Riff Tone
Hotel California (Remastered)
Eagles
Guitarrock1970s
Original Gear
GuitarTakamine 12-string acoustic with DeArmond pickup
AmpFender Tweed Deluxe (narrow-panel, late 1950s)
PickupsDeArmond soundhole magnetic pickup
Amp Settings
gain2
bass6
mid6
treble6.5
reverb3.5
presence5.5
Effects & Signal Chain
delayMaestro Echoplex (tape echo)
Notes
Studio recording, 1976. The clean intro/riff is a blend of miked acoustic and the DeArmond pickup output, which was run through an Echoplex and a Leslie speaker for swirling effect. No electric guitar is used for the clean riff section.
Tone Character(10)
pristine and cleanethereal and swirlingrich, full-bodied acoustic shimmerwarm and resonantbright but not harshnatural stereo movementtouch-sensitive dynamicsslight tape echo ambienceno audible distortionsubtle studio reverb
Difficulty
The riff requires accurate 12-string fingerpicking, clean arpeggios, and dynamic control to maintain the pristine, shimmering tone. While not technically advanced, the clarity and timing demand intermediate skill.
Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear
Create Free AccountGuitarrock1970s
Original Gear
GuitarTakamine 12-string acoustic with DeArmond pickup
AmpFender Tweed Deluxe (narrow-panel, late 1950s)
PickupsDeArmond soundhole magnetic pickup
Amp Settings
gain2
bass6
mid6
treble6.5
reverb3.5
presence5.5
Effects & Signal Chain
delayMaestro Echoplex (tape echo)
Notes
Studio recording, 1976. The clean intro/riff is a blend of miked acoustic and the DeArmond pickup output, which was run through an Echoplex and a Leslie speaker for swirling effect. No electric guitar is used for the clean riff section.
Tone Character(10)
pristine and cleanethereal and swirlingrich, full-bodied acoustic shimmerwarm and resonantbright but not harshnatural stereo movementtouch-sensitive dynamicsslight tape echo ambienceno audible distortionsubtle studio reverb
Difficulty
The riff requires accurate 12-string fingerpicking, clean arpeggios, and dynamic control to maintain the pristine, shimmering tone. While not technically advanced, the clarity and timing demand intermediate skill.
More Eagles tones
- Hotel California · solo
- Hotel California · riff
- Hotel California · riff
- One of These Nights · solo
- Hotel California · solo
- Life In the Fast Lane · riff
- Hotel California (Live On MTV, 1994) · solo
- One of These Nights · riff
- Witchy Woman · riff
- Already Gone · riff