Riff Tone
Children Of The Night (2017 Remaster)
Whitesnake
Guitarrock1980s
Original Gear
GuitarGibson Les Paul Custom (1984, John Sykes' main studio guitar)
AmpMarshall JCM800 2203 100W head (studio recording, 1986-1987 era)
PickupsOriginal Gibson humbuckers (likely T-Top or Tim Shaw PAF-style, high output, passive)
Amp Settings
gain8
bass6
mid7
treble7
reverb2
presence6.5
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording for 1987 album, 2017 remaster. John Sykes played all rhythm guitars. No evidence of live gear or alternate guitars for riff section. No evidence of additional preamp pedals or rack gear for rhythm tone.
Tone Character(10)
tight, saturated British crunchaggressive palm-muted chugsrazor-sharp attackclear note separation under high gainsustained power chordsthick, harmonically rich distortionpercussive low endslightly scooped but present midsarticulate pick attackminimal ambience, dry rhythm tone
Difficulty
The riff requires fast, accurate picking and palm muting at a high tempo, with tight rhythm and clean chord transitions, making it moderately challenging for intermediate players.
Sources
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Create Free AccountGuitarrock1980s
Original Gear
GuitarGibson Les Paul Custom (1984, John Sykes' main studio guitar)
AmpMarshall JCM800 2203 100W head (studio recording, 1986-1987 era)
PickupsOriginal Gibson humbuckers (likely T-Top or Tim Shaw PAF-style, high output, passive)
Amp Settings
gain8
bass6
mid7
treble7
reverb2
presence6.5
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording for 1987 album, 2017 remaster. John Sykes played all rhythm guitars. No evidence of live gear or alternate guitars for riff section. No evidence of additional preamp pedals or rack gear for rhythm tone.
Tone Character(10)
tight, saturated British crunchaggressive palm-muted chugsrazor-sharp attackclear note separation under high gainsustained power chordsthick, harmonically rich distortionpercussive low endslightly scooped but present midsarticulate pick attackminimal ambience, dry rhythm tone
Difficulty
The riff requires fast, accurate picking and palm muting at a high tempo, with tight rhythm and clean chord transitions, making it moderately challenging for intermediate players.
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