Solo Tone

Back In Black

AC/DC

Guitarrock1980s

Original Gear

Guitar1970 Gibson SG Standard

AmpMarshall Super Lead 1959 100W (Plexi) or Marshall JMP 2203 100W (exact model for solo not definitively documented, but both cited as used on Back in Black album)

PickupsGibson humbuckers (stock, late 60s/early 70s spec)

Amp Settings

gain0

bass5.5

mid6.5

treble7

reverb0

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1980. Angus Young used a Schaffer-Vega Diversity System (SVDS) wireless unit for clean boost and compression. No pedals or additional effects confirmed for the clean solo section. All sources agree the signal path was guitar → SVDS → Marshall amp, no pedals. Settings and gear refer to the studio recording, not live.

Tone Character(10)

bright and clearcrisp attacktight and percussivearticulate single-note linesdynamic response to pick attackfull-bodiedslightly compressed (from SVDS unit)no audible reverb or delaybridge pickup biteclassic British clean rock tone

Difficulty

The solo requires intermediate-level control of dynamics and articulation, with clean phrasing and expressive bends, but does not involve advanced techniques or high speed.

Sources

Tone Settings for Back in Black by AC/DC (guitar and amp) - Guitar Chalk Angus Young's guitar tone on AC/DC's Hells Bells | Guitar World Iconic Guitar Tones: AC/DC’s “Back in Black”The Gear Used By Angus Young and Malcolm Young on AC/DC’s Back In Black | Guitar.com

Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear

Create Free Account