Riff Tone
Black Hearted Woman
The Allman Brothers Band
Guitarrock1960s
Original Gear
Guitar1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard Cherry Sunburst
AmpMarshall 1987 50-watt Plexi head into Marshall 4x12 cabinet (Celestion or JBL D120 speakers, exact speaker model debated)
PickupsPAF humbuckers (likely 1957 Goldtop PAFs swapped in)
Amp Settings
gain6
bass7
mid7
treble7
reverb2
presence5.5
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording, 1969 debut album. Gear confirmed for this era and album by multiple sources. No evidence of pedals or effects other than amp overdrive and possibly light spring reverb from the studio or amp. No evidence of live rig or alternate guitars for the riff section.
Tone Character(10)
biting, crunchy rhythm toneclassic British overdrivefat, mid-forward soundtight, percussive attackwarm, singing sustaindynamic, touch-sensitive responseaggressive, blues-rock edgearticulate note separationpunchy low endslightly compressed, harmonically rich
Difficulty
The riff is moderately challenging due to its fast tempo, aggressive attack, and need for precise timing and muting, but does not require advanced lead techniques or complex chord voicings.
Sources
Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear
Create Free AccountGuitarrock1960s
Original Gear
Guitar1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard Cherry Sunburst
AmpMarshall 1987 50-watt Plexi head into Marshall 4x12 cabinet (Celestion or JBL D120 speakers, exact speaker model debated)
PickupsPAF humbuckers (likely 1957 Goldtop PAFs swapped in)
Amp Settings
gain6
bass7
mid7
treble7
reverb2
presence5.5
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording, 1969 debut album. Gear confirmed for this era and album by multiple sources. No evidence of pedals or effects other than amp overdrive and possibly light spring reverb from the studio or amp. No evidence of live rig or alternate guitars for the riff section.
Tone Character(10)
biting, crunchy rhythm toneclassic British overdrivefat, mid-forward soundtight, percussive attackwarm, singing sustaindynamic, touch-sensitive responseaggressive, blues-rock edgearticulate note separationpunchy low endslightly compressed, harmonically rich
Difficulty
The riff is moderately challenging due to its fast tempo, aggressive attack, and need for precise timing and muting, but does not require advanced lead techniques or complex chord voicings.
More The Allman Brothers Band tones
- Blue Sky · riff
- Jessica · riff
- You Don't Love Me (Live at the Fillmore East, 1971) · riff
- Blue Sky · solo
- Don't Want You No More · solo
- Dreams · riff
- Dreams · clean
- Dreams · solo
- In Memory of Elizabeth Reed · riff
- In Memory of Elizabeth Reed (Live at the Fillmore East, 1971) · riff