cause the neck to tilt back (or down) causing the strings to be closer to the neck than if it was level. This means you would have to raise your saddles higher to get the same action (as when the neck is level).

"In my case, I moved the shim towards the front of the pocket, causing the neck to tilt up a bit. This meant I could gain a little more action without raising the saddles more. I'm not sure why Fender put that shim towards the rear, unless it slipped down during shipping, but I doubt it. I had to really pull on the thing to get it to let go from the pocket.

"I'm beginning to think that I have a slight rise happening on the last 5-7 frets that is still causing the good ol' annoying fret buzz. I may have to loosen my truss rod a bit more and add one more piece of cardstock to the shim to make this go away. As you may have experienced, every time you make some adjustments, and you think you've got it dialed in, you find that later on something else doesn't sound quite right and you've got to tweak some more. That's the way it is with these Strats."

"I finally had to replace the vintage saddles with (horrors!) the more solid GraphTech ones so I could get a little more height on the D and G strings. I don't think I've really lost any tone due to these saddles as some people claim they do when they try these out.

"I also had the middle pickup go out on me. This was an easy fix as all I had to do was reheat the solder points on the pickup with an iron to re-melt them a bit and it worked fine after that.

[Player 5]:
"The neck seemed kind of high on mine. My only complaint is a tendency to fret out at fret 15 or so. I keep fiddling with the relief, but I'm beginning to think the neck might not be set level in the pocket. I play with the strings pretty high, so it hasn't been a big enough problem to cause me to take more drastic measures -- yet! Other than that, I've been really happy with mine."

[Player 6]:
"When I first got the guitar I took it to my luthier for a going over and a set-up (It had been in the store for several months and every wanker in the city had been playing it). It turns out that the neck was defective (just barely). The truss-rod could not be adjusted far enough to compensate. No problem though, through my guy and Fender everything was quickly taken care under warranty. So I kept the guitar the way it was and waited for only 2 weeks for the neck to arrive at the shop. 2 days later... BAM everything is cool."

--(Major contributor: Tony Wojnar)

5.3 EQUIPMENT SETUPS

If there's one thing that can be said about Stevie's on-stage and on-record rig, it's that it changed almost as often as his solos! His amps are as distinctively Fender as his guitars, but he also mixed-in several interesting non-Fender pieces of equipment in that ultimate quest for The Tone. Even so, you would never mistake his signature sound for anything but Fender.

5.3.1 AMPS AND SUCH

Since Stevie's rig changed so often, we'll give some details by year. Before we start, let's summarize some of the mods he made over the years.

A constant in Stevie's sound was a pair of sequentially numbered, 1x15" Fender Vibroverbs, numbers 5 and 6. He obtained them in different years, and was very proud of having such low serial numbers, and in sequence to boot. It seems no matter what other amps were in his setup, the Vibroverbs were always there.

Another pair of amps that regularly drifted in and out of Stevie's rig were a pair of Fender Super Reverbs. While the Vibroverbs would give that much desired "tube breakup" at relatively low volumes, the Supers were 40-watt monster combo amps that would stay almost totally clean even at volumes that would make your ears bleed! Stevie would blend these into the overall sound for sheer power.

If that wasn't enough, Stevie also relied at various times on a couple of plexi Marshalls: a 100-watt Super PA, and a 200-watt Major. These fed modded Marshall "bathtub" cabinets, and another homemade cabinet. Early in his career he even relied on a Marshall Town and Country Combo, another 200-watt monster that (fortunately?) peaked-out at only 80 watts.

Later the Marshalls were generally retired in favor of a Howard Dumble Steel String Singer. This Rolls-Royce of high-powered heads fed the same Marshall speaker cabinets. He retired the Marshalls because he could not find the proper tubes anymore.

Finally, he also possessed an oddity of a cabinet called a Fender Vibratone. This is a Leslie-style speaker cabinet, but instead of a rotating speaker, it had a slotted, rotating foam cylinder around the stationary speaker. The effect is the same, though-- a rich, warbling sort of organ tone. This unit is heard on "Cold Shot" and "The Things I Used to Do."

Some modifications he made to the amps include:

Fender Super Reverbs
Replaced speakers with 10-inch Electro-Voice EVMs
Baffle boards replaced with 3/4" plywood
American 6L6, Sylvania STR415, and Sylvania STR387 tubes

Fender Vibroverbs
Baffle boards replaced with 3/4" plywood
American 6L6, Sylvania STR415, and Sylvania STR387 tubes
Channel 1 disconnected from phase inverter tube
Tremelo circuit disconnected at trem intensity control

Home-made 4x12 cabinets, w/ 12" EVMs

Stevie played with a minimum of effects on stage, but also regularly experimented in the studio to get particular sounds. His stomp-box gear included a pair of old Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamers, a pair of Vox wah-wah pedals, Octavias, Univibes, Fuzz Faces, and an Echoplex. His amp tech in the later years, Cesar Diaz, modified the Fuzz Faces with matched germanium transistors. Diaz also performed most of the mods to the amps, and was regularly called upon to repair the amps that Stevie blew up. Stevie also had at least two of everything because of the age and relative unreliability of the effects. For instance, he once remarked that he rarely used the Fuzz Faces outdoors because the heat from the sun would cause them to fail. He did not use any rack-mount or digital gear.

One of Stevie's album experiments was to chain the two Tube Screamers, giving a hugely loud and distorted tone. He later used the Fuzz Faces to do this sort of thing. Another experiment was to connect two wahs inline, but rock the pedals in opposite directions. This was first heard on "Say What!". The pedals would cancel some frequencies and enhance others, giving a wild phased type of tone. Every so often he would kick-in a Univibe or Octavia to get a richer, doubled sort of tone.

5.3.2 RECORDING AND ON-STAGE RIGS BY YEAR

1981 THROUGH 1983
Marshall Combo 2x12 JBL (200 watt, but peaks at 80 watts)
Two Fender Vibroverbs 1x15
Y-cord into Marshall and one Vibroverb, then patch to other Vibroverb
Tube Screamer
Vox Wah

CIRCA 1984
Stacked 2 Vibroverbs with 2 Super Reverbs
Two Vibroverbs (#5 and #6 serials, bought in different times, different places)
Super Reverb w/ 15" speaker, shorter cab, no midrange control
Fave setup was two Vibroverbs and two Supers, let Vibroverbs handle bottom end, set one super clean, the other variable
Eventually retired Supers for Dumble Steel String Singers
Wah wah, Tube Screamer, Univibes
No straight distortion box, uses Tube Screamer for extra gain and break-up
"Cold Shot" played through Vibratone (10" speaker with rotating Styro cone in front)

CIRCA 1985 THROUGH 1987
Two chained Vibroverbs, one driving a Vibratone cabinet
One or two Super Reverbs
Dumble Steel String Singer driving Marshall 8x10 cab
"Life Without You" used Tube Screamer plus two open wahs opposed (for solo on record)
For "Say What!", sat on stool and used both feet to rock wahs in opposite directions (on record). On stage, would sometimes duct-tape wahs together for one-foot operation

1988 THROUGH 1990
Two Vibroverbs, one driving Vibratone
Two 4x10 Super Reverbs
Two Marshall heads driving Marshall cabinets
Dumble Steel String Singer driving Marshall 8x10" cabinet
One or two Tube Screamers for gain
Fuzz Face for distortion
Octavia, wah

RIG FOR RECORDING "IN STEP"
1959 Tweed Bassman 4x10"
2 Dumble 4x12" cabs
2 Marshall 4x12" cabs
1962 Twin Reverb
Marshall Major 200-watt Super PA into Marshall "bathtub" 4x15" cabinet
Marshall Major 200-watt Super Lead into 8x12" KTR88 cabinet JCM800 100 watt half stack
1 "bathtub" Marshall cab w/ 4x12"
300 watt Dumble
150 watt Dumble
2 Super Reverbs
Mesa-Boogie Simul-Class running Fender Vibratone
Vibratone in separate room, with Variac controlling speed
Magnatone
Fender Harvard
Roland Jazz Chorus
Groove Tube preamp
Variacs to adjust and sync power requirements
Fuzz Face
Cry Baby
Echoplex
Cyclosonic "auto-panner" on Riviera Paradise
Liked Groove Tube feeding Roland, plus Marshall, plus Bassman
Tried Tube Screamer feeding another TS feeding Bassman
(These are the amps mentioned in various interviews)

5.3.3 GETTING "THAT TONE"

If you would like to "duplicate" Stevie's tone, first of all remember that much of the tone was in Stevie's hands and fingers. In other words, equipment is only part of the equation. His aggressive right hand attack and strong left hand fingers made much of the sound. This section can get you started in the right direction in setting up your rig.

EQUIPMENT SETUP
The first thing to do is to find a Strat or Strat copy that has single coil, Fender-style pickups, a rosewood fingerboard, vibrato, the biggest strings you can stand to use, and bigger frets to match the big strings. Like every guitar, every amp is different in its response. Even amps in the same model line may sound different. As a start, use a tube amp that you can dial-in to slightly distort at your desired volume, preferably one with at least a single 12" speaker, or two 10" speakers. Stevie's rig had a big bottom end response, and you won't get that using an 8" or single 10". Keep in mind that Stevie normally played at ear-splitting levels, even in a club setting, with several amps. This all adds up to a lot of square inches of speaker surface. Add a distortion pedal (or a Tube Screamer, to emulate Stevie), compressor (so you can sustain at reasonable volumes), chorus or Dunlop Rotovibe(to cheaply emulate a Vibratone), and wah. Add some reverb, and you're on your way.

AMP SETUP
You'll have to play around with the amp to get a volume setting that just breaks up a bit, but doesn't really fuzz-up. Stevie used multiple amps, chained together, to get his sound, and unless you can do the same, you'll have to dial-in your one amp to get close to the same sound. If your amp has a Master / Preamp setup, set your guitar volume knob to ten, your preamp knob to at least 5, and set a reasonable listening level on the Master knob. Stevie pushed the power tubes and the speakers, and you'll be pushing the preamp tubes only, so you won't get an identical breakup, but it will be close. Plus, you won't go deaf in the process. If you are to play on stage, these reasonable levels will be your stepping stone to the higher concert levels. The guitar volume knob can now be played at 10 for the "greasy breakup", or rolled-off a number or two to back-off on the distortion but keep relatively the same volume.

Listen to something like "In The Beginning" while you dial-in a stage tone, or "Couldn't Stand the Weather" for a consistent album tone. Start by either setting all tone knobs to zero, and turn them up one at a time until you like what you hear, or turn them all to ten and back them off one by one. For you Bassman users, Stevie said in an interview that he liked the sound of his Bassman with all the tone knobs turned almost all the way down. This was around 1989, and not representative of his early years. For that early tone, you might try setting treble to 9 or 10, the midrange to 6, and the bass to 6 on the amp. The guitar tone knobs will then simply roll-off the treble. Stevie constantly fiddled with the guitar tone and volume knobs while he played, and this would allow you to do the same.

EFFECTS SETUP
After you have dialed-in the amp, you can get down to business on the effects pedals. Stevie kept things really simple, so don't get too carried away on the effects. The less you use them, the better off you'll be. The more effects you add will tend to destroy that vintage Fender tone. Use to your taste. We hope to give you a starting point here.

Start with the distortion pedal. Stevie used the Tube Screamer for more gain, not distortion. In other words, he used the TS as a sort of "pre"-preamp. Do the same with your pedal. We really don't have a specific setting for Stevie's rig, but it would probably be close if you set the Level to max, the distortion to maybe 2, and the tone to max. Now remember, Stevie is playing on the edge already, and using the Tube Screamer this way will simply provide a wall of volume with more power amp distortion. If you can't turn up like he did (and I don't know who can!), use the distortion control to give just a little more fuzz, and use the level to match the volume like you normally would. It won't sound the same, since you're introducing "imitation" distortion, but it will be at a more reasonable level, and it will help sustain.

Stevie did use a Fuzz Face on some songs, especially later in his career, and mostly in concert rather than on an album. Stevie used the Fuzz Face specifically for distortion, while he used the Tube Screamer mostly for added gain (make it louder). You can hear the Fuzz Face on "Leave My Girl Alone" on IN STEP. Stevie turns the Fuzz Face on as he begins his solo. You can hear how his tone becomes much more distorted at that time. You can set your distortion box to this type of fuzz, too. It may not be as "smooth" as a Fuzz Face, but it will produce the extra distortion.

Now, the compressor. Tube amps naturally introduce some compression, but mainly when you drive them hard. A small amount of pedal compression will help sustain, and smooth out the pops and thumps when you play hard, like Stevie's attack. This will help a lot when you play at lower volumes. His playing style had a lot of string pulls, finger plucks, and rakes, which means the "volume" of the sound when you use these playing techniques will greatly vary. The compressor will smooth these out. To the best of our knowledge, Stevie never used a chorus unit, or a Rotovibe. Unless you can afford a vintage Vibratone (the Leslie-style speaker cabinet), either of these effects can approximate the shimmering sound found on songs like "Cold Shot" and "Couldn't Stand the Weather". Set the depth to shallow, and the speed to medium-fast, about 6 or 7 beats per second. You want just a hint of an organ tone, not a full-out, phased and echoed goth-rock effect.

These tips are just a start. Your equipment, your fingers, and your style will give you a tone all your own, even if you played with Stevie's own gear. Even Stevie's tone changed through the years, so use this info as a jumping-off point, and change it to introduce your own personality.

--(Major contributor: Tony Wojnar)

5.4 PLAYING TECHNIQUES

A full write up on this topic is forthcoming.

5.5 WHERE TO FIND TABS

Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation has an extensive "Recorded Versions - Guitar" series of tablature. These books are an excellent source to get an idea of how to play Stevie's music. They will not show you technique so much as the notes, both in music and standard tablature. The books are best used in conjunction with the albums to get the timing and feel of the music and Stevie's style of playing.

Hal Leonard has published tablature books for every Stevie Ray Vaughan album. Most include the basic rhythm along with fills, and of course, solos. All books are well prepared, clean and easy to read. All but one include a few pages of pictures of Stevie Ray from various times.

BOOKS

Following is a list of the tablature books, a brief description, transcriber, and ISBN numbers.

Texas Flood (ISBN 0-7935-4093-3) Transcribed by Jesse Gress.
Includes all songs from Stevie's first album.

Couldn't Stand the Weather (ISBN 0-7935-4203-0) Transcribed by Jesse Gress.
Includes all songs from his second album.

Soul to Soul (ISBN 0-7935-4414-9) Transcribed by Jesse Gress.
Includes everything from this 1985 release.

Live Alive (ISBN 0-7935-4381-9) Transcribed by Jesse Gress.
Includes everything from the live album.

Lightnin' Blues 1983-1987 (no ISBN listed) Transcribed by John Tapella.
Compilation of songs from albums between 1983 and 1987. Includes 6 songs from Texas Flood, 6 from Couldn't Stand the Weather, 7 from Soul to Soul, and 5 from Live Alive. In addition, Pipeline from the Back to the Beach soundtrack appears.

In Step (ISBN 0-7935-0322-1) Transcribed by Jesse Gress.
All songs from Stevie's last album. Also includes a foldout color poster.

The Vaughan Brothers - Family Style (ISBN 0-7935-0741-3) Transcribed by Jesse Gress.
Notation for Stevie's only album with his brother.

The Sky Is Crying (ISBN 0-7935-1555-6) Transcribed by Dave Whitehill.

In The Beginning (ISBN 0-7935-2275-7) Transcribed by Jesse Gress.

For those interested in Stevie's technique, Hal Leonard has a Stevie Ray Vaughan book (ISBN 0-7935-0824-X) in their Signature Licks series. Wolf Marshall explains picking technique and other aspects of Stevie's sound. Parts of 13 songs are transcribed, along with notes on how they were played and what made them unique. An accompanying 59 minute CD includes samples of the transcribed parts, both in normal and slowed tempos.

MAGAZINES

If you just need that one lick from that one performance, a magazine back-issue can be a good way to go. In fact, if you are a typical guitar nerd, you may already have it and not know it. A list of known magazine issues with SRV tabs follows.

*Guitar For The Practicing Musician Presents Hendrix/Vaughan (special issue)
**Guitar For The Practicing Musician Blues Classics Volume I

Key:

BOGP Best Of Guitar Player phone: (800) 444-4881 (US)
GFTPM Guitar For The Practicing Musician (handled by Music Dispatch) phone: (800) 637-2852 (US) (414) 774-3630 (US)
GL Guitar World Presents Guitar Legends phone: (212) 807-7100 (US)
GP Guitar Player phone: (800) 444-4881 (US)
GS Guitar School phone: (212) 807-7100 (US)
GT Guitar Techniques email: mmmos@musicmaker.co.uk phone: 01353 668586 (UK)
GW Guitar World phone: (212) 807-7100 (US)
Note that these numbers are in some cases not the subscription numbers. They were verified as correct for ordering back-issues as of March, 1996.

Other magazine notes:

Guitar World 9/95 includes a "private lesson" with Stevie himself that is the result of a trio of interviews done by Andy Aledort. Tab examples are included for the examples discussed.

--(Major contributors: Michal Casterline, C. Michael Parma & Sean Nicholson)

5.6 MISCELLANEOUS

Below are some general topics which frequently arise during conversations about Stevie Ray Vaughan.

5.6.1 STEVIE'S COPTIC CROSS

There is a great picture of Stevie's Coptic cross on the cover of the "Live from Austin, Texas" video. No one seems to know for sure where Stevie obtained the cross, but it was as much a part of his image as his hats, ponchos and boots. Doyle Bramhall, a close friend and fellow musician, suspects that he may have picked it up at a little Ethiopian shop in Austin, where Stevie purchased most of his trinkets.

In 1990, after the tragic helicopter crash, Stevie's brother Jimmie was asked to return to the tragic scene. As he was leaving, someone knocked on the car window and said, "We found one other item." Jimmie recognized it as being Stevie's Coptic cross and placed it around his neck as he drove off.

There is a store called Nomadic Notions in Austin, Texas which carries Coptic crosses, also known as Ethiopian crosses. This might very well be the store from which SRV obtained his cross.

At this store, one can obtain Coptic crosses which are handmade in Ethiopia by the different Christian tribes there. Each tribe has its own variation on the theme. Most of them are the same general shape of SRV's cross, with the triangle shapes on each point of the extremities and three bars representing the Trinity at the top, although the center shows tribal variation.

The center of SRV's cross had little holes in it. The type available at Nomadic Notions have an area in the middle that looks like interwoven silver, to represent eternity. These crosses are made out of something called "pot silver" which is an alloy with a little silver in it for durability. They are quite beautiful and heavy, and priced at $12 and $14.

The book "Africa Adorned" shows photos of the different types of Ethiopian crosses, including a photo of one called an "Aksum" Ethiopian cross which is very similar to SRV's. Aksum is the town or region in Ethiopia where this style of cross is made.

Nomadic Notions gets shipments of Coptic crosses from Ethiopia every several months. They do not have control over what kind of crosses they get, and cannot order a certain style. However, they have a mailing list if you want to be notified when they receive shipments. That way you can watch for the Aksum style to show up.

ALSO...one of our TexasFlooders has a company that is making replicas of Stevie's Coptic cross. For more information they can be reached at:

http://www.jcdisciples.org/srvpage/coptic_cross/index.html

Finally, if you live in or near Ethiopia, you could go to Aksum and pick up plenty of SRV style Coptic crosses for all us Texasflooders.

--(Major contributors: Carla Lowe and Dan High)

5.6.2 STEVIE'S "SOUL TIP"

Stevie's trademark "Soul Tip" requires two descriptions to do it justice. Representing the first perspective is Texasflooder Rose Southward:

Soul Tip - The gloriously sexy triangular patch of hair beneath Stevie's lower lip. Extremely sensual and oh-so-dreamy. Looks like it would have been pleasurable to run one's teeth through.

Representing the second perspective is Texasflooder Steve Toney:

Soul Tip - Let it grow, shave everywhere but under you lip, trim it once a week. Yawn!

--(Major contributors: Rose Southward & Steve Toney)

5.6.3 STEVIE'S TATTOO

Doyle Bramhall, Stevie's longtime friend and song writing partner, tells this story:

The year was 1973...Stevie and Doyle were members of a group called the Nightcrawlers and they were in Corpus Christi, Texas at the time. After a night of heavy drinking, they decided to get tattoos. Doyle went first, and describes the tattoo artist as this crusty old guy with a cigarette butt hanging' out of his mouth. Doyle can't remember the guy's name, but he was a tough old bird. Smoke was blown right into his face as his tattoo was completed.

It was then 19 year old Stevie's turn. Stevie actually selected an arm tattoo, but requested that it be placed on the middle of his chest. Stevie wanted a tattoo of a grand phoenix bird rising from the ashes, but it ended up looking more like a baby peacock. The old guy proceeded to bestow a great deal of pain on Stevie as he bore down. Doyle says that most tattoo artists will tattoo a little, then stop and pause to give the customer (victim) a little relief. This old guy just kept on tattooing, never letting up. He would say "Does this hurt?", then he would laugh, as he continued tattooing. Since Stevie was so thin at the time, the pain was excruciating on his chest bone. He swore that he would never do that again!

Thanks for the story Doyle!
--(Major contributor: Dan High)

5.6.4 STEVIE'S HATS

We are sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Manny Gammage, hatmaker to the stars, died of cancer on December 30, 1995. Mr. Gammage was 57. He took over the hat business from his father and transformed it from a little hat shop in Austin to one of the best known hatteries in the world. As owner of Texas Hatters, in Buda, Texas Manny made hats for several US Presidents, the King of Sweden, and countless music and entertainment legends. He was a soft-spoken gentleman with the gift of story telling.

The shop's craftship continues under the guidance of Manny's daughter, Joella Gammage Nolen, who apprenticed with her father for 15 years. She is continuing the family business in the same spirit as her father and grandfather. So, you can still get "the real thang" if you want a hat like SRV's.

If you want to buy a hat like Stevie's, you can order it from Texas Hatters, in Buda, Texas. As of last November, 1995, you could order a custom hat, just like Stevie's, in your size for about $175.00. It will have your name in gold imprinted in the inside brim, with "In Memory of Stevie Ray Vaughan" in gold as well. For more information, you can call: 512-295-HATS or toll free 800-421-4287. You can also visit their website at:

http://www.texashatters.com

--(Major contributors: Lee Hopkins & Beverly Howell)

5.6.5 STEVIE'S GUITAR STRAP

Stevie's white guitar strap with the black eighth notes on it is available from:

Pepperland
Grapevine Mills Mall #117
3000 Grapevine Mills Pkwy
Grapevine TX 76051
(972) 724-3399
www.srvcatalog.com

--(Major contributor: Frank Sandoval)