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Riff Tone

God Save the Queen

Sex Pistols

Guitarpunk1970s

Original Gear

Guitar1974 Gibson Les Paul Custom

Amp1972 Fender Twin Reverb combo (Silverface, Vibrato channel, Input 1, Bright: On, with Fender P.S. 12 (rebranded Gauss 2841) 12-inch speakers)

PickupsUncovered Gibson humbucker (bridge pickup)

Amp Settings

gain8

bass7

mid8.5

treble8

reverb0

presence7.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1977. Guitar: 1974 Gibson Les Paul Custom (bridge pickup, covers removed). Amp: Fender Twin Reverb (Silverface, cranked). No pedals used on this song; all distortion from amp. Settings from 'Anarchy in the UK' confirmed as same rig for 'God Save the Queen' by multiple sources. No effects loop. No modulation or time-based pedals used. No amp reverb.

Tone Character(10)

thick and powerfulmid-heavy crunchtight, punchy attackaggressive and bitingraw, saturated overdrivepercussive rhythmslightly compressedbright but not harshfull-bodied chord soundminimal sustain, fast decay

Difficulty

The riff is built on fast, aggressive power chords with tight downstrokes and palm muting, but uses straightforward chord shapes and rhythm, making it accessible to most players with basic punk technique.

Sources

Steve Jones' guitar tone on the Sex Pistols' Anarchy in the UK Steve Jones | Equipboard Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols - Equipboard Maximum Energy: The Gear of the Original Punks - Premier Guitar The Making of Sex Pistols' "Never Mind the Bollocks" | Bacon's Archive

This tone has been researched 4 times by the community

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Guitarpunk1970s

Original Gear

Guitar1974 Gibson Les Paul Custom

Amp1972 Fender Twin Reverb combo (Silverface, Vibrato channel, Input 1, Bright: On, with Fender P.S. 12 (rebranded Gauss 2841) 12-inch speakers)

PickupsUncovered Gibson humbucker (bridge pickup)

Amp Settings

gain8

bass7

mid8.5

treble8

reverb0

presence7.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Sources

Steve Jones' guitar tone on the Sex Pistols' Anarchy in the UK Steve Jones | Equipboard Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols - Equipboard Maximum Energy: The Gear of the Original Punks - Premier Guitar The Making of Sex Pistols' "Never Mind the Bollocks" | Bacon's Archive

This tone has been researched 4 times by the community

Notes

Studio recording, 1977. Guitar: 1974 Gibson Les Paul Custom (bridge pickup, covers removed). Amp: Fender Twin Reverb (Silverface, cranked). No pedals used on this song; all distortion from amp. Settings from 'Anarchy in the UK' confirmed as same rig for 'God Save the Queen' by multiple sources. No effects loop. No modulation or time-based pedals used. No amp reverb.

Tone Character(10)

thick and powerfulmid-heavy crunchtight, punchy attackaggressive and bitingraw, saturated overdrivepercussive rhythmslightly compressedbright but not harshfull-bodied chord soundminimal sustain, fast decay

Difficulty

The riff is built on fast, aggressive power chords with tight downstrokes and palm muting, but uses straightforward chord shapes and rhythm, making it accessible to most players with basic punk technique.

Create Free Account

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