Riff Tone

Hey Jude

The Beatles

Guitarrock1960s

Original Gear

Guitar1962 Gibson J-160E

AmpDirect Input (EMI REDD.47 mic preamp, overdriven)

PickupsGibson P-90 single-coil (neck position, under top)

Amp Settings

gain5

bass6

mid7

treble6.5

reverb2.5

presence5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1968. The main riff section features John Lennon's Gibson J-160E acoustic-electric plugged directly into the EMI REDD.47 preamp for a unique, slightly overdriven, organ-like tone. No traditional guitar amp was used for the main riff; the overdrive comes from the preamp. Flatwound Pyramid Gold strings (.012-.052) likely used.

Tone Character(10)

organ-like timbrepercussive attackslightly overdrivennasal midrangescratchy treblesmooth and focusedwarm but with edgecompressednot sparkling like Fender ampsunique direct-in sound

Difficulty

The riff section uses simple open chords and strumming, with moderate timing demands to lock in with the band, but no advanced techniques or fast passages.

Sources

The Beatles' guitars & amps: what they played on every album Guide to The Beatles' White Album: the Recording Equipment, the ...

This tone has been researched 2 times by the community

Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear

Create Free Account