I luckily met SRV during the Couldn't Stand The Weather tour down here in the REAL south and he did indeed say that he'd have the drive at zero, tone at midday, but he'd ride the volume depending on the room and how his amps were "behaving", and he was aiming for the same tone except more of it, so you're on the right track. He did mention that he was thinking of maybe running two ts-9's together
@@janmagneto3436 is this how tags work? He signed the backplate of my main strat, and all three signed a tour program I grabbed, I also have the very worn pick he had in his mouth that he handed to me whilst signing. Sober for the last seven of my 58 years, but thanks for your concern :)
Matthew Scott Wow! I was just getting ready to say that you and Matthew Scott, got the SRV tone nailed! Two of the great tone masters. Awesome playing too. Do I see a collaboration in the future?👍
SRV was unmatched. He was in a league by himself. He could take any guitar, cheap or high end, and make beautiful music with it. Electric or acoustic. That's not a result of any pedal or device. Those things were just tools he used. The magic came from his talent for sure, but mostly from his dedication to his craft and from his ear and his focus on paying very close attention to every nuance of every part of guitar playing to the point where he could very quickly and very instinctively find the sweet spot on an instrument and on an amp and he could sense and absorb the nuances of the room and exploit them all with the perfect touch to create the most moving tones possible at any given moment in the performance. Watch the many videos of his performances. Pay very close attention. He was constantly adjusting his tone and volume knobs and changing pickups via the 5 way switch. Constantly! He would masterfully command the dynamics of any song by changing pick location and pick attack and by unleashing an ever changing choice of left hand techniques to great effect. So much so that his music alone took the audience on a moving emotional journey in itself before even factoring in his soulful singing ability. I can't understand why so many musicians put so much time and effort into attempting to recreate his sound electronically while they completely miss the fact that the magic wasn't in the pedals, it was in his fingers, his ears, his mind, his heart, and his soul. NO ONE will ever be SRV. Work on finding YOUR sound and making YOUR music. Don't waste your time, effort, and talent trying to recreate something that is out of reach.
Hey. Thanks for the comment. Im not sure if this is your first time watching one of my videos, but i try to spread the message about being unique ALL the time. Also, its not the pedals. Its the player. Hope you check out some more stuff. I appreciate you checking out the vid
@tlb2732 I think this guy is missing the point of this video. This appears to be a video about getting a tone similar to SRV, and how to utilize a tube screamer pedal in a similar way to how SRV did. He's not trying to be SRV or telling anyone to try and be SRV. Many guitarists like SRV's tone, and many guitarists want to have a similar tone to SRV. That's what this is about in my opinion. For example, you're not going to get a tone like SRV playing with a death metal setup. I agree that SRV was in his own class, and I think he was the most talented blues guitarist to ever walk this planet, but many people want to get a similar tone to his. And while every guitar player should search for their own sound in the sense that they should try to get the best sound from their setup that suits THEIR tastes, it helps if you start with a good point of reference, a solid foundation. Guitarists chase tone because they want to sound better, guitar chops and playing ability are obviously the most important part of being a guitar player, but the gear you choose to utilize has a HUGE difference in the TONE of your sound. That doesn't mean gear makes you a better guitar player, but it is absolutely a fact that if you want to get a certain tone, you have to be playing with gear that has the potential to create that sound/tone. Great Chops to the creator of this video by the way. Really great playing.
Yep yep yep I just watched this in Nov 2021. Years back I bought one for a SRV tone hunt. And I happily sold it because, it just for me , produced Lots of Noise! I think your video, I also just watched ,today, on the Fuzz in SRV tone, was the missing link,most people are looking for in the SRV sound. Especially for playing the Bedroom stage, that we all Hero in ! I don't have a fuzz ,on my board as I didn't understand ,the way to use it. Your fuzz video, cracked SRV tone for me so what's that ,22 year search ! I thank you ! Fuzz pedal hunt is on !
I noticed you pick over the pickup that you have selected. I think that’s an important tone tip that a lot of people overlook. Thanks for another informative video!
This is very useful mate. I would imagine people have spent shit tones of money getting that Stevie ray tone. But it all comes from volume and speakers moving air. At low volume you don't get that gain sound Stevie gets were you can here all the notes ringing clear. Ok if you've got a 45watt amp at home look for a rehearsal space were you can turn up as loud as you want. It's like running a sports car and never getting about 2k revs. Once you get the power valves working hard it all just falls into place man
I have a 67 bandmaster and I totally agree with you here. On low volumes it sounds good but not really breathing. Once the volume gets around 6-7 it just really sounds amazing and has that sensitive feeling associated with black faces pushed.
This is all great info, and I love how you said to find your way and not to just do a thing becuase famous players did. I think a lot of players make that mistake. This is solid actionable knowledge, and thank you! I'm sorry it took so long to find your channel, but I rang the bell. This is great stuff!
Great stuff, man! Just came across your channel while doing a bit of a deep dive into Stevie. I’m kind of an old shredder from the 80s, but always loved SRV. So I finally just got a couple Strats, and I’m trying to dial-in that classic tone. Sounds great. I watch so many videos, hard to see sometimes where exactly he has the toggle switch at. What I gather, he would usually have it one click down from the the neck pick up. For getting those big rhythm tones, pride and joy, etc… and he’s constantly switching, and adjusting his volume-things I/we never did in the 80s and 90s. Everything was just wide open-like old Van Halen. Anyway, you were getting that gnarly tone, but I saw you were all the way up to just the neck pick up. Is that simply because it’s too hard to get it to that fourth position in the middle of playing, so people just end up flicking it all the way forward? I think I would see Stevie do that, and little by little he would always click it down ones, or constantly making tiny adjustments. So that’s what I’ve been working on. Just wondering if you saw differently in his old videos, or is it just as easy, and really close enough, just flipping that switch all the way up? I still sometimes can’t quite hear when he’s on the higher strings, around the middle of the neck. But I’m getting familiar with that ‘quack’ now. One last thing, I guess he is going from the bridge pick up in the intro to Pride and Joy, then must be switching towards the neck when he gets into the rhythm? Just so smooth and seamless like you said, with his pedals as well. Thanks, I’ll check back. I’ll definitely check out more of your channel, and spread the word. Oh, and what gauge strings are you using there? That’s another thing, I’m going from eights to tens on these new strats. It’s a little different technique. And 10s are still considered light, ha ha. But I can hit those 10s pretty hard, and they don’t early clip out. Oh, and every time I try to back it off and get a cleaner tone, I still end up gravitating to the old heavy metal style Texas blues, which I want to get away from. But since I’ll never be able to play as clean as Stevie, especially at my age, I’m going to strip it down as much as I can-with a clean boost… or maybe my tube screamer-just to get a little more sustain and forgiveness. I also started actually measuring specs on my guitars, and was wondering if you have an idea of the distance from SRV‘s strings, fretted at the 21st, above the pole pieces? I can adjust by ear, but I like the science behind the art also. If you have time, and do see this comment. No worries!!! Thanks again, man! I will be back. 🤘🏻🇺🇸🎸
Great video nik!! Your playing has been great from the start of the riff videos but lately your playing seems to have taken another step forward!! sounds fantastic!!! 👍
This is excellent- It really, really shows how little the Tube Screamer is doing to the overall tone. Since your weren't hitting the pedal itself and the light was always on- it got tough (really tough) to tell when you hit the looper if the pedal was being engaged or turned off- which is actually a cool way to demo this because we couldn't be biased and "hear" the pedal when the light turned on and off. There were some sections where it was more obvious- but I venture to say hitting the strings hard could have produced the same effect. I almost think the biggest change would be to how the guitar feels in response more than an overall tone change. Your amp is really cooking and the pedal really is just "putting it just over" the edge- often times just riding on the edge instead of over~ just picking lighter brings it back to "amp only" tone. I think there is a lot to be said for leaving it on all the time and just adjusting attack and guitar volume to clean up. I find when my amp is cranking and in the zone- (pedals on or not) I can get all the clean I like just by turning down the guitar volume. Thanks for this video Nik- very well done. As always your playing is off the charts excellent!
Hello from France, Thanks for all your tricks and news about gettin the right sound. Thanks to your stuff I've found mine. And after one year of looking and earing your videos I can definitely say : the best thing I recommend is....push your amp volume to crank it ;) I never try it before cause it was too loud, even on stage... but I just bought a good and cheap attenuator P&P (made in France) that works nice. thx Nik, at least that awesome big blues sound is mine now !
You made the right choice, I was a metal player when I was young and kept hearing about TS this and TS that, I never really liked it. Now that I know what it’s actually for it’ll never leave my collection. They are useful all over the place when you need that little extra, once I started to dial it back to get very subtle changes in tone it became a monster that adds that little bit of lacking sound, you can’t use it on its own, it’s to enhance other gear.. I even use it with a Taylor acoustic in front of a compression pedal to even out the overly fat bottom. It’s a must have pedal for just about everyone. What it does is simple, it cuts the bass some and lets you tweak the mids, add some gain or add some fuzz if you want, but mostly it’s a clean boost for mids... it’s not a distortion pedal... have fun with it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do... this video took what I knew about it to another level... Nik knows his stuff...
When Stevie played the first Montreux show they rented two Fender Twins that he used, they were so loud that they tilted them back and put brown blankets over the speakers. Yet stevie still sounded like stevie, it just goes to show that he never needed a dumble to sound amazing.
Truth Street It was definitively twins,you can find this info somewhere😉In this live you can hear that he doesn t have his habitual tone,it is way brighter with less gain,somewhat harsh,not the full fat sound he has with his vibroverbs at the same period.
No ! He played a Music Man amp that we can see on the stage front of the drums and he really sounds like a Music Man and not a Fender amp even he sounds amazing and huge.
Awesome video and playing! Appreciate your taste in tone. I loved/love SRV’s tone, Hendrix, Clapton, Allman’s, Zep, etc. There is a LOT of tone in that old gear. As for the tube screamer it compliments Fender guitars and amps so well. Fender BF amps with there slightly scooped tone sounds killer with a TS. And as you showed in some of your other videos. Big JBL/Altec Lansing or EV’s is essential. IMHO my Fender amps really came alive with real vintage JBL’s. Philips 6L6’s, blackplate RCA 12AX7’s help too! Enjoy your knowledge, research, playing, and guidance.
I've learned over the years that straight-no-chaser is the only way to find your tone before adding any pedal. I currently use a Fender rival of a two-channel Carvin X-60C w/a Celestion that makes a Strat, Tele or any humbucking guitar warm & bright either clean or dirty. I've been adding a Boss Blues Driver in the mix every now & then but the SRV-like settings make it jump a bit and now I can't wait to try my DOD Overdrive Plus and it adds a subtle bass boost w/the tone knob on 0.
Great tone/advice as always. Your comment on getting the plugged straight in sound sorted first makes lots of since, defo going to try that this weekend while out playing rather than realigning completely on any one of the 4 gain stages on my board ...! Also mabey its time to brake out my tRex Alberta (808 clone) again too!
Great video and killer tone with and without the TS on. I feel like this is what so many people I interact with do not understand about tone (be it theirs or someone else's). For me, my amp has to at the very least be compressing those power tubes a little bit and then a pedal will take me the rest of the way (modified Rangemaster type for me but same concept, slam the level as needed and set tone to taste). Volume does create an issue and I cannot take my 30 watters out and set them to their respective sweet spots without an attenuator or some other way of cutting the stage volume down...even so, still better tone and responsiveness (to my ears) than using OD pedals to get that grunt.
As always a great video, and i maybe wrong, but i think that will be a reason to add a Marshall plexi along side the fender have that balanced sound and you wont need the tube screamer in general with that mix....
Video 1 was killer and pretty informative with the drive into wha. I’m getting close with Fender amp and just got the Vertex effects Steel String Singer Supreme. Experimenting with signal chain. Trying to decide on my drive choice. The EQD The Dunes using the “clean” non clipping mode and Horizon Devices Precison Drive. One thing is painfully obvious. It’s not the magic “unicorn” pedal, the PLAYER and just the amp is 90% of it..Thanks for part 2 !!
Stevie Ray Vaughn on a Squier Strat would sound pretty damn good, I can guarantee you that! Your right great gear helps but it’s in the fingers and the heart! ❤️
Hey Nik Great info on the Tube Screamer and Stevie's use of it. Personally I always felt that he never really needed it to get his sound. You are correct that the volume that he played at and his choice of amps/guitars etc was a huge part of it but I would say that most of that tone was in his hands. When he first jammed with Jeff Healey I was sitting in front of him while he was playing a borrowed telecaster and of course he sounded just like himself. Jeff was the same. He'd pick up someone else's guitar and play through their amp he always sounded like himself. For a nice clean boost with almost no alteration of tone I got a great sound out of my Hotcake. It was one of the early ones so I don't know what they might have sounded like years later. I ran it with next to no drive and just used it as a clean boost. It was the best that I have ever tried at retaining the amps actual sound uncoloured. I once got a Tube Screamer rewired completely with silver wire and a few things changed and it was such a night and day improvement. It was done by Mike at Analog Man many years ago.
@@theriffwniksevigny5473 That's really nice of you Nik, but I bet your listeners would rather hear some of the players that we all love like Philip Sayce and JD Simo and other killer players interviewed. But I am digging these You Tube pieces! Keep em coming! Great playing as well man!
Great job with this brother. You hammered home all of the main points. I see way too many people chasing Stevie's sound that put way too much drive in their signal. His sound is all about volume and power (his hands/technique). Hopefully more people will see this video and it will help them get on the right path. Happy Thanksgiving.
@@theriffwniksevigny5473 would love to see s video focused on fender amps and how you run them... Your opinion on silverface and blackfaces... I know srv used some silverface twins
Hey Nik, I've been watching your channel for a long time now. I just wanted to say, your playing improves every video. Killer chops and tone bro! Keep up the content and I'll keep watching. Ps: I play a Strat through a '66 Pro-Reverb that my dad bought new. I've been at it for 26 yrs. your info really "resonates" with me. ✌🏻️
Been waiting this episode for awhile! Great stuff and keep em coming! Btw, did you do any treatment to your amp room? I found that when using my iphone to record the loud fender amps in my room with concrete walls, the highs doesn't come in as much as in the live situation. Any treatment or recording suggestions would be extremely helpful! I see you quite often put the amps in a seperate room, and the recorded tone from your other room always sounds much clearer and really well balanced, is that why you do that? Thank you for sharing Nik!
Part of the problem is I don’t put a lot of thought into the production , if I just have a thought then I’ll do a video on it. But a room away makes it more natural sounding to my ear. Thanks so much for your interest and I appreciate the comment!
Loved hearing the mention of Tommy Katona. My band Nightbird that me and my sister started 11 years ago has played with them and helped him and Texas Flood back in their earlier days. Good friends and always look forward to seeing them though it's much less frequent these days. He's amazing. We're playing a few days later than him at the same venue this next weekend.
@@51MontyPython Tube screamer will work with any Amp, Digital or Tube. It will in (my opinion sound even better through a tube amp.) But with enough tweaking you can get a digital sounding close. It really depends on what amp and how you play + experience. It starts with the fingers. The search never ends for tone.
awesome nik as usual, great vid! by the way, is that guitar fitted with a King Tone Switch? if not, how do you get such a fat tone? did SRV use 2 TS at the el mocambo or just one? thanks mate!!
I run a 5 watt tube amp through 2 12's volume pinned and a compressor pedal with the sensativity off and the volume dimed for a clean boost. I keep it all under control with my volume knob, I don't sound that much like Stevie but I do sound like me.
Do you mind if I ask which 5 watt amp? I've been interested in trying a few out. I don't know if I've seen anyone use a cab on one but I bet it sounds really good. Also, is it a combo plugged into the cabinets or a 5 watt head? Most of these 5 watters have just one volume knob and maybe a tone knob so I figure they break up quick and can be seriously loud through a setup you describe above.
Awesome playing as always Nik. I always get a buzz out of hearing you play and of course your knowledge is invaluable. I love seeing all the different approaches people have to creating the perfect tone
Thanks for the video. So, to clarify, unless you can turn your amp up, you personally wouldn’t use a tube screamer? Because it’s effectively just being used as a clean boost?
My main amp is a "boogied" (aka butchered) 64 Pro also, there can't be too many of us out there! Love that single 15 working hard, it really fills a room
Superb video! Love the talk and you have a lot of knowledge that this old SRV fan, didn’t know. I knew he ran it as a boost etc. Can you post the unedited vid? That is Awesome!! Big Fan, Champ! Zack Rosicka
I would be curious about your take on the Nu-tube screamer that Ibanez released awhile ago. I picked one up because of the versatility and that you can blend the overdrive signal to how much you want. And when your talking about that "big open" sorta sound, you can get that extra headroom with this when your powering it with an 18v adapter. It's a really interesting pedal that seems to fly under the radar. People don't seem to want to try it because it's not an original TS9. Great video's, Cheers !
Great vid Nik!!! Killing it with those chops Bro!! I used to stack two tube screamers, since the 90’s until recently. My clean was a tad bit less dirty than your clean, but still dirty. 1st position ts9 was used just as you demonstrated here. Second was actually a ts9 turbo but I only ever used the regular position on that pedal, but I had the drive turned up to about 11 or noon for songs that I heard in my head needed more saturated overdriven tones. And I was playing through a The Twin Amp, set at 50watts, attenuated. And I got great tones. Nowadays I’m playing through a deluxe reverb. Pushing it to break up for my clean. And I’m using Jessie’s blues power and duelist as well as the germanium mini fuzz. Not all at once of course. But they’re in the mix for different songs. But what would you think about stacking two blues power pedals?!? I’m curious about it and may just buy another one to see how they sound stacked. What’s your opinion?
I'm new to Blues and that tone ( and playing) is awesome! Nik, would you recommend a Blues Junior for small clubs or the Deluxe Reverb to achieve that natural amp break up? My HRDX is just too loud! Cheers Frank
Love it, Nick! Thanks. Trying to do that w my BillM modded Blues Jr and Kelley modded TS-9. Curious as to how you set your pickup heights and if you set them close to the strings/high like Rene says he set Stevie’s. Great stuff and sweet playing!
Nik, have you ever done a thing where you try to get 'as close as possible' at *low (tv) volumes,* using pedals for the gain and character? I'm pretty much destined to live in apartments the rest of my life, and don't gig, so volumes like this aren't possible. Seems like, in 2021, there ought to be a way to get convincing tones out of a set of stomp boxes. I was about to buy the Kingtone Duellist to use in front of modeling software, but instead decided to jump whole hog into a Kemper. Wondering if a profile of an amp like this is enough to simulate what you're doing. On one hand, the profile is only trying to do what i'm hearing from your rig out of my studio monitors right now, but i don't know if profiling actually captures the 'messy sonic mayhem' that comes from pushing a Fender amp like that. That's kind of my thing about Impulse Responses-they seem 'clinical' and don't really do that thing where the cabinet sounds like it's out of control and there's a real *loudness* thing going on.a
Hey Nik This was Awesome I recently pulled out my old ‘83 TS9 and I’ve been playing around with the settings. But this helped me so much. Awesome playing and your tone is killer. Keep woodshed Wednesday coming. I Love your work
Hey! I really just use the BP as an eq. I’ll crank the amp and then adjust db and EQ with the pedal. Not much drive is needed if the amp is moving some air!
@@theriffwniksevigny5473 do you use that as your main pedal to push your amp? I tried it today and that definitely was the missing link to my tone since I play single coils. Pushing the volume made it amazing so thank you SO much!
Sounds awesome, of course! I feel like I have not given the TS pedals I have owned a fair shake just because I don't turn my 63 vibroverb ri up loud enough. Question, if you used your guitar volume and kept the TS on all the time, would you get close to the same results?
Because the loop is serving two purposes I stated it in the video. The tube screamer can load the “pure” signal of the ‘guitar straight into amp’ tone because of its buffer. So keeping it inline with the looper and using that to bring it in and out, always keeps the signal clean when not using the TS
Mighty!...just dug out an old TS9, Sept '81 with JRC2043DD chip, gets some bad press, apparently this chip was in the animal Stevie used..most had the JRC4558D chip
I luckily met SRV during the Couldn't Stand The Weather tour down here in the REAL south and he did indeed say that he'd have the drive at zero, tone at midday, but he'd ride the volume depending on the room and how his amps were "behaving", and he was aiming for the same tone except more of it, so you're on the right track. He did mention that he was thinking of maybe running two ts-9's together
Oh wow man. What a great story. Thanks for sharing. I appreciate that very much. Thank you so much!
glad to
So you actually met him! I would love to hear about that whole encounter. Srv has been my inspiration from the start.
@@tonyevans9999 Haha in your drug-induced dream bro hahahahahaha Grow up, everybody is worried xd
@@janmagneto3436 is this how tags work? He signed the backplate of my main strat, and all three signed a tour program I grabbed, I also have the very worn pick he had in his mouth that he handed to me whilst signing. Sober for the last seven of my 58 years, but thanks for your concern :)
Comment to help Nik spread this video😁👍🏻
Matthew Scott Wow! I was just getting ready to say that you and Matthew Scott, got the SRV tone nailed! Two of the great tone masters. Awesome playing too. Do I see a collaboration in the future?👍
At 55 years old and a lifelong SRV fan I think you came as close to nailing his tone as anyone I've ever heard. Well done!!!!
Sevigny is one of the very very few I listen to. A likeable, knowledgeable player.
Hey. Thank you. Im learning!
SRV was unmatched. He was in a league by himself. He could take any guitar, cheap or high end, and make beautiful music with it. Electric or acoustic. That's not a result of any pedal or device. Those things were just tools he used. The magic came from his talent for sure, but mostly from his dedication to his craft and from his ear and his focus on paying very close attention to every nuance of every part of guitar playing to the point where he could very quickly and very instinctively find the sweet spot on an instrument and on an amp and he could sense and absorb the nuances of the room and exploit them all with the perfect touch to create the most moving tones possible at any given moment in the performance.
Watch the many videos of his performances. Pay very close attention. He was constantly adjusting his tone and volume knobs and changing pickups via the 5 way switch. Constantly!
He would masterfully command the dynamics of any song by changing pick location and pick attack and by unleashing an ever changing choice of left hand techniques to great effect. So much so that his music alone took the audience on a moving emotional journey in itself before even factoring in his soulful singing ability.
I can't understand why so many musicians put so much time and effort into attempting to recreate his sound electronically while they completely miss the fact that the magic wasn't in the pedals, it was in his fingers, his ears, his mind, his heart, and his soul.
NO ONE will ever be SRV. Work on finding YOUR sound and making YOUR music. Don't waste your time, effort, and talent trying to recreate something that is out of reach.
Hey. Thanks for the comment. Im not sure if this is your first time watching one of my videos, but i try to spread the message about being unique ALL the time. Also, its not the pedals. Its the player. Hope you check out some more stuff. I appreciate you checking out the vid
@tlb2732 I think this guy is missing the point of this video. This appears to be a video about getting a tone similar to SRV, and how to utilize a tube screamer pedal in a similar way to how SRV did. He's not trying to be SRV or telling anyone to try and be SRV. Many guitarists like SRV's tone, and many guitarists want to have a similar tone to SRV. That's what this is about in my opinion. For example, you're not going to get a tone like SRV playing with a death metal setup. I agree that SRV was in his own class, and I think he was the most talented blues guitarist to ever walk this planet, but many people want to get a similar tone to his. And while every guitar player should search for their own sound in the sense that they should try to get the best sound from their setup that suits THEIR tastes, it helps if you start with a good point of reference, a solid foundation. Guitarists chase tone because they want to sound better, guitar chops and playing ability are obviously the most important part of being a guitar player, but the gear you choose to utilize has a HUGE difference in the TONE of your sound. That doesn't mean gear makes you a better guitar player, but it is absolutely a fact that if you want to get a certain tone, you have to be playing with gear that has the potential to create that sound/tone.
Great Chops to the creator of this video by the way. Really great playing.
Yep yep yep I just watched this in Nov 2021. Years back I bought one for a SRV tone hunt. And I happily sold it because, it just for me , produced Lots of Noise!
I think your video, I also just watched ,today, on the Fuzz in SRV tone, was the missing link,most people are looking for in the SRV sound.
Especially for playing the Bedroom stage, that we all Hero in !
I don't have a fuzz ,on my board as I didn't understand ,the way to use it.
Your fuzz video, cracked SRV tone for me so what's that ,22 year search ! I thank you !
Fuzz pedal hunt is on !
Just bought a TS 9. Love the tone and how Stevie used it. Thank you so much for this video.
If I had that tone I'd never leave the house...
I feel ya on that
I’m picking up a Tube Screamer mini and trying for this. I figure I’ll at least come close to the beauty of this tone.
@@samtheman123 a tube screamer mini actually sounds a bit different than a regular tube screamer
I noticed you pick over the pickup that you have selected. I think that’s an important tone tip that a lot of people overlook. Thanks for another informative video!
Sneaky!
This is very useful mate. I would imagine people have spent shit tones of money getting that Stevie ray tone. But it all comes from volume and speakers moving air. At low volume you don't get that gain sound Stevie gets were you can here all the notes ringing clear. Ok if you've got a 45watt amp at home look for a rehearsal space were you can turn up as loud as you want. It's like running a sports car and never getting about 2k revs. Once you get the power valves working hard it all just falls into place man
I have a 67 bandmaster and I totally agree with you here. On low volumes it sounds good but not really breathing. Once the volume gets around 6-7 it just really sounds amazing and has that sensitive feeling associated with black faces pushed.
Very solid, sensible advice.
I also met SRV in London in the late 80s. Wish I had asked Stevie guitar questions!
100% SRV Nik you nailed that tone!
Most important here is you Amp, just a great tone!!👌
Very interesting info. And probably the best playing so far. It's getting better and better and better Nik!
Thank you!
Best SRV sound on RUclips 👍👍👍
I wish! But thank you so much!
The video that every blues guitarists need to watch. Great info and demonstration, primo!
💙💙amigo
I love this video. I watch it two or three times a day.
I really appreciate that. Im glad it resonates with you. More to come!
@@theriffwniksevigny5473 sweet. Looking forward to more videos. Keep rocking them Blues.
Most socalled SRV tones make me wince. But you tone and playing I could listen to for hours.
Love the videos man just found your channel
Thank you Robert. I appreciate the interest!
This is all great info, and I love how you said to find your way and not to just do a thing becuase famous players did. I think a lot of players make that mistake. This is solid actionable knowledge, and thank you! I'm sorry it took so long to find your channel, but I rang the bell. This is great stuff!
Thank you!
Great tutorial man!! Messed with both my klon clone and my ts9 to just push my 64 vibro. Seven on my amp is perfect.
Great great stuff as always! Beautiful tone & playing 👍 Especially today being 30 years since 🎶🎶🎶
Brilliant playing really learned a lot from your demo greetings from Bonnie Scotland
Perfect interpretation! Thanks for the video. greatings from Brazil
Thank you Brazil!
Great stuff, man! Just came across your channel while doing a bit of a deep dive into Stevie. I’m kind of an old shredder from the 80s, but always loved SRV. So I finally just got a couple Strats, and I’m trying to dial-in that classic tone.
Sounds great. I watch so many videos, hard to see sometimes where exactly he has the toggle switch at. What I gather, he would usually have it one click down from the the neck pick up. For getting those big rhythm tones, pride and joy, etc… and he’s constantly switching, and adjusting his volume-things I/we never did in the 80s and 90s. Everything was just wide open-like old Van Halen.
Anyway, you were getting that gnarly tone, but I saw you were all the way up to just the neck pick up. Is that simply because it’s too hard to get it to that fourth position in the middle of playing, so people just end up flicking it all the way forward?
I think I would see Stevie do that, and little by little he would always click it down ones, or constantly making tiny adjustments.
So that’s what I’ve been working on. Just wondering if you saw differently in his old videos, or is it just as easy, and really close enough, just flipping that switch all the way up?
I still sometimes can’t quite hear when he’s on the higher strings, around the middle of the neck. But I’m getting familiar with that ‘quack’ now. One last thing, I guess he is going from the bridge pick up in the intro to Pride and Joy, then must be switching towards the neck when he gets into the rhythm?
Just so smooth and seamless like you said, with his pedals as well.
Thanks, I’ll check back. I’ll definitely check out more of your channel, and spread the word. Oh, and what gauge strings are you using there?
That’s another thing, I’m going from eights to tens on these new strats. It’s a little different technique. And 10s are still considered light, ha ha. But I can hit those 10s pretty hard, and they don’t early clip out.
Oh, and every time I try to back it off and get a cleaner tone, I still end up gravitating to the old heavy metal style Texas blues, which I want to get away from. But since I’ll never be able to play as clean as Stevie, especially at my age, I’m going to strip it down as much as I can-with a clean boost… or maybe my tube screamer-just to get a little more sustain and forgiveness.
I also started actually measuring specs on my guitars, and was wondering if you have an idea of the distance from SRV‘s strings, fretted at the 21st, above the pole pieces?
I can adjust by ear, but I like the science behind the art also. If you have time, and do see this comment. No worries!!!
Thanks again, man! I will be back. 🤘🏻🇺🇸🎸
Really liked this! Huge SRV fan. Beginner student!
Thank you. We are all beginners when it comes to SRV!
Great video nik!! Your playing has been great from the start of the riff videos but lately your playing seems to have taken another step forward!! sounds fantastic!!! 👍
Thanks Paul. Im trying! Much appreciated
Dude you killed it on that demo good job!!! I’m why over tube screamers these days but gotta say that was fun to watch.
This is excellent- It really, really shows how little the Tube Screamer is doing to the overall tone. Since your weren't hitting the pedal itself and the light was always on- it got tough (really tough) to tell when you hit the looper if the pedal was being engaged or turned off- which is actually a cool way to demo this because we couldn't be biased and "hear" the pedal when the light turned on and off. There were some sections where it was more obvious- but I venture to say hitting the strings hard could have produced the same effect. I almost think the biggest change would be to how the guitar feels in response more than an overall tone change. Your amp is really cooking and the pedal really is just "putting it just over" the edge- often times just riding on the edge instead of over~ just picking lighter brings it back to "amp only" tone. I think there is a lot to be said for leaving it on all the time and just adjusting attack and guitar volume to clean up. I find when my amp is cranking and in the zone- (pedals on or not) I can get all the clean I like just by turning down the guitar volume. Thanks for this video Nik- very well done. As always your playing is off the charts excellent!
Exactly the point. At times, it should be seamless! Thanks for the kind words and the interest!
Hello from France, Thanks for all your tricks and news about gettin the right sound. Thanks to your stuff I've found mine. And after one year of looking and earing your videos I can definitely say : the best thing I recommend is....push your amp volume to crank it ;) I never try it before cause it was too loud, even on stage... but I just bought a good and cheap attenuator P&P (made in France) that works nice. thx Nik, at least that awesome big blues sound is mine now !
Thank you, your video is great, I’m learning a lot. Thank you for your openness, humility and great playing ! Reguard from Montpellier (France).
Thank you for the interest. I appreciate the kind words!
Very generous of you !!!..........Love your channel and playing !
Thank You Lou!
Killin it bro so fun to see you play
I want to play like YOU when I grow up! I think it’s the Shoes! Great video Bro!
I just added a tube screamer to my pedalboard recently.... I'm still a noob to this stuff. This video makes sense! Thanks!
Awesome! Thank you so much!
You made the right choice, I was a metal player when I was young and kept hearing about TS this and TS that, I never really liked it. Now that I know what it’s actually for it’ll never leave my collection. They are useful all over the place when you need that little extra, once I started to dial it back to get very subtle changes in tone it became a monster that adds that little bit of lacking sound, you can’t use it on its own, it’s to enhance other gear.. I even use it with a Taylor acoustic in front of a compression pedal to even out the overly fat bottom. It’s a must have pedal for just about everyone. What it does is simple, it cuts the bass some and lets you tweak the mids, add some gain or add some fuzz if you want, but mostly it’s a clean boost for mids... it’s not a distortion pedal... have fun with it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do... this video took what I knew about it to another level... Nik knows his stuff...
Great tone, Nik! Aß always!
Regards from Austria!
Awesome video Nik, you got it all figured out.
No way! Im learning everyday
awsome vid and playing! You have a great rythem feel.
Here you will be well advised, with nothing but the truth, and the love of music 👏🏼 such a great video!
Amazing video Nik! I learned a lot here. Cheers brother!
When Stevie played the first Montreux show they rented two Fender Twins that he used, they were so loud that they tilted them back and put brown blankets over the speakers. Yet stevie still sounded like stevie, it just goes to show that he never needed a dumble to sound amazing.
It looked like super reverbs to me not Twins, but who knows they were covered up.
Truth Street It was definitively twins,you can find this info somewhere😉In this live you can hear that he doesn t have his habitual tone,it is way brighter with less gain,somewhat harsh,not the full fat sound he has with his vibroverbs at the same period.
No ! He played a Music Man amp that we can see on the stage front of the drums and he really sounds like a Music Man and not a Fender amp even he sounds amazing and huge.
Awesome video and playing! Appreciate your taste in tone. I loved/love SRV’s tone, Hendrix, Clapton, Allman’s, Zep, etc. There is a LOT of tone in that old gear. As for the tube screamer it compliments Fender guitars and amps so well. Fender BF amps with there slightly scooped tone sounds killer with a TS. And as you showed in some of your other videos. Big JBL/Altec Lansing or EV’s is essential. IMHO my Fender amps really came alive with real vintage JBL’s. Philips 6L6’s, blackplate RCA 12AX7’s help too! Enjoy your knowledge, research, playing, and guidance.
Dude. Perfectly said , thank you very much
Damnit man you’re playing and knowledge of Stevie and Hendrix is always mind blowing. One day I’ll be able to rip riffs like you brother.
I've learned over the years that straight-no-chaser is the only way to find your tone before adding any pedal. I currently use a Fender rival of a two-channel Carvin X-60C w/a Celestion that makes a Strat, Tele or any humbucking guitar warm & bright either clean or dirty. I've been adding a Boss Blues Driver in the mix every now & then but the SRV-like settings make it jump a bit and now I can't wait to try my DOD Overdrive Plus and it adds a subtle bass boost w/the tone knob on 0.
Great tone/advice as always. Your comment on getting the plugged straight in sound sorted first makes lots of since, defo going to try that this weekend while out playing rather than realigning completely on any one of the 4 gain stages on my board ...! Also mabey its time to brake out my tRex Alberta (808 clone) again too!
Great video and killer tone with and without the TS on. I feel like this is what so many people I interact with do not understand about tone (be it theirs or someone else's). For me, my amp has to at the very least be compressing those power tubes a little bit and then a pedal will take me the rest of the way (modified Rangemaster type for me but same concept, slam the level as needed and set tone to taste). Volume does create an issue and I cannot take my 30 watters out and set them to their respective sweet spots without an attenuator or some other way of cutting the stage volume down...even so, still better tone and responsiveness (to my ears) than using OD pedals to get that grunt.
100%!
As always a great video, and i maybe wrong, but i think that will be a reason to add a Marshall plexi along side the fender have that balanced sound and you wont need the tube screamer in general with that mix....
Video 1 was killer and pretty informative with the drive into wha. I’m getting close with Fender amp and just got the Vertex effects Steel String Singer Supreme. Experimenting with signal chain. Trying to decide on my drive choice. The EQD The Dunes using the “clean” non clipping mode and Horizon Devices Precison Drive. One thing is painfully obvious. It’s not the magic “unicorn” pedal, the PLAYER and just the amp is 90% of it..Thanks for part 2 !!
I wasn’t planning on subscribing…but that’s what happened. Great playing man! And really nice explanation of how SRV used the TS.
Great playing man! Love it!!! Thank you for doing this video!
Thank YOU for checking it out!
Stevie Ray Vaughn on a Squier Strat would sound pretty damn good, I can guarantee you that! Your right great gear helps but it’s in the fingers and the heart! ❤️
Stevie ray did play a squier
ruclips.net/video/I_y-hxVPCpU/видео.html
Here’s Stevie Playing a Squire. Pretty cool
Stevie did play a squier live
Yep he is playing a Squire, not his, but a Squire non the less. Pretty cool.
According to the posts on that page, the Squire owners son still has it.
Hey Nik Great info on the Tube Screamer and Stevie's use of it. Personally I always felt that he never really needed it to get his sound. You are correct that the volume that he played at and his choice of amps/guitars etc was a huge part of it but I would say that most of that tone was in his hands. When he first jammed with Jeff Healey I was sitting in front of him while he was playing a borrowed telecaster and of course he sounded just like himself. Jeff was the same. He'd pick up someone else's guitar and play through their amp he always sounded like himself. For a nice clean boost with almost no alteration of tone I got a great sound out of my Hotcake. It was one of the early ones so I don't know what they might have sounded like years later. I ran it with next to no drive and just used it as a clean boost. It was the best that I have ever tried at retaining the amps actual sound uncoloured. I once got a Tube Screamer rewired completely with silver wire and a few things changed and it was such a night and day improvement. It was done by Mike at Analog Man many years ago.
We need to get you on the channel Corey!
@@theriffwniksevigny5473 That's really nice of you Nik, but I bet your listeners would rather hear some of the players that we all love like Philip Sayce and JD Simo and other killer players interviewed. But I am digging these You Tube pieces! Keep em coming! Great playing as well man!
Great job with this brother. You hammered home all of the main points. I see way too many people chasing Stevie's sound that put way too much drive in their signal. His sound is all about volume and power (his hands/technique). Hopefully more people will see this video and it will help them get on the right path. Happy Thanksgiving.
100%
Thank you so much. Happy thanksgiving my friend!
Great job , keep these videos coming 👍
It's the info I've been looking for, God sent, Thanks Dude!!!
I hope I don't lose your channel.
what gage strings do you use thank you
AWESOME TONES!!! AWESOME VIDEO!!! big thanks for the tips!
Thanks Ben!
Damn copied the amp settings on my 74 twin reverb.... Woooooow im in love with it new favorite setting been rocking it since the day the vid came out
Hell yea
@@theriffwniksevigny5473 would love to see s video focused on fender amps and how you run them... Your opinion on silverface and blackfaces... I know srv used some silverface twins
Hey Nik, I've been watching your channel for a long time now. I just wanted to say, your playing improves every video. Killer chops and tone bro! Keep up the content and I'll keep watching.
Ps: I play a Strat through a '66 Pro-Reverb that my dad bought new. I've been at it for 26 yrs. your info really "resonates" with me. ✌🏻️
Great story and great combo right there! Thank you for watching!
I've always gone for clean Boost. It's that Tone knob that might move 7-10. I love my ToneLok version. 808, with Hot switch.
Been waiting this episode for awhile! Great stuff and keep em coming!
Btw, did you do any treatment to your amp room? I found that when using my iphone to record the loud fender amps in my room with concrete walls, the highs doesn't come in as much as in the live situation. Any treatment or recording suggestions would be extremely helpful! I see you quite often put the amps in a seperate room, and the recorded tone from your other room always sounds much clearer and really well balanced, is that why you do that? Thank you for sharing Nik!
Part of the problem is I don’t put a lot of thought into the production , if I just have a thought then I’ll do a video on it. But a room away makes it more natural sounding to my ear. Thanks so much for your interest and I appreciate the comment!
Nice video, you play great dude! Love from Indonesia ❤
Loved hearing the mention of Tommy Katona. My band Nightbird that me and my sister started 11 years ago has played with them and helped him and Texas Flood back in their earlier days. Good friends and always look forward to seeing them though it's much less frequent these days. He's amazing. We're playing a few days later than him at the same venue this next weekend.
Hi, do you know if the tube screamers work with digital modeling amps as well as tubes (and solid state?)?
@@51MontyPython Tube screamer will work with any Amp, Digital or Tube. It will in (my opinion sound even better through a tube amp.) But with enough tweaking you can get a digital sounding close. It really depends on what amp and how you play + experience. It starts with the fingers. The search never ends for tone.
@@51MontyPython Is this by any chance Johnny?
@@jasonjosiahphillips Who's Johnny?
great video!!! very helpful!!!!!!
Thanks Nik, some serious tones there man!
Thank YOU!
awesome nik as usual, great vid! by the way, is that guitar fitted with a King Tone Switch? if not, how do you get such a fat tone? did SRV use 2 TS at the el mocambo or just one? thanks mate!!
Just one ts. And no, its just straight up electronics. Volume increases natural low end
So impressed w your video & breakdown I had to subscribe..
I really appreciate it. Let me know if i can focus on a topic for you!
I run a 5 watt tube amp through 2 12's volume pinned and a compressor pedal with the sensativity off and the volume dimed for a clean boost. I keep it all under control with my volume knob, I don't sound that much like Stevie but I do sound like me.
Do you mind if I ask which 5 watt amp? I've been interested in trying a few out. I don't know if I've seen anyone use a cab on one but I bet it sounds really good. Also, is it a combo plugged into the cabinets or a 5 watt head? Most of these 5 watters have just one volume knob and maybe a tone knob so I figure they break up quick and can be seriously loud through a setup you describe above.
Awesome playing as always Nik. I always get a buzz out of hearing you play and of course your knowledge is invaluable. I love seeing all the different approaches people have to creating the perfect tone
Thanks man! Still a long way to go!
Thanks for your perspective and input no pun intended. Lol. Great vids !
Incredible video/info Nik!!!
Hi what pedal you think that is better to get the SRV sound: the TS 808, TS 9 or the TS 10 ? Thanks
I think anything to boost your amp/guitar signal will do. Thats all he was doing
For me its similiar to SRV tone . Nice work men , i really enjoy
Hey thanks! As stated, it wasn’t an attempt to recreate his tone, but just demonstrate how he would use the tube screamer! Thanks again
Great tone man!!!!!!! You nailed it
Thanks for the video. So, to clarify, unless you can turn your amp up, you personally wouldn’t use a tube screamer? Because it’s effectively just being used as a clean boost?
Srv was using it as a boost. And you can get it to be a boost when the amp is turned up some
My main amp is a "boogied" (aka butchered) 64 Pro also, there can't be too many of us out there! Love that single 15 working hard, it really fills a room
Heck yea! Very 3D!
I really like your videos, thanks! Subscribed and started following you on facebook!
I really appreciate that
Superb video! Love the talk and you have a lot of knowledge that this old SRV fan, didn’t know. I knew he ran it as a boost etc. Can you post the unedited vid? That is Awesome!! Big Fan, Champ! Zack Rosicka
Zack, you are far superior my man!
Is there any way you could post a link to SRV at Austin City limits, 1983.?
Thank you
Great video, man. Thanks a lot for sharing this.
Thank YOU for watching!
I would be curious about your take on the Nu-tube screamer that Ibanez released awhile ago. I picked one up because of the versatility and that you can blend the overdrive signal to how much you want. And when your talking about that "big open" sorta sound, you can get that extra headroom with this when your powering it with an 18v adapter. It's a really interesting pedal that seems to fly under the radar. People don't seem to want to try it because it's not an original TS9.
Great video's, Cheers !
Great vid Nik!!! Killing it with those chops Bro!!
I used to stack two tube screamers, since the 90’s until recently. My clean was a tad bit less dirty than your clean, but still dirty. 1st position ts9 was used just as you demonstrated here. Second was actually a ts9 turbo but I only ever used the regular position on that pedal, but I had the drive turned up to about 11 or noon for songs that I heard in my head needed more saturated overdriven tones. And I was playing through a The Twin Amp, set at 50watts, attenuated. And I got great tones. Nowadays I’m playing through a deluxe reverb. Pushing it to break up for my clean. And I’m using Jessie’s blues power and duelist as well as the germanium mini fuzz. Not all at once of course. But they’re in the mix for different songs.
But what would you think about stacking two blues power pedals?!? I’m curious about it and may just buy another one to see how they sound stacked. What’s your opinion?
I'm new to Blues and that tone ( and playing) is awesome! Nik, would you recommend a Blues Junior for small clubs or the Deluxe Reverb to achieve that natural amp break up? My HRDX is just too loud! Cheers Frank
Both are great. Look into what the Blues JR can do, google “bill m mods” and see if there is something you like!
The Blues Jr will break up too mix in my opinion especially if playing with a drummer.
Great vide man sounds great!!!
Thank you for the kudos my friend :) I appreciate that!
Thank you Tommy!
Great playing, you got it.
This made me subscribe. Great playing and info
Thank you. Much appreciated!
Awesome video. Totally agree. Make your ears happy first
Or bleed 😉. Whichever comes first.
@@BeefNEggs057 that's when you've hit the sweet spot
you have a good point about the volume level.... thanks
Awesome my friend! What's the looper pedal you are using?
man that tone was SAWEETT
Love it, Nick! Thanks. Trying to do that w my BillM modded Blues Jr and Kelley modded TS-9. Curious as to how you set your pickup heights and if you set them close to the strings/high like Rene says he set Stevie’s. Great stuff and sweet playing!
There is a great 3 part video i did with jesse davey. Search it on here. Explains all of that
Nik, have you ever done a thing where you try to get 'as close as possible' at *low (tv) volumes,* using pedals for the gain and character? I'm pretty much destined to live in apartments the rest of my life, and don't gig, so volumes like this aren't possible. Seems like, in 2021, there ought to be a way to get convincing tones out of a set of stomp boxes. I was about to buy the Kingtone Duellist to use in front of modeling software, but instead decided to jump whole hog into a Kemper. Wondering if a profile of an amp like this is enough to simulate what you're doing. On one hand, the profile is only trying to do what i'm hearing from your rig out of my studio monitors right now, but i don't know if profiling actually captures the 'messy sonic mayhem' that comes from pushing a Fender amp like that. That's kind of my thing about Impulse Responses-they seem 'clinical' and don't really do that thing where the cabinet sounds like it's out of control and there's a real *loudness* thing going on.a
Hey Nik
This was Awesome
I recently pulled out my old ‘83 TS9 and I’ve been playing around with the settings. But this helped me so much.
Awesome playing and your tone is killer.
Keep woodshed Wednesday coming.
I Love your work
Thanks Brad
Do you just use the blues power kind of the same way? drive a little down and volume up to push with single coils? You're an amazing player !!
Hey! I really just use the BP as an eq. I’ll crank the amp and then adjust db and EQ with the pedal. Not much drive is needed if the amp is moving some air!
@@theriffwniksevigny5473 do you use that as your main pedal to push your amp? I tried it today and that definitely was the missing link to my tone since I play single coils. Pushing the volume made it amazing so thank you SO much!
@@crosbycofod5052 just search my vids on here regarding the Blues Power. Its been my go to for an EQ. Its perfect
I'm gonna turn it way up when I get home from work tonight.
I'm gonna play a little, some Stevie type stuff.. Yeah right > TESTIFY > NAILED IT! can't wait to hear about the Pro also.
Awww yea!
i like watching people like myself who take the time to learn to play this shit
Sounds awesome, of course! I feel like I have not given the TS pedals I have owned a fair shake just because I don't turn my 63 vibroverb ri up loud enough. Question, if you used your guitar volume and kept the TS on all the time, would you get close to the same results?
You will lose some body. Again , we arent trying to focus on a pedal in line
A beginner question: why using the loop switch to turn on/off the screamer, instead of the screamer switch itself ?
Because the loop is serving two purposes
I stated it in the video.
The tube screamer can load the “pure” signal of the ‘guitar straight into amp’ tone because of its buffer. So keeping it inline with the looper and using that to bring it in and out, always keeps the signal clean when not using the TS
Great video Nik. I love that Pro Reverb!
Thanks Grant. Its a pro. 50w. Reverb added by CD!
Mighty!...just dug out an old TS9, Sept '81 with JRC2043DD chip, gets some bad press, apparently this chip was in the animal Stevie used..most had the JRC4558D chip
Bro how loud were you!!! Sounds awesome!!! Can a speaker attenuator be used to make the amp breakup at lowered volumes?