Riff Tone
Dirty Work
Steely Dan
Guitarrock1970s
Original Gear
Guitar1963 Fender Stratocaster (retrofitted with 1960s Gibson PAF humbucker in neck position)
AmpAmpeg SVT bass amp
Pickups1960s Gibson PAF humbucker (neck position)
Amp Settings
gain0
bass6
mid6
treble6.5
reverb2.5
presence5
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording, 1972. Guitarist: Elliott Randall. No pedals used; guitar plugged straight into Ampeg SVT with volume all the way up. Only one mic (AKG C414) used. Settings estimated based on amp type and era, as no numeric values are published for this session.
Tone Character(10)
warm and smoothrounded attackclear and bell-like cleansslightly compressedfull-bodied low endarticulate note separationno audible breakupminimal amp colorationstudio direct soundno pedal coloration
Difficulty
The riff requires clean, syncopated chord stabs and precise muting, but is otherwise straightforward and accessible to most players with basic rhythm skills.
Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear
Create Free AccountGuitarrock1970s
Original Gear
Guitar1963 Fender Stratocaster (retrofitted with 1960s Gibson PAF humbucker in neck position)
AmpAmpeg SVT bass amp
Pickups1960s Gibson PAF humbucker (neck position)
Amp Settings
gain0
bass6
mid6
treble6.5
reverb2.5
presence5
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording, 1972. Guitarist: Elliott Randall. No pedals used; guitar plugged straight into Ampeg SVT with volume all the way up. Only one mic (AKG C414) used. Settings estimated based on amp type and era, as no numeric values are published for this session.
Tone Character(10)
warm and smoothrounded attackclear and bell-like cleansslightly compressedfull-bodied low endarticulate note separationno audible breakupminimal amp colorationstudio direct soundno pedal coloration
Difficulty
The riff requires clean, syncopated chord stabs and precise muting, but is otherwise straightforward and accessible to most players with basic rhythm skills.
More Steely Dan tones
- Reelin' In The Years · solo
- Reelin' In The Years · riff
- Kid Charlemagne (2025 Remaster) · solo
- Bad Sneakers · riff
- Deacon Blues · riff
- Do It Again · riff
- Do It Again · solo
- Don't Take Me Alive · solo
- Don't Take Me Alive · solo
- Don't Take Me Alive (2025 Remaster) · solo