The blues can be played on any guitar, its in the playing not the equipment. There are blues players who play top quality Gibson’s and Fenders, and there are some that play mail order crap. If you are looking for tone, you will need to find it yourself.
Unless you just want to be a hack player you will need more than Pentatonic/Mixolydian scales.
Well, I like the Telecaster sound. I like playing some leads with the neck pickup, rhthyms with both pickups, but when I want to SCREAM, nothing like the bridge pickup!
Also, the closer to the neck you “pick” the string, the less treble comes thru, giving it a “smoother” sound.
Also, use the Minor Pentatonic scale, and I like an all tube amp. I have a Fender Hot Rod Deville, (also a Roland Jazz Chorus for the record)
But it’s all about the “feel”, gotta “feel it” man… Doya feel me?
P.S. One last thing, the heavier the string, the more tonality you’ll get. I’m pretty sure Stevie Ray used a 13 (small E string). I’m not that tuff though! I use minimum 10’s, Although I did use 13’s for my acoustic guitar, because that is all the dude that owned the pawn shop carried, and it was in walking distance.
oh yes, Jimi and Stevie both tuned down their guitars a “half step”
It comes from your fingers. Best way to achieve this I find is for you listen to all the blues tues you like and out of all of them pick one that you think might be worth trying out. Try it out, picking through the parts bit by bit, bass, rhythm, solo (voice?) then stick at it till the blues seep into your fingers.
It takes a lot of work butat the end you’ll find it’s worth it.
Personally, i’m learning Geoff Achison, and am aiming towards Kelly Joe Phelps. I started out exactly this way, with no other training. I’m not that great but I love fantasising that one day I might be half decent!
I’d recommend books or Cds if I had any experience of them but really I don’t. Maybe getting afew from your local library might make a difference to you.
If you’re talking about an electric guitar, you’ll need (in my humble) a vale amp or some sort of twaddle that makes your amp sound like a valve amp with some really used and distorted speakers.
If it’s not electric then it’s all up to you and your fingers. It’s no good trying to sound like someone else ‘cos then you will be remembered as the dude that sounded like such and such. Work on your own sound, technique and stuff.
it involves a lot of string stretching. or if playing electric blues and blues-rock, alot of distortion while following a simple or complex blues song storyline.
For styles, check out smokin joe kubek; tinsley ellis; walter trout; lil ed and the blues imperials, coco montoya, dave hole (lightning slide);
jimmy thackery; ronnie earl; for starters.
there are dvds and instruction from guitar center and sam ash.
try to go to some blues concerts as the musicians are pretty approachable, and many offer tips and advice, or walk through even
Good answers here. Some more tips:
Don’t go mad on the distortion - electric blues is overdriven at best, and a clean tone can sound pretty bluesy. If you use a subtle overdrive, you can use your picking strength to control the overdrive.
Neck pickups on single coils sound more bluesy than humbuckers to me - but then there’s BB King, who plays humbuckers, and he’s pretty damn blues…
Try using your fingers instead of a pick sometimes.
Use double-stops (two notes at once) in your leads.
Keep the eq flat
And get some tubes!
November 30th, 2008 | 
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since there is no “the blues guitar” your question makes no sense.
Blues is in the playing, not so much in the settings.
Use plenty of Mids in the EQ section of your amp and a little bit of OverDrive. You can add in a little Reverb if you like.
Tell yer guitar its over as you’ve taken up with a kazoo.
The blues can be played on any guitar, its in the playing not the equipment. There are blues players who play top quality Gibson’s and Fenders, and there are some that play mail order crap. If you are looking for tone, you will need to find it yourself.
Unless you just want to be a hack player you will need more than Pentatonic/Mixolydian scales.
No there are no blues settings for your guitar. Blues was originally played on acoustics. Heck, Muddy Waters invented ‘lectricity.
Well, I like the Telecaster sound. I like playing some leads with the neck pickup, rhthyms with both pickups, but when I want to SCREAM, nothing like the bridge pickup!
Also, the closer to the neck you “pick” the string, the less treble comes thru, giving it a “smoother” sound.
Also, use the Minor Pentatonic scale, and I like an all tube amp. I have a Fender Hot Rod Deville, (also a Roland Jazz Chorus for the record)
But it’s all about the “feel”, gotta “feel it” man… Doya feel me?
P.S. One last thing, the heavier the string, the more tonality you’ll get. I’m pretty sure Stevie Ray used a 13 (small E string). I’m not that tuff though! I use minimum 10’s, Although I did use 13’s for my acoustic guitar, because that is all the dude that owned the pawn shop carried, and it was in walking distance.
oh yes, Jimi and Stevie both tuned down their guitars a “half step”
Short answer’s no.
It comes from your fingers. Best way to achieve this I find is for you listen to all the blues tues you like and out of all of them pick one that you think might be worth trying out. Try it out, picking through the parts bit by bit, bass, rhythm, solo (voice?) then stick at it till the blues seep into your fingers.
It takes a lot of work butat the end you’ll find it’s worth it.
Personally, i’m learning Geoff Achison, and am aiming towards Kelly Joe Phelps. I started out exactly this way, with no other training. I’m not that great but I love fantasising that one day I might be half decent!
I’d recommend books or Cds if I had any experience of them but really I don’t. Maybe getting afew from your local library might make a difference to you.
Ok, don’t listen to what anybody has said so far. Alls you need is this scale and…:
e———————————-5–8-|
B—————————-5–8——-|
G———————-5–7————-|
D—————-5–7——————-|
A——-5–6–7————————-|
E-5–8———————————-|
play this scale in any positions, sounds really good with the E chord in the first position and the 12th:
e———————————-0–3-|
B—————————-0–3——-|
G———————-0–2————-|
D—————-0–2——————-|
A——-0–1–2————————-|
E-0–3———————————-|
e—————————————–12–15—|
B———————————12–15———–|
G————————–12–14——————|
D——————-12–14————————-|
A——–12–13–14——————————–|
E-12–15——————————————-|
After that, learn some guitar licks from Hubert Sumlin, Albert King, and early John Lee Hooker and you’ll be good… Something like that…
If you’re talking about an electric guitar, you’ll need (in my humble) a vale amp or some sort of twaddle that makes your amp sound like a valve amp with some really used and distorted speakers.
If it’s not electric then it’s all up to you and your fingers. It’s no good trying to sound like someone else ‘cos then you will be remembered as the dude that sounded like such and such. Work on your own sound, technique and stuff.
it involves a lot of string stretching. or if playing electric blues and blues-rock, alot of distortion while following a simple or complex blues song storyline.
For styles, check out smokin joe kubek; tinsley ellis; walter trout; lil ed and the blues imperials, coco montoya, dave hole (lightning slide);
jimmy thackery; ronnie earl; for starters.
there are dvds and instruction from guitar center and sam ash.
try to go to some blues concerts as the musicians are pretty approachable, and many offer tips and advice, or walk through even
Get the thickest gage strings your fingers can bear and work on those calluses.
Good answers here. Some more tips:
Don’t go mad on the distortion - electric blues is overdriven at best, and a clean tone can sound pretty bluesy. If you use a subtle overdrive, you can use your picking strength to control the overdrive.
Neck pickups on single coils sound more bluesy than humbuckers to me - but then there’s BB King, who plays humbuckers, and he’s pretty damn blues…
Try using your fingers instead of a pick sometimes.
Use double-stops (two notes at once) in your leads.
Keep the eq flat
And get some tubes!