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DVD Lesson StoreFender Blues Junior Amp Demo - Original Ballad
Here’s another video showing off the capabilities of the Fender Blues Junior. This time I attempt to replicate the thick, overdriven tone that Stevie used when playing songs like Life Without You. Make sure to check out the details below the video… *NOTE* - I’ve added a pictures tab at the bottom where you can see pictures of all my gear settings, including the amp.
The Song
The song is "Just Another Love Song", an original I wrote back in college. Just a simple ballad melody that has a similar style to "Life Without You", by Stevie Ray Vaughan. A lot of solo elements in this demo were learned from that song. I piece together the backing track in GarageBand on my Mac.
Guitar
The guitar used in this demo is my cheap ‘96 Mexican Strat that recently got upgraded to pickups from Rocketfire Guitars.
- Tuning: E-Flat
- Guitar: Mexican Strat
- Pickups: Custom Rocketfire Total 60’s HANDWOUND Vintage Strat
- Strings: D’addario EXL145 (12–54)
Pedals
| Boss PQ-4 | Boss PQ-3B | Nobels ODR-S |
|---|---|---|
This Parametric EQ Pedal is no longer in production. Although it can produce a wide variety of tones, I use it basically as a clean boost, with a little extra boost in the low/midrange area. This pedal is first in the lineup, and I use it in two ways: First to provide a little boost to the amp by itself, and second to push the Nobels Overdrive farther into distortion when it is engaged. Settings (clock dial notation)
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This is another parametric EQ pedal not made anymore. This one I use to get a more narrow boost at around 1.5 KHz to add an extra edge to leads, similar to the tone Stevie got from his tubescreamers with the tone all the way up. I also add in a little extra low end to balance it out a bit. Settings (clock notation)
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I really like this overdrive pedal. The distortion produced mixes well with my amp, and it has plenty of usable gain. Since the amp is producing a decent amount of distortion on it’s own, I only set the gain up about half way, just enough to thicken up the tone enough for leads. Settings (clock notation)
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Amp
The amp used in this demo is a Fender Blues Junior. Mine is a Tweed NOS Edition. I do not have any mods yet. You can see the settings from the picture here, if you want a bigger picture, check out the pictures tab. For this demo I wanted a pretty thick lead tone so I have the preamp gain set pretty high. But for the first portion of the song where I want a cleaner tone, I use a combination of lighter picking as well as rolling the volume back just a tad. This takes off just enough signal to keep the amp from really distorting during the first part. When I first kick into the solo, I turn on the Nobels, and the PQ-4 for a pretty thick lead tone. When I get the the second heavy solo chorus, I kick on the PQ-3B to really push the tone through the roof. I’m pretty sure Stevie was using some sort of fuzz pedal for some live performances when he played Life Without You because his tone was just monsterous for that song.
Settings
- Volume: 10
- Treble: 10
- Bass: 12
- Middle: 7
- Master: 5
- Reverb: 1
- Fat Switch: On
Recording
I recorded this demo using a Shure SM-57 microphone slightly above and off to the side of the Blues Junior cabinet. The mic was pointed a little off to the side of the center of the speaker, and was sitting about a foot away. Positioning of the microphone relative to the amp makes a big difference in the tone. While it’s normal at a live show for the mic to be pointed directly at the speaker, I find that the resulting tone lacks warmth and is a bit too harsh for my tastes. Moving the amp off to the site, immediately changes the tone of the recording, and pointing it close to, but not directly at the center of the speaker, allows it to remain clear, but not as harsh as being pointed directly at the center of the speaker. In addition, having the microphone elevated a little above the speaker and pointing down helps capture some of the natural bass respons of the amp, resulting in a fatter tone. I could easily have spent an hour finding the optimal placement of the microphone, and if I had been recording for an album, I probably would have. But the plugins available in most recording software can do an amazing job making up for poor mic placement. I know from experience that this mic position gives reasonably good tone, and in the interest of time and not driving myself crazy, I decided to set it up this way, and just play. The microphone was connected to a Motu 896HD Firewire Interface, which connected to my computer, a MacPro.
Mixing
The demo was recorded in Apple’s GarageBand software. I first assembled the backing track using a hacked up version of one of the songs packed with the software. I took the drum loop and chopped it to the right length and looped it. Then I keyed in the bass and keybard parts using my keyboard. Not a piano keyboard, but my typing keyboard. Once the backing track was assembled, I recorded the guitar part on a separate track. Before mixing down, I applied an equalizer, and a reverb plugin to the guitar track. The equalizer plugin cut out a bit around 800Hz to remove some muddiness, and boosted around 6-8 KHz to add a little sparkle. Then the reverb plugin was set to add a little room sound to the guitar.
MP3s
The backing track as well as the audio portion of this video can be purchased in the download store as high quality MP3 files for $1 each. The video can be purchased in HD for $2.
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June 26th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
I’ve got to tell you, this song - heart, feeling, and tone - it’s like hearing a new track from Stevie, only you’ve definitely incorporated your own personality into it. Just thought you should know you’re reaching people with your playing in ways that few people do.
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on June 27th, 2009:
Thanks for the kind words Dave. Many people assume that I must know how these videos affect people, but unless people tell me I really don’t know. So thanks for the positive feedback. It is appreciated.
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April 29th, 2009 at 2:06 am
Ah, never mind! I didn’t see those nifty tabs at the bottom of the video! This sounds amazing! Without all the EQ pedals, would it have that nasally sound that I’m talking about though? If a few simple EQ pedals is the resolution to that, then all the better!
Tim
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April 29th, 2009 at 2:04 am
This is amazing stuff! I was wondering if this was the regular LTD version or if this was the NOS version? I’ve only heard a few sound samples of the NOS, but it seems to sound very nasally and thin to me. It doesn’t sound full at all. If this is the NOS version, I will be greatly satisfied!
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February 6th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
really nice playing there dude!! You have a great touch with that strat and the leads flow out nicely. You are right when you say that “tone is in the hands” great job, beautifull sound from that little amp and a really nice site you have here, I love the pedal comparison too!! I was really curous about that Trower pedal, I use the OCD, but after listening to your distortion pedal, I really like the tones ,clean and dirty , that you achieved from that, very cool stuff and very informative !!
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December 31st, 2008 at 9:46 am
LOVE IT! I just ordered one of these babies last night and i’ve been watching you blues boxes lessons, very helpful. Have a great 2009
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December 9th, 2008 at 3:10 am
Amazing Stuff Anthony!!!
I love your PLaying!!!
Very very good Song Anthony!
I like Your amp also
is it a Fender Hot Rod Series Blues Junior NOS 15W ???
I want to buy my first tube amp and I like yours,
do you think that this Blues junior 15w Amp could be good to play in Small clubs or rehersals with the band?
Anthony I got to go
I will be watching your vids!
=D
Thanky ou for reading this
ciao
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November 27th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Waou, incredible, you’re a great bluesman !
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October 29th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
hi anthony
i’ve buy your boxes lesson and it’s great
can you tell me the way you connect your pedal from your guitar to your amp (what the order of your pedal: eq first, or overdrive )
sorry for my english
look at my website , i’m a french luthier and i like to know what you think about my guitars
thanks
eric
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October 27th, 2008 at 1:50 am
Nice job man. Amazing tone. I’m thinking of buying this amp and your song helped me make up my mind.
Thanks for sharing it.
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October 3rd, 2008 at 6:36 am
uups sorry..it should have been : Hello Anthony and not Stevie…jeez
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on October 6th, 2008:
No problem, it happens all the time
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September 7th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
hey anthony, i came across your site last week and was blown away, ive been playing guitar for 16 years now and am ashamed at my level of skill considering how long ive been at it. But i just wanted to say that discovering your site and your boxes theory has revitalised my blues playing and given me motivation again so thank you!
- would you happen to know if the power supply is just tapped in the US version? was thinking it wouldn’t cost me too much to get it converted to 240v.
Also now i have been searching for a tweed blues junior! only problem is they cost 3 times what they do in the states down here in Australia !!!
Also keen to see if you find some good replacements for your discontinued pedals.
cheers
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on September 17th, 2008:
Hi Marty,
No need to be ashamed. Everyone learns at a different speed. I think it’s important to enjoy learning, otherwise you end up old and bitter like so many guitarist out there who think they’ve got nothing to learn anymore
As for the power supply, that’s something I don’t know. I would suggest posting that over at TheGearPage.net, or signing up at FenderForum.com, both very good gear sites with knowlegeable people.
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Marty Mcfly reply on September 18th, 2008:
Cool thanks heaps anthony
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Andelko reply on October 3rd, 2008:
Hi Marty,
Hi Stevie,
first of all my compliments for your site and your playing!
@Steve you could get these stuff in Singapore (I just yesterday bought one) a bit expensive but…the sound was where I was after. You get converters from 110 to 220/240 for around 50 Sin$ (good ones) check out blackwoodguitars.com.sg if you like call for David.
Suppose SIN is nearer to Aussieland. Cheers and all you guys have a good time.
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Andelko reply on October 3rd, 2008:
sorry it should be : Hello Anthony! ,-)
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August 23rd, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Hi Anthony
I’m thinking about trying some new pup’s in my 62 reissue(with 57/62 pups)
Wonder which ones would you would recommend:the fralins blues specials ,or rocketfire’s for the srv and classic vintage sound?
Been listening to your tracs with the different types, and it seems that the rocketfires are a bit hotter,more sensitive ,have a a tad more dist and let more “string” come thru,or is this just differnt settings on amp/pedal?
Anyhow l think your playing is great(technique and feel),your tone(and Jesse Davey’s) is the closest to the SRV sound l,ve heard.
Your site is very inspirational and uniqe for learning SRV tone and playing.
Thank you so much for sharing your know how,you help a lot of frustrated SRV “wannabees”:-)
Heine
Norway
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on August 30th, 2008:
Hi Heine,
It’s difficult to compare the Rocketfire’s to the Fralins because the Fralins have the advantage of being in a much, much, much, better guitar. However, the effect that the Rocketfire PUs had on the mexi-strat, reminds me a LOT of how it sounded back when I had a set of Fralins in it years ago.
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August 16th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Hi Anthony - well that’s impressive. The first part is particularly good.
I am currently using a 1984 mij maple neck Squire strat with the 57/62 pickguard set directly switched from a new Fender 50’s reissue through a PV Classic 20. The tone is a little Marshall like, and is nice for slide. No pedals.
My regular tuning strat is a mij 62 reissue with Tx specials. No so happy with that sound
Love your SRV tone, so I need to look at the Blues Jr. I was put off because everyone said it has to be modded to be any good. Not so it seems.
Great playing and I follow your lessons regularly.
Cheers
ta1k0
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August 5th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Hi, this is frank van engelen from bluesiana radio, host of a two hour blues-show in wich i play all kinds of bluesmusic and the thin lines between, I am very impressed with your plaiing and would like to ask you some material that you did play and i will play it on the show. If you need more infro about the show, just say so, you sill not be sorry, because i do a lot of promotion in holland from many welknown and unknown artiests, so let me know- fantastic playiing, frank van engelen-bluesiana, rivierenlaan 229, 1442PH Purmerend- the netherlands- email blueseyfrank {at} yahoo(.)com an d also fbluesboy {at} telfort(.)nl thanx and keep it alive
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August 2nd, 2008 at 10:03 pm
This is great recorded tone and a great song! Have you tried a Sennhieser MD421? I love using thoem in live concerts I do as a solo mic. I will also use a 57 on the same cabinet close mic’ed for rythme. When the guitarist goes into a solo, I push up the 421 for a lush, warm (and loud) tone.
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on August 4th, 2008:
I’ve not used that particular mic, but I’ve got a Rode condenser mic that I’ve done a little recording with, mainly for vocals, I wonder how it would sound on the guitar…. hmmm
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Chris Rodriguez reply on August 11th, 2008:
Large diaphragm condenser? I like the way they sound. I have noticed though that you have to be careful because the wrong placement gets a little muddy (like with any set up I guess). But the sweet spot with an LDC is soooo fat!
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July 24th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Hey Anthony,
Just looking at your bridge picture and very interested to why you have it like that?
I know you use gauge 12 strings and wondered what the playing ability/ action was like on your guitar (weather it was high or low)?
Your guitar looks so nice to play and was just curious to what it was actually like.
Thanks
Sam
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on July 26th, 2008:
Hi Sam,
There’s a very good reason for that, and I’ll be addressing this in an upcoming podcast episode very soon
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July 11th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Great stuff. Love it !
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July 10th, 2008 at 10:07 am
Hello Anthony,
Love your vids, authentic blues tone. I have one question, though:
Would the Blues Junior be a good choice for a place like a school auditorium? Probably a stupid question, but I have absolutely no idea how loud it goes or anything, I just know I love the tone. I’m buying one of those bad boys!
Thanks
Alanna
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on July 11th, 2008:
Hi Alanna,
Not a stupid question at all. The blues junior is capable of producing some serious volume, just not very cleanly. When cranked up all the way it is quite loud but being that it’s only 15 Watts, it does have a nice distorted tone at full volume.
Hope this helps,
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July 8th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Hi Stevie,
like your tone and playing!
Nobels is still alive!
http://www.musikhaus-heinze.de/product_info.php?products_id=10936&language=de
Greetz from Germany- Jens
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on July 8th, 2008:
One of the benefits of living in the same country as the manufacturer I guess. I actually emailed them to see if they’d start making this pedal again / sell it in the US, but haven’t heard back from them.
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July 8th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Excellent, i really like the song, would listen to it if it was on my mp3
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John reply on July 8th, 2008:
i’d also love to get a tab for this
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on July 8th, 2008:
Hi John,
the mp3 of this song is for sale in the download store for $1. I’m working on the tabs for the chorded portion of this (Lesson 40) and one chorus of the solo (Lesson 41).
Thanks,
Anthony
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July 2nd, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Hey anthony, nice job!!! What Amp would you recommend for playing out at gigs that are medium to small sized pubs/bars etc. ? I have a newer Fender Vibrolux and the 2 10″ speakers seem to not have the low end power for the type of sound like Stevie’s. Would a Blues Deluxe be better??
Thanks!!
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on July 5th, 2008:
I have yet to be able to really even crank my Blues Junior in a club environment. The soundman always tells me to turn it down
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June 17th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Hey Anthony, I came across this way-cool utility today while checking out some mod sites for the blues jr. I just got a new blues jr tweed nos yesterday, and love it (traded in my marshall DSL combo, WAY too loud for me). Being an engineer type, I may try some mods in the future, although I always play new equipment stock for quite awhile before doing mods, to get a feel for it.
Anyway, seeing how you use your EQ’s in your setup, I thought you (and others) would find this very interesting. It plots how the stock fender tone stack performs across the audio spectrum, and it’s interactive, so you can adjust the controls, and even change values, and see the results.
Looking at the fender plot, it’s easy to see why you need to bump the 1.5k band… and it’s interesting how much the controls interact with this fender circuit.
The blues jr tone stack is the standard fender tab in the utility, but you need to click on a few components and change their value to match what the blues jr uses: change C2 to 22n, C3 to 22n, and R4 to 25k. Now you can play with the bass/mid/treb controls to see what’s happening in your amp.
For an interesting change, try C2 at 100n, which is the value used by the princeton reverb and a few other fender amps… quite a bit more bass response. (100n is .1 microfarads, in standard capacitor terms)
Here’s the link to the utility: [http://www.duncanamps.com/tsc/]
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on July 5th, 2008:
Hi Randy,
I know that utility well. Once upon a time when I used to try and mod tube amps, I did a really funky twist on the typical Fender tone stack configuration that resulted in nearly 6dB of midrange gain with everything up, but you could still get back to a typical fender curve by backing the bass and midrange almost all the way off. Built it into a Bassman 20 amplifier. Loud as heck, but it sure sounded interesting….hehe
Thanks for the reference, I should list that on my resources page.
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June 7th, 2008 at 1:58 am
Hi Anthony,
I am so pleased to find your web site. You know it’s tough out there trying to get some good advise on tone. Shop salesman will tell you anything to get a sale. I have learn’t a hell of a lot- thank you!
I have started the search for a Nobels overdrive special. Cannot fine one anywhere. Any clues? Looks like the special is discontinued however there is a Nobels distortion pedal available. Would this suffice. I have a PQ3 and the anniversary Blues Junior/Strat combo.
Next in line is the PQ 4!
Cheers from Australia.
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on June 7th, 2008:
Hi Bryan,
The ODR-S is a great pedal, but discontinued as you’ve found. I bought and ODR-1 and don’t like it very much at all, so I’d recommend against that. I’m evaluating other pedals I can recommend, but it might take me a while til I find one I like as much as the ODR-S.
At some point, I’ll be doing a lesson on how to properly use a Parametric EQ pedal as well.
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Nick reply on June 8th, 2008:
Have you ever used the Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer pedal? I was thinking about getting that to go with a blues junior, but was wondering what your thoughts were on that pedal as a distortion/overdrive pedal.
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on June 8th, 2008:
My main beef with the Tubescreamer is that it doesn’t have enough distortion to work with an amp that’s not cranked up to 10 if you want a really saturated tone. I also think that it loses a lot of bass if the distortion is too high, or if the tone is set too high. I prefer a pedal that I can adjust the tone to match the frequency response of my guitar and create a more balanced boost.
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May 28th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Amazing video.
I’m very close to purchasing some of your lessons. I’ve been playing guitar for a couple of years now (been playing cello for 12 years before guitar), and understand chord progressions, but don’t understand solos. Your blues boxes / diagrams seemed to make some light go off in my mind. I don’t know what it means, but I’m hoping that I can put it together. When I hear a blues bass line or melody, I hear a solo in my head. That probably sounds bizarre, but it’s always happened when playing music, not just with blues. I played bass lines for 12 years, and was always able to make up lead parts in my head to go with them.
I just built a Strat this past winter with Lace Golds. They sound great through my Fender Frontman 212R, but the amp is solid state, and is WAY too loud. I’m thinking about setting it aside as a backup, and buying a Blues Jr. NOS.
Anyway, thanks for posting this. Your sound is incredible. I close my eyes and see SRV on stage.
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on May 28th, 2008:
Hi Nick,
I’ve gotten a LOT of great feedback from people about my “box” lessons, in terms of helping them understand the mechanics of blues soloing in the SRV style. I would actually steer you towards them before the solo lessons. One note though, the full Box series will soon be available on DVD if that’s more down your alley. However due to manufacturing costs, the DVDs will cost more than the downloads, but I wanted to give you a heads up about that in case you were hoping to buy DVDs.
Best of luck, and thanks for writing
Anthony
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May 12th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
how come the volume level on your guitar is set so low?
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on May 13th, 2008:
If you’re referring to the picture where the volume knob is turned down, that was taken after the recording when I turned my volume back down. My guitar volume was on 10 for most of the recording.
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May 9th, 2008 at 2:35 am
Hey Anthony, I see that you made this backing track in garage band. I am always looking for good backing tracks but can never find any in the style or sound that I want. Is there anyway you could do a lesson or something on how you make backing tracks. I have garage band but never use it because it confuses me to the point where I just want to pick up my computer and throw it. Thanks for any help
PS The song is amazing. I need to find some way to make an MP3 of it for my Ipod!!!
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on May 9th, 2008:
Hi Andrew, I actually have the backing track of this, as well as the demonstration audio for sale as high quality mp3s in the download store for $1 each.
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Andrew Smith reply on May 9th, 2008:
Thank Anthony, but I actually meant to create an original backing track of my own. Is there anyway to do a lesson on how you would go about creating a backing track?
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on May 13th, 2008:
That’s a good idea, the problem is I still have so much trouble trying to do it, I don’t know how much help it would be
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May 8th, 2008 at 10:30 am
Howdy Anthony
I was the guy asking about ” Life without You” the new video you posted gave me a good feel of some techniques for the song and that was a great proformace.
Keep it up, you are a very skilled guitarist
Thank you
Kody
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on July 5th, 2008:
Hi Kody,
Sorry I missed this comment but I wanted to thank you for stopping by the site.
Anthony
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May 7th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Hello Anthony,
I have a semi technical question as follows:
I know this is a recording with some enhancement going on, how different was the actual sound you heard from the amp as you played the tune compared to the recorded sound? Can you express the difference in the actual tonal qualities of the live sound versus the final recording in words?
Thanks again for this recording.
Best regards,
Steve
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on May 8th, 2008:
Hi Steve,
That’s a great question and I’m glad you brought it up. The reason I add the effects to the guitar track is to restore more of what your ear naturally hears when you’re playing the amp. When a microphone is recording an amp directly, it never sounds like it does in real life because there’s no “air” in it. Nobody listens to an amp that close.
The alternative is to record the amp from an earshot position. The problem with this is that you pick up everything else in the room and it makes for a bad recording. So the addition of the EQ, and the reverb returns the sound of the amp on the recording to something closer to what it sounds like in real life.
The other purpose of doing it this way is to show someone what’s possible if you’re recording for an album etc… That’s kind of the long-term goal for a lot of people and this method also shows that the amp is excellent for recording as well as live playing.
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Steve reply on May 8th, 2008:
Hi Anthony,
Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. I will have all three pedals to mess with tonight, so I will be looking forward to the fun.
Kind Regards,
Steve
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May 7th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Im debating whether I should buy the Blues Junior NOS or buy the boss blues drive pedal, got any idea?
I really want to get a good blues sound and I know how awesome the Blues Junior is, but then again the I only played the Reg. Blues Junior not the NOS.
Should I save a couple of more dollars for the NOS or just buy the Reg. black one? Is it worth it? or should I just get the pedal and save some money?
Sorry about all the questions:D!
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on May 7th, 2008:
Hi Dom,
Having played through a Blues Driver on several occasions, I can tell you one thing for sure. I will definately not give you the tone of a Blues Junior. As distortion pedals go, I don’t think it’s near the top of list in terms of tone. As far as which Blues Junior is best, there’s some debate about whether or not the black tolex version is the same as the tweed NOS version, but I’m 99% sure that the tubes and speaker in the NOS version are better. I just looked at a tolex version the other day in the store and it had a Fender speaker, whereas my NOS edition has a Jensen, as well as clearly labeled GrooveTubes.
Having said that, there’s nothing about the NOS edition that can’t be done to the tolex version eventually to upgrade it to NOS specs, with the exception of covering it in Tweed of course.
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May 6th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
cojonudo tío, eres el mejor,
espero algún día tocar como tú
saludos desde barcelona
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May 4th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
You have nailed what hunderds of people are spending thousands on with a 550.0 amp and you God given talent and ablity. Im a big fan of what you have done and are still doing, great stuff Anthony, great site.
“Fly on my friend”
Bryan Dunn- Virginia Beach VA
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May 3rd, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Excellent. All of the previously posted superlatives are completely accurate and I agree entirely. I do have a technical question, however. I notice in your photos that you have mixed the two different types of Fender bridge saddles. Any reason for this? Did I read elsewhere that you had Graphtec’s on your D.G? Why not here?
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on May 3rd, 2008:
Actually there’s no Fender Bridge Saddles to be found on either of my guitars. I bought a set of Graptecs for the Grosh (the new kind with the inserts), and they were great, but since I don’t break the lower strings too much, and the original saddles are brighter, I left the original saddles on the Grosh for the lowest 3 strings, and took the remaining 3 original, and the remaining 3 Graphtecs and slapped them on the Strat.
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May 1st, 2008 at 5:18 am
Great tone and playing, loved it.
Cheers
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on May 3rd, 2008:
Thanks Doc.
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April 29th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
That would be cool if you can shed a little light on some of the Steive-isms that were Hendrix-isms that are now Anthony-isms, I especially liked the chordal passages, I see one of the neat “Lenny ‘ chords used with a ninth chord after it, and the leads were so expressive, I tuned in just to hear it again, I dig it !
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on May 3rd, 2008:
I’m almost done with a 30 minute complete walkthrough of the solo talking about every minute detail of what’s happening here. The lesson that follows will be actually teaching the chord progression.
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April 29th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Excellent, excellent, excellent! You have really mastered SRV’s sound. It’s 70 percent in the fingers, 20 in your head, and 10 perecnt gear. Sounds magical.
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April 29th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Outstanding. I’m sure Stevie would’ve dug it. Lots of people can just play Vaughan’s songs, but much fewer people have the ability to compose their own in his style (one which he essentially borrowed, so no harm no foul). It really shows how much love you’ve put into learning what goes on behind his work and the skill level you’ve reached. Outstanding stuff, Anthony.
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on April 30th, 2008:
Thanks Bob.
I don’t talk about it much here, but songwriting is actually my biggest passion musically and something I’ve done a decent amount of. I wasn’t sure how people would respond to me playing a SRV style original tune here, but I’m very pleasantly surprised
I really want to keep this site focused on Stevie’s style, but people are OK with me occasionally using my own material to illustrate the concepts, I won’t argue….
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April 29th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Just amazing! Thank you for taking the extra time to show us the settings and line up. It is very helpful to have such a detailed strating point. I notice when watching Stevie play he is always using the 5 way, switching between pickups so effortlessly without missing a note inbetween. That alone can take much practice, maybe in your next demo you could get a more full view of the guitar as you are switching. Thanks again- your a real good player and teacher!!
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April 29th, 2008 at 12:00 am
That was Increidible man!!!! Not to be gay or anything but it actually brought a tear to my eye!! Thanks for all the insperation that you have provided me over the last 6 months, you are a excellent guitarist and congradulate you now for your future success!!
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on April 29th, 2008:
Hey Bryan, thanks for the kind words. Here’s something I try to always remember:
“To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.” - Jim Valvano
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Valvano
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April 28th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
That was outstanding! Great work.
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April 28th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Sorry for the Expletives… I didn’t realize this was a post
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on April 28th, 2008:
I ain’t mad at ya’ , That’s why I got the nanny filter in place…hehe
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April 28th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
F’n kick ***…. a little stevie…. a little kenny
Really sounds good. Would love to have a lesson on this song. Just the type of song I would love to be able to play.
Great job
Ramon
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April 28th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
what are all the settings set at on your amp.
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on April 28th, 2008:
I just posted some pictures in another tab below the video that shows all the settings. Sorry about that, I really meant to have it all together before I posted this…
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April 28th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
I’m just sitting here with my mouth agape ! Stunning ! Sweet !
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on April 28th, 2008:
Thanks Tim.
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April 28th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
I’ll give you five dollars if you make it a lesson.
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on April 28th, 2008:
Stay tuned…:)
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April 28th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Wow! That tune’s got soul!
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April 28th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Amazing as always Anthony. I hope I’m not asking too much, but is there any chance you could break this down and let us known which boxes your playing and what key (if you change key at all) when you switch between them? I recognise a lot of these licks from your lessons but it’s sadly not just a matter of knowing the boxes to be able to play like that!
Thanks.
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on April 28th, 2008:
You read my mind Jamie. My next lesson will basically be me talking my way through this demo, talking about what box I’m playing and when, as well as talking about pedal switching, pickup switching etc… Will be interesting to see the response to a “talk-through” lesson.
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Timmy reply on April 29th, 2008:
I love the way you insert the minor licks into the major sounding box at 10th position , GREAT !
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on April 28th, 2008:
By the way, you are an AWESOME designer
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Jamie reply on April 29th, 2008:
Thank you, sir!
I’d gladly swap skill sets with you any day though!
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April 28th, 2008 at 6:38 am
Sweet vid man
Could you post that backing track? It’d be nice to have some tracks to use to learn how to jam out without directly copying srv
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on April 28th, 2008:
Working on it…
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April 28th, 2008 at 4:04 am
Would you mind posting your amp settings for this video? Amazing playing!
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on April 28th, 2008:
Hi Wes,
I’ve updated the Amp tab as well as adding some pictures.
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April 28th, 2008 at 12:34 am
StaufferSnacks !! A second website !?!
Awesome , my friend, just too sweet!
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on April 28th, 2008:
Not just yet my friend
I only did this song because I can’t legally do Life Without You yet…
However, song writing is my true love. But this site will retain a Stevie focus as much as possible.
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April 27th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
That was awesome Anthony you should post some videos on how to play that song. It really rocked!
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Anthony Stauffer ( StevieSnacks Teacher ) reply on April 28th, 2008:
Stay tuned for my next lesson, it will be a walkthrough of this entire demo talking about what boxes I’m playing in, pedal and pickup switching etc…
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