Song Rig

Please Don't Turn Me Away

Roy Buchanan · Roy Buchanan · 1972

Tone Overview

What Makes This Sound Unique

Heartbreaking clean tone — Buchanan's Telecaster through a clean Fender produces a tone of extraordinary expressiveness. The string bending is impeccably intonated and the pinch harmonics appear like sudden screams from an otherwise controlled performance.

Signal Chain

11953 Fender Telecaster "Nancy" (alder body, single-coil)
2Fender Super Reverb or Twin Reverb (clean)

Amp Settings

Gain / Volume3

Bass5

Mid7

Treble7

Reverb5

Clean to edge-of-breakup — Buchanan squeezed extraordinary dynamics from a nearly clean tone. The Telecaster's bridge pickup does all the tonal heavy lifting.

Technique

How to Play It

Pinch harmonics by touching the string with the right-hand thumb immediately after the pick attack — Buchanan made this "squeal" his sonic signature before it became a rock guitar cliché.

Budget Alternative

Achievable With

Fender Telecaster (bridge pickup, neck tilt) → Fender Blues DeVille or Princeton at half volume. The pinch harmonic technique is the essential element.

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