What if SRV...

Guitar Toad

Guitar Toad

Toadily Stratologist
...had played through a VOX AC30? ( I'm not going to buy a VOX AC30, this is a simple tonal query) How would his sound be different? More fuzzy not as clean for as loud as he played?

Some say that SRV is classic Marshall 100W cranked others say that he is
classic BF Fender. Is Texas Flood the tune BF tone SRV style?

His Voodoo Chile would be the Marshall sound?
 
Re: What if SRV...

I hear BF Fender- specifically the Vibroverb. Not that I could honestly tell that it's a Vibroverb- but the tone I hear (in my head) sounds like a BF combo amp and I know he used a Vibroverb.

So, if you want to know how he would have sounded with an AC-30, I'd say it's in the neighborhood. Open back cab with 40 watts of 6L6 into 1x15. instead of 35watts of EL84's into 2x12.

In the neighborhood, maybe not next door to each other, but in the neighborhood. :)
 
Re: What if SRV...

Re: the Dumble- I'd thought of that- and I'm not a huge SRV fan- I like his stuff, I'm just not nutty about it. But when I think of SRV songs like Pride n Joy, Cold Shot, Crossfire, Look At Little Sister, Voodoo Chile... I hear that loose and open, open back cabinet sound. I'm pretty sure he had a few different things miked but the Fender combo just seems to come out dominant (and I actually was just reading an article from the guy who engineered Couldn't Stand the Weather a few weeks ago).

Yes I meant to say "loose and open" "open back cabinet" :)
 
Re: What if SRV...

Interestingly, if you play just like SRV on a British and American amp, you'll sound more like SRV on the Fender, and if it's a Vox or Plexi, you'll automatically hear yourself sounding more like Hendrix.......at least that's what I notice, when switching to EL-34's or EL84's.
 
Re: What if SRV...

I've heard that AC-30's if driv'in to hard are prone to go up in flames?
Maybe only the old ones I DUNNO?? He would have had to rename the
1st album `Texas Fire' :laugh2: It's fair to say he was a Lil' hard on his
gear. :saeek:
 
Re: What if SRV...

Texas Flood is SRV playing through Jackson Browne's Dumble I believe.

For his last CD I'm pretty sure he used a mint '59 Fender tweed Bassman with original Jensen P10R alnico speakers for most of the CD.

Those can sound very Marshall-like as the 60's Marshalls are a copy of the '59 and '60 5F6-A tweed Bassman circuit. Blackface Bassmans are a totally differant design, BTW, and sound nothing like the tweed Bassman to my ears.

For the most part, I think of SRV's tone as coming from early 60's Fender type amps: Vibro-Verbs, Super-Reverbs, etc. with a Dumble and Marshall JCM-800 mixed in.

I don't think the AC-30 would be clean enough for SRV. That's a cathode biased design and with SRV's heavy strings, E flat tuning and super strong hands the AC-30 type design would fart out, IMO. Just not the right amp design for a player like Stevie.

IMO, SRV was the greatest rock & blues guitarist since Jimi Hendrix.
 
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Re: What if SRV...

+1 on all of that. I think you're right about Texas Flood.

I have seen video of SRV with a Marshall as one of his amps on stage, but he'd use a few different amps in a lot of situations.

Mike
 
Re: What if SRV...

I have a picture for this....this is a picture of SRV's studio rig during one of his cd's, not sure which....you figure out which he uses...


stevie.jpg
 
Re: What if SRV...

He supposedly used Jackson Brownes, so Jackson might still have it.
 
Re: What if SRV...

Lewguitar said:
I don't think the AC-30 would be clean enough for SRV. That's a cathode biased design and with SRV's heavy strings, E flat tuning and super strong hands the AC-30 type design would fart out, IMO. Just not the right amp design for a player like Stevie.
Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking. Vox's have a great sound, but they fart out on the lows and the highs get all blatty when you dig in on heavy strings.
 
Re: What if SRV...

(i am not a srv expert, i am sure there are bigger srv fans on the board but i do know a few things...)
that picture was from soul to soul
they say he used 32 amps and they had to build a chicken coop type thing around him hehe
from what i understand srv used a dumble steel string singer(??) it was 150watts used mostly for steel guitar like u know robert randolph.
he also used EV speakers to help get that tight sound
one of those cabs is something like 10 - 10" speakers or something wild
also on the 32 amp thing rene martinez said that stevie told him one of the amps was messing up, the gibson and sure enuf he went to that room and the amp was not working right..

i bet if srv played thru a vox he prob woulda still sounded a lot like srv :)
 
Re: What if SRV...

Huh, SRV can hear you any more.

No, he's not deaf, he's dead.


Long live the king
 
Re: What if SRV...

The beauty of recording....I miss SRV...I wish I could have seen him live...
 
Re: What if SRV...

I believe Aaron is right....Stevie had his own dumbles by the time the soul to soul tour came about...in fact after the recording sessions for texas flood, he went out and got his own dumbles. if I'm not mistaken...

there is a GREAT website that details stevies gear through the years...let me see if I can find it...


***EDIT***

This article was printed in a 1983 issue of Guitar World.

Stevie's gear as told by himself on the Texas Flood sessions
 
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