What pick ups would you reccomend to try to get that SRV tone?

I'm talking about his actual tone. Not the tone that the SRV artist series has.

What pick up set or pick up combo would you sugest I check out?

or are the pups that come on the SRV artist series the best bet to come close to his sound?

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You might try 57/62s or even 54 custom shops.

And the other half of the equation is a great Fender amp!

I've tried everything and come to this conclusion... I could play SRV's guitar, through his amps, with his pick and everything and I still wouldn't sound a thing like him. And SRV could play a First Act through my crappy old Squier amp and get SRV tone out of it.

But anyway, back to the subject of pickups. Texas Specials are my favorite. But no, they won't really get you SRV tone. What I do like about them is that they have a really beefy strat tone, and that's what I was really after. Tex-Mex pickups really aren't very much like Texas Specials despite the similar names. Tex-Mex pickups sound more like a classic strat, only hotter. I really like them too, and they're probably what I'm going to end up putting into my MIM strat. I've heard that Fat '50s will get you in the SRV tone ballpark, as will 57/62's. But I haven't had a chance to try either of them yet, so I can't describe what they sound like.

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TGS , The Texas Specials are my favorite pickups.I have them in 2 of my strats and i like the bottom end on them.The neck pickup is one of the nicest sounding neck pickups i have ever played.You are right though.Wont get that SRV sound no matter what pickups you play.There was so much more going on with SRV (like any true artist) than pickups.He had some great amps dimed all the way, heavy strings and most of all , he was dripping with vibe .Thats what separates the good ones from the great ones.

Honestly, most any decent vintage style single coil pickups will get you there. A HUGE amount of the tone comes from stings, setup, a great amp and playing style. I've got a Strat with std Suhr F/L pickups and a DRRI and am able to get really close to the SRV clean tones with D'Addario .11's. A 6L6 amp would probably get me even closer. So much goes into the tone though. Even a decent cable makes a huge difference. I changed out a cheap cable for a fairly priced good one (spectraflex) and noticed a change in tone for the better. Experiment!!

Yeah, I use the neck pickup a lot. Love it.

Oh, I forgot to add that connecting the bridge pickup to either the neck or middle tone pot really helps to create more tonal possibilities. That goes for any type of pickup really. Personally I have my neck and middle pickup wired to one tone pot and my bridge pickup to the other. I tinker with the bridge tone the most, so that's why it's separate. That has nothing to do with SRV, it's just what I like and hopefully you'll find the tip helpful.

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Couldn't agree more with what everyone said. If you have decent pickups, get an early '90s Vibroverb reissue, if you can.

Use heavy strings and playing. Yu will sound a lot more in the ballpark SRV-style that way.

As for pickups, any balanced vintage set would do. Look at Copperhead '59s.


-The Screamin' J

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CURRENT RIG:
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"Could you take the stain from this pair of pants, and put in on this pair of pants?"

When I think of the SRV sound , one of the things that come to mind is the heavyhanded vibrato and those bends .

I've been able to nail his tone for years, on different rigs. That tone is mostly in how aggressive you play, you cannot sissy pick the notes. You have to dig in and make those strings howl. Speed metal guys can rarely get this tone because they're barely touching the strings to play fast and that's part of their style.

You also need a good tube amp, and a good neck pickup. If you have those, you can get this tone. Unless it's some very different or unique pickup or rig, any basic strat, through a good tube amp, in the hands of the good player, can get that tone.

You can spend tons of dollars on particular pickups, doesn't matter. The amp matters a lot more than any pickups do for tone anyway. You need to be a good player, to know those licks cold, to be able to wail on them and choke those notes out of your guitar. Equipment will only get you so far, or not at all depending on how YOU play it.

Without his hands or technique, pups won't make any difference. I've heard a lot of lame approximations of SRV's tone. In the words of Napoleon Dynamite, "Get your own Tots"

Scot I think you should play around and get a great Scott tone. This is a big problem for a lot of young players find something that makes you unique and different, and come up with a tone that is your own. Right now the world does not need another Stevie clone it needs some originality. Stevie could play an acoustic and you know who is playing and he has proved that. Become yourself and you will be much more in demand.

I used to know a guy who could play every SRV lick in the book. Only problem was that was ALL he could play. Couldn't write a song to save his life. Every jam was just him going straight into SRV.

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Man this is the million dollar question isn't it??? SRV played several amps from what I've seen on stage throughout his career. I've always had difficulty duplicating his sound until recently and it turned out, it was easier than what I though and right there in front of me.

I'm using CS Texas Specials in both MIM and USA Strats. I run them through 2 JCM900 heads with 1960 cabs, no mods other than GT tubes and the effects are a TS9 that I modded myself, a stock reissue 808 and a stock Blues Driver.

I switch back forth between 808 and TS9 depending on how much drive I want, then use the BD2 has a booster for soloing. The 808 is set to medium drive with warm tone and the TS9 is set for high gain and brighter tone, plus the chip I have in it gives more crunch.

Like many pointed out, SRV used heavy guage strings set high and beat the $@!& out of them. Almost to the point of being sloppy. But that was SRV, very rough, raw and raggedy all combined to make a classic sound.

Another tip: Turn your pick upside down and play with it sort of on it's side. That's what Stevie did and you'd be real surprised by how much it effects tone. I tried it, and it turns out it actually feels more natural and you can play faster and cleaner. Now I can barely hold a pick the right way anymore.
The thickness of picks also has an impact on tone. (Stevie used Mediums.) I've been experimenting with different picks lately, it's a lot of fun.

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