Riff Tone

Hold You Back

Status Quo

Guitarrock1970s

Original Gear

GuitarFender Telecaster (Rick Parfitt's white 1965 model, maple neck, single coil pickups)

AmpMarshall Super Lead (likely 1959 model, 100W Plexi head, paired with Marshall 4x12 cabinet); possible blend with Vox AC30 (live only, not confirmed for studio)

PickupsFender single coil (vintage Telecaster bridge pickup)

Amp Settings

gain5.5

bass6

mid7

treble6.5

reverb1

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1977. Rick Parfitt played the main riff on his iconic white Telecaster through a Marshall Super Lead. No evidence of pedals or effects used in the studio recording for the riff section. Live, a Vox AC30 was sometimes blended in, but the classic studio sound is Marshall only.

Tone Character(10)

classic British crunchtight, percussive rhythm attackbright and cutting Telecaster bridge tonefull-bodied midrange punchminimal sustain, fast note decayaggressive strummingdynamic pick attackraw, unprocessed amp soundslightly compressed from amp overdriveno audible reverb or delay

Difficulty

The riff requires fast, driving shuffle rhythm with tight, consistent strumming and dynamic pick attack, but uses straightforward chord shapes and no advanced techniques.

Sources

One for the road: Status Quo's Rick Parfitt on first gigs, pratfalls and stage rigs | MusicRadar Status Quo Members, Gear & Sound

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