Stevie Ray Vaughan's musical instruments

Vaughan played a number of Fender Stratocasters throughout his career, one of which, a 1963 body and a 1962 (with a rosewood slab fingerboard) neck, became "the most famous battered Strat in rock history.

He used a limited number of (mainly vintage) effect pedals, and favored Fender[2] and Marshall amplification.

[1] In spite of being rough on his gear, it was reported Vaughan could hear even the slightest malfunction, even when, for instance, he was running 32 amplifiers into the mixing console for the recording of In Step.

[5] His amplifiers were tuned and serviced by Cesar Diaz, also the guitar technician for Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan.

"[2] Vaughan always claimed it was a 1959 model, since that date was written on the back of the pick-ups; Rene Martinez, who maintained the guitar since 1980, saw the year 1963 stamped in the body and 1962 on the neck.

To achieve the sound Vaughan wanted, builder Larry Brooks put 6000 windings on the pickups.

The signature Strat has an alder body with a maple neck and pau ferro fingerboard, and comes equipped with .010-.046 strings (lighter than Vaughan's); it was praised by Guitar Player for its neck and "juicy tone": "the SRV is one of the coolest Strats we've ever played.

"[11] Yellow was a 1959 Stratocaster formerly owned by Vanilla Fudge's lead guitarist, Vince Martell, who sold it to Charley Wirz.

The guitar remained stock until 1986, when a left-handed neck[citation needed] was installed and "SRV" stickers were applied to the pickguard.

The next year, following a concert at the Garden State Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey, a stanchion fell onto Vaughan's rack of guitars, splitting the neck from "Red" that was installed on "Number One.

The EMG pickups and Gibson style amber top hat knobs were changed in June 1984.

Wirz built it in late 1983, and placed a neck plate on it engraved "To Stevie Ray Vaughan, more in '84".

[4] Lenny is a 1963 or 1964 Stratocaster, bought for Vaughan for his birthday by his wife, Lenora, and several friends because he didn't have the money to buy it.

Behind the bridge, on the lower bout of the guitar body is a unique inlay, thought to be originally from an early 1900s mandolin.

The Fender Custom Shop has produced a limited-edition run of Lenny replicas since December 12, 2007, and they are sold by Guitar Center for $17,000.

[18] He played a Guild JF6512 on MTV Unplugged, and on "Life By The Drop" from the posthumous album The Sky Is Crying.

[3] An oddity about Vaughan's usage was that he preferred the amplifier's dials to always have the same numbers ("Volume at 7, treble at 51⁄2, bass at 4"), and "in order to avoid problems, [Díaz] would back off the volume control by unscrewing the knob and turning it back a bit so it would appear to be at the same level as before.

During the rehearsals for In Step in New York City, Díaz brought 32 amplifiers, as well as 200-watt Marshall 4×15" bass cabinets.