Replicating horns

PhilW1

I’m normally a pentatonic noodler trying to play all the usual classic rock stuff, but I’ve really been taken by the Johnny Taylor track ‘Just the one I been looking for’ from the advert, It can be played really basic rhythm wise in E but there are some lovely little fills all the way through, which I am struggling to decide what position they are played and some really nice horn stabs which I’d like to replicate but am having  no luck,,can any one give me any pointers and help me out of my blues rock rut
thanks

https://youtu.be/tTM90R28JJk

Roland

From a quick listen I’d say this is single coils played as far down the neck as possible. 

You’re never going to get a horn sound with a guitar, but you can get a similar harmonic and rhythmic effect. Horn stabs often consist of two or three notes, and use the 3rd, 5th, and sometimes b7th notes of the scale. I tend to do this with hybrid picking using the 2nd and 3rd, or 3rd and 4th, fingers of my right hand to pluck the notes whilst the rest of my hand continues whatever it’s doing to hold the rhythm down.

merlin

Book some session players. I play sax/clarinet for a living.

Or did before lockdown....  

545454

I've been liking that song too when the advert comes on - in terms of the guitar style, this is a great video for those sort of fills which might give you some ideas:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUK_Hs7HXWA

I've tried doing horn fills when playing soul covers - like Roland said, it would be a struggle to get a horn "sound" through a guitar, but staccato double-stops can give some nice horn-type fills.

viz

If I were to do horns on guitar I’d use single coil pickup, fuzzbox, distortion channel and a vol pedal set to very slight crescendo from heel to toe for swells. That will sound more horny than guitary at least

stickyfiddle

I wouldn't worry about getting too close in tone as long as you're rhythm and note choice is right.

In terms of note choice, I'd be playing around the 12th fret, on the DGB strings, barring all 3 with my first finger, and playing around the chords with just those strings:

This sort of thing:

- - - - - - - - - 
12 - 13 - 12
12 - 12 - 12
12 - 14 - 12
- - - - - - - - - 
- - - - - - - - - 

and

- - - - - - - - - - - - 
12 - 15 - 13 - 12
12 - 16 - 14 - 12
12 - - - - - - - -12
- - - - - - - - - - - - 
- - - - - - - - - - - - 

EricTheWeary

Fairly sure that's Steve Cropper on guitar - it was recorded on Stax ( where Steve was the in house guitarist) and Steve gets a song writing credit on it. So FWIW it'll be an Esquire or Telecaster. Steve used heavy strings, wound third, he rubbed them with chapstick to take the brightness off. An Esquire into a small valve amp would have been inherently bright so using that set up with heavy and dull strings he could still get definition but not be too bright in the mix.  
Lot on line about Steve's style - riffs, double stops, use of sixths, partial chords,etc. He did bend strings but quite small steps by modern standards - when your strings are 12s with a wound third you aren't going to be Gary Moore. 

A lot of the blues guys would have horns in the studio but on the road a guitarist playing horn like stabs - those kind of 11th and 13th chords ( or partial chords) on the top strings. If you listen to Freddie King's instrumentals he incorporates that idea into his own playing.      

maltingsaudio

Another horn section thing which is fun on guitar is the brass bit of Dance the night away by the Mavericks, It’s an arpeggio sought of thing on the 9th fret

PhilW1

Thanks for all the tips ,have been looking to broaden my horizons and this thread has lead me ,via Steve Cropper searches  to Josh Smith on rhythm, showcasing the soul and r&b greats- including Cropper, some really good guitar playing. It’s stuff I’ve never been into but I’m really enjoying the playing...quite a bit above my usual ability but it’s all good fun...
the wife’s giving me funny looks though, last week it was my usual Quo and Sex Pistols type of stuff!