Riff Tone
American Woman
The Guess Who
Guitarrock1960s
Original Gear
Guitar1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard
AmpGarnet Herzog (used as preamp) into Garnet amp (likely BTO model), rhythm doubled with Fender Concert 4x10 combo
PickupsGibson PAF humbuckers
Amp Settings
gain6.5
bass6
mid7
treble7
reverb1.5
presence6
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording, 1969. Riff section: Les Paul into Garnet Herzog (preamp/overdrive box) into Garnet amp, sometimes doubled with Fender Concert for rhythm. No pedalboard, all distortion from amp and Herzog. No evidence of pedals or additional effects for the riff section.
Tone Character(10)
thick and saturatedviolin-like sustainmuscular and heavyraw, biting edgemidrange punchfat, slow soundclassic 'woman tone'not fizzy or scoopedamp-driven crunchno modulation or time-based effects
Difficulty
The riff is iconic but not technically advanced; it requires precise timing, control of sustain, and dynamic picking to capture the heavy, saturated tone.
Sources
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Create Free AccountGuitarrock1960s
Original Gear
Guitar1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard
AmpGarnet Herzog (used as preamp) into Garnet amp (likely BTO model), rhythm doubled with Fender Concert 4x10 combo
PickupsGibson PAF humbuckers
Amp Settings
gain6.5
bass6
mid7
treble7
reverb1.5
presence6
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording, 1969. Riff section: Les Paul into Garnet Herzog (preamp/overdrive box) into Garnet amp, sometimes doubled with Fender Concert for rhythm. No pedalboard, all distortion from amp and Herzog. No evidence of pedals or additional effects for the riff section.
Tone Character(10)
thick and saturatedviolin-like sustainmuscular and heavyraw, biting edgemidrange punchfat, slow soundclassic 'woman tone'not fizzy or scoopedamp-driven crunchno modulation or time-based effects
Difficulty
The riff is iconic but not technically advanced; it requires precise timing, control of sustain, and dynamic picking to capture the heavy, saturated tone.