Riff Tone

Dirty Diana

Michael Jackson

Guitarrock1980s

Original Gear

GuitarJackson Soloist (late 1980s, likely custom, HSS or HH configuration)

AmpLate '60s Marshall Plexi head into 1980s Marshall 4x12 cab with Celestion V30 speakers

PickupsHumbucker (bridge, likely Seymour Duncan or stock Jackson, exact model unknown)

Amp Settings

gain7

bass6

mid6

treble7.5

reverb2

presence6.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1987; Steve Stevens played the riff section using his Jackson Soloist into his rack and a late '60s Marshall Plexi head, through a Marshall 4x12 cab with Celestion V30s. No evidence of live rig or alternate guitars for the studio riff section.

Tone Character(10)

tight and aggressiveBritish crunchstrong midrange presencearticulate pick attackpunchy and percussiveslightly saturated, not high-gainclear note separationcutting upper midscontrolled low endminimal ambience

Difficulty

The riff requires tight, aggressive picking with precise palm muting and dynamic control to achieve the percussive, articulate sound. The tempo and syncopation add to the intermediate-to-advanced challenge.