Riff Tone

Blues Boys Tune

B.B. King

Guitarblues1990s

Original Gear

GuitarGibson ES-355 'Lucille'

AmpLab Series L5

PickupsGibson 490R/490T Humbuckers (Varitone circuit, no f-holes)

Amp Settings

gain0

bass6.5

mid6.5

treble6

reverb3

presence5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, late 1980s (original release 1998, but B.B. King used the same setup for studio blues in this era). No evidence of pedals or additional effects used for the riff section. Lucille model with Varitone, but typically set to bypass or position 1 for classic B.B. King tone.

Tone Character(10)

warm and smoothrounded highsfat, singing sustaintouch-sensitiveclear and articulatedynamic responsemellow attackminimal breakupclassic blues phrasingno audible overdrive or fuzz

Difficulty

The riff requires intermediate control of blues phrasing, vibrato, and dynamic touch, but does not involve fast runs or complex chord changes.

Sources

B.B. King's Guitars, Amps, Pedals & Other Gear | Equipboard 4 Ways to Get a Killer Blues Tone - InSync - Sweetwater What humbuckers for early BB King tones? | The Gear Page

This tone has been researched 3 times by the community

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