Advice on getting a Texas blues sound. Technical

[Gutterguy]

Hello to all,
I play through a stock Mexican Telecaster, 2016. From there I go through a Korg Pandora mini processor through headphones to my laptop. How do I get that Texas blues sound? Better pickups? An onboard preamp? Anyone know there way around these little pandora's to get it also? I play through headphones, no amp/cab, can this even be achieved?

1)I'm looking at some Duncan Little '59's with a 4 way maybe or,
2)Also, an SRV exciter on board guitar effect from guitarfetish.com to avoid tearing into the guitar
3) or something else?

Thanks for any direction,
Russ

 

[5stringsdown]

Welcome Russ!
Texas blues can mean a lot of things........
From Lightnin' Hopkins to ZZ Top and everything in between...........
My first inclination would be to tell you to get a strat and practice a lot.......if you are looking to get in Stevie Ray territory.........I say that only because you mentioned the effect........
A little 59 will get you closer to ZZ Top than Stevie Ray......certainly nothing wrong with that.........
Maybe you could be more specific about which Texas blues tone you are aiming for.......??

 

[studio]

Hello to all,
I play through a stock Mexican Telecaster, 2016. From there I go through a Korg Pandora mini processor through headphones to my laptop. How do I get that Texas blues sound? Better pickups? An onboard preamp? Anyone know there way around these little pandora's to get it also? I play through headphones, no amp/cab, can this even be achieved?

1)I'm looking at some Duncan Little '59's with a 4 way maybe or,
2)Also, an SRV exciter on board guitar effect from guitarfetish.com to avoid tearing into the guitar
3) or something else?

Thanks for any direction,
Russ

I would start by reverse engineering the classic sound of that style.

Perhaps a nice vintage speaker in a wood cabinet, followed by
a cool little tube amp that sounds like sin on 7 on Sunday.
Then get some of that nasty spring reverb going with maybe
a hint of delay and maybe, possibly one of them tube screamers.

Some hot vintage pickups or the real deal old stuff with a side order
of flatwounds if that's your bag.

A guitar speaker is fundamentally cutoff at around 5khz on the top end.
Anything above that is not going to enhance the sound I think you're
looking for. Then mic that cabinet with a tried and true Shure SM 57.
Watch your recording levels and have some smoking hot fun!

 

[studio]

 

[Ripradiant]

There is no secret... any guitar + any amp + some overdrive. And then add the key ingredient - develop your skill like SRV or any other player you like by studying and emulating their style.

 

[BopT]

I would get an amp with true grit; power and ability to get dirty. Pedals alone don't have it though Stevie did use a tube screamer. Get a guitar that feels comfortable and just play.

 

[LutherBurger]

Start drinkin' and gamblin' and stayin' out all hours. When your woman starts messin' 'round with the neighbor-man, you'll know exactly what to do.

 

[jvin248]

.

Pick out a song you're trying to match rhythm or lead and post that, you'll get a lot more targeted responses.
It won't involve changing your guitar or pickups. Maybe a pedal and a clean amp to let the pedal shine. If you are using software then the software could be the 'pedal'.

ignore the comments about neck wood resonance (ugh!) and strings but pay close attention to the pedals and the pickup selection.

 

[bluesky1963]

Tube amp (start with a 15w) + boost of some kind (preferably one that's dirty). The boost can be a straight up dirty boost like a Boss BD-2 or an OD pedal with the gain rolled almost off and the volume up, SRV did this with a Tubescreamer.

Worry about pickups after you get this setup working correctly.

 

[Gutterguy]

Thanks for replies. I liked Vaughan's tone is what I'm getting at, not to emulate him. I was trying to get that tone through headphones because I'm unable to play aloud.
I guess a better example would be the tone achieved in Benoit's "Nice and Warm". I know humbuckers are used in that. He also uses expensive amps too. The tone I get with my combo just gets to that but not by much.
Thank you to all.

 

[rich815]

In your tele? Start with some Fender Tex-Mex pickups...

 

[LKB3rd]

I just googled up that pandora, and it has a "Pride Joy" song preset that must be Stevie Ray's Pride and Joy. Once you select it, you can make note of what it is doing to get that sound.