Menu
Suede·Social·Issue No. 20
Tone recipes·2026 · JUL
Blues1983

01Stevie Ray Vaughan

Texas Flood

Heavy-strung Strat into multiple cranked Fender amps in parallel. The tone is fat-edged, with substantial low midrange and a sharp pick attack that's almost percussive. SRV used 13s strung up to E-flat tuning, so every bend works the amp harder than it would on a standard rig. Slight tube grit on the cleanest sections, full saturation on the leads. Reverb is amp spring only — no pedals on the wet end.

02Signal chain

Guitar to amp, 2 pedals between.

  1. In
    Guitar

    1962/63 Fender Stratocaster ('Number One'), 13-58 strings, tuned E-flat

  2. 01
    Always-on overdrive boosting the front of the Vibroverb
    Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer

    Drive: minimum (~7 o'clock), Tone: 1 o'clock, Level: 2 o'clock

  3. 02
    Expressive wah for solos
    Vox Wah V846
  4. Out
    Amp

    Fender Vibroverb (1964) + Marshall 4x12 + Dumble Steel String Singer

03Field note

The secret sauce

The 13-gauge strings are doing more than the pedals. That string tension is why SRV's tone doesn't collapse under heavy attack — the harder you hit, the more harmonic content you get.