Riff Tone

Hells Bells

AC/DC

Guitarrock1980s

Original Gear

Guitar1970 Gibson SG Standard

AmpLate-’70s Marshall 2203 JMP 100-watt head

PickupsGibson T-Top humbucking pickups

Amp Settings

gain0

bass5.5

mid7

treble6

reverb0

presence4.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1980, Back in Black sessions. Angus Young's main studio rig for Hells Bells riff. No pedals or effects except Schaffer-Vega Diversity System (wireless/boost), which is not an effect pedal. No reverb or delay used. Cleanest possible Marshall tone for AC/DC, as heard in the intro/verse riff.

Tone Character(10)

bright and articulateclean and chimeydry and unprocessedtight and percussivemidrange-focusedclear note separationminimal compressionno reverb or delaybridge pickup bitedynamic response to picking

Difficulty

The riff is rhythmically straightforward but requires clean, articulate picking and careful muting to maintain clarity and avoid string noise, especially at higher volumes.

Sources

Amp Settings for Hells Bells by AC/DC (guitars and tone) - Guitar Chalk Angus Young's guitar tone on AC/DC's Hells Bells | Guitar World The Gear Used By Angus Young and Malcolm Young on AC/DC’s Back In Black | Guitar.com

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