Riff Tone

Don't Tell Me You Love Me

Night Ranger

Guitarrock1980s

Original Gear

Guitar1979 Fender Stratocaster (red, with Floyd Rose mod)

AmpMesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ head into Marshall 4x12 cabinet

PickupsDiMarzio Super Distortion (bridge humbucker), stock Fender single coils (middle/neck)

Amp Settings

gain7

bass6

mid6

treble7.5

reverb2

presence6.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1982. Brad Gillis used his heavily modified red 1979 Stratocaster with a DiMarzio Super Distortion in the bridge and a Floyd Rose tremolo. Amp was a Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ into a Marshall 4x12. No evidence of pedals or effects used for the main riff section; Gillis is quoted as using a 'raw, direct sound' for rhythm parts. Settings estimated based on typical Mark IIC+ rock tones of the era.

Tone Character(10)

aggressive and bitingtight and percussivesaturated but cleararticulate pick attackhigh-output humbucker punchminimal ambiencecrisp upper midssolid low-end foundation80s American hard rock crunchraw, unprocessed rhythm

Difficulty

The riff requires fast, accurate picking and tight palm muting at a brisk tempo, with syncopated rhythms and string skipping that demand intermediate to advanced right-hand technique.

Sources

Night Ranger's Jack Blades and Brad Gillis Talk New Album, 'Don't ...Brad Gillis on his first gig with Ozzy Osbourne | Guitar World

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