Can anyone tell me Roy's gear setup? In particular his setup on the self titled album,
"The Messiah Will Come Again" track.

Thanks

I don't think his rig varied that much until the mid 80's. During the earlier period he mostly just ran the controls on his Vibrolux maxed out, added a touch of reverb, and got everything else from the tele and his hands. He kept the volume on his guitar backed off and just dimed it when needed, and was all over the tone control as well. He had several 50's teles, but the fave was a '53. "Messiah" contains several of Roy's trademarks - pre bent notes which were released and combined with volume swells, as well as side of the pick pinched harmonics.

I never saw Roy Buchanon live, but I have read that he used Twin Reverbs.... A Vibrolux would make sense in a smaller venue. After reading your post, I think I'll throw away my pedals and just CRANK the Vibrolux...

I also heard a story that Roy took a knife to one of his Vibrolux speakers to get an overdriven sound MUCH quicker.

Hands down one of the most talented hands to hold a guitar. I feel like he and Jeff Beck can coax the most unique tones from the simplest of setups.

Roy rocked.

He did a lot of kinda cheesy stuff too, but hey, he had some issues...who doesn't?...that he was once a roommate of Danny Gatton..wow, can you imagine the sit-downs in their place?..lawdy mamma...Roy took it so far with just his hands, a speaker daggered Vibrolux and those telecasters..then Gatton took it further...both from the same locales too...just amazing...what do they put in the water down there?...

the two constitute my fave 'latest discoveries' , and it makes me sad to know that they both ended so young, and under-appreciated by the masses...

I have read they were both rather gentle souls...can't say what happened when they got liquored up tho ...but the music lives on, so sweet it is...

everytime I hear Roy, I look at my pedalboard in disgust, then I look at myself...so sad to know I am a musical cripple...
loved his cover of Neil's "Down by the River" and all his "Roy's Blues" and "Pete's Blues" numbers...just him and a basic backing track. sweet.

best version of "Treat Her Right" Ive ever heard too...what a delivery on the vocals, his rhythm form on it is staggeringly simple clean sweet, and a solo that just sings! check it out...

i'm glad some people appreciate roy buchanan's
talent.he was an amazing player, & live he was scary!but,he never was roomates w/ danny gatton.
they admired each others playing,but kept there
distance.ego's & insecurities i guess.& don't cut
your speakers! people like roy & link wray did that in the 50's, trying to get distortion.
live,roy used to turn his black-face vibroluxe
backwards,so he could crank it up on stage.i also
saw him use chorus & delay pedals,plus amp tremolo live.
besides the '52 tele,he had a custom made one w/ a rosewood neck,a black les paul custom, & near the end of his life he had a roy b. signature
bluesmaster by fritz gtrs.of alabama. they were
rosewood-board,semi-hollow, & had 3emg p/u's.i guess you can tell i was a big fan!

I'd heard they were roomates for a few months too. I think it says that in the liner notes to the Danny Gatton "Hot Roddin'" Anthology, but i was drunk when I read it...

He did ALOT of slop, cruddy songs tho. Some of his LP's are pretty, well, downright awful. He was a guy who needed some career guidance I think, and probably should have 'gotten in with the right bunch of fellows' early on...

Was he beaten to death by the police, or did he kill himself? We'll not know in this lifetime...



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I'm pretty sure he used a Twin Rev. when I saw him at Carnegie Hall in the 70s.

On the Old Grey Whistle Test TV programme that I saw him on it looked like a Twin he was using but he had it facing in the opposite direction, I assumed at the time that it may have been to cut down on microphonic feedback from the bridge p/up on the Tele

Brian

Yeah, I think facing the open back combos away from him was a way to cut the ice-pick effect down a bit, he seemed to do all the time, no matter which amp with 2 speakers he used, whether a Vibrolux, Twin, Pro, etc.

"We're all Bozos on this bus!"

i have one of roys old teles.....bought it from his (old) laywer...great axe.