Riff Tone

Come and Get It

AC/DC

Guitarrock2000s

Original Gear

GuitarGibson SG Standard (circa 1968, likely Angus Young's main guitar for this era)

AmpMarshall Super Lead 1959 100-watt head (vintage, late 60s/early 70s, likely JMP or Plexi variant)

PickupsGibson humbuckers (original late-60s spec, likely patent sticker or T-Top)

Amp Settings

gain5.5

bass6

mid7

treble7

reverb0

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 2008 (Black Ice album). Angus Young used his main late-60s Gibson SG and vintage Marshall Super Lead head. No evidence of pedals or external effects in the riff section; classic AC/DC approach is guitar straight into amp. No evidence of Schaffer-Vega or SoloDallas unit on this track. Settings estimated based on era, genre, and typical AC/DC studio approach.

Tone Character(10)

tight, percussive rhythm attackclassic British crunchopen, dynamic responsebright and articulate highspunchy midrange presenceminimal compressionno audible pedal colorationclear note separationslight edge-of-breakup characterraw, unprocessed amp tone

Difficulty

The riff requires solid timing, tight muting, and dynamic pick attack but does not involve advanced techniques or fast tempos, making it accessible to intermediate players.

Sources

From the Archive: AC/DC's Angus Young and Brian Johnson Discuss the 'Stiff Upper Lip' Album | Guitar World Iconic Guitar Tones: AC/DC's 'Back in Black' - InSync Angus's guitar tone : r/ACDC - Reddit AC/DC Tone : r/HeadRush

Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear

Create Free Account