Riff Tone

Blinding Lights

The Weeknd

Guitarother2010s+

Original Gear

GuitarUnknown electric guitar (likely session musician, model not confirmed)

AmpUnknown (likely clean solid-state or digital amp, model not confirmed)

PickupsUnknown (likely single-coil or humbucker, model not confirmed)

Amp Settings

gain0

bass5

mid5.5

treble7.5

reverb3

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

chorusUnknown Chorus pedal (model unknown)

Notes

No official or credible source confirms the exact guitar or amp used for the studio riff section. The main riff is widely believed to be a synth part, but some covers and tutorials use electric guitar with clean, chorus-heavy tones. No evidence of a specific guitar or amp model used on the original studio recording. Year: 2019 (recorded for After Hours album).

Tone Character(10)

bright and shimmerychorus-heavyclean and articulate80s-inspiredtight and percussiveprocessed and polishedsustained notesdigital sheenno audible distortionstudio-produced clarity

Difficulty

The riff is rhythmically straightforward but requires tight timing and clean playing to match the polished, chorus-heavy 80s sound.

Sources

How The Weeknd created an authentic '80s sound in Blinding Lights | MusicRadar The Weeknd Guitar Tutorial - Blinding Lights - YouTube "Blinding Lights" ~ The Weeknd | Fractal FM3 / FM9 / Axe-FX III Preset

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