Riff Tone

I Want Your Love

Chic

Guitarother1970s

Original Gear

Guitar1960 Fender Stratocaster with maple 1959 neck and hardtail bridge

Ampc. 1968-77 Fender Deluxe Reverb (Oxford 12K5 12-inch speaker, Normal Channel input 1)

PickupsFender single-coil (original 1960s Strat pickups)

Amp Settings

gain0

bass5

mid6

treble7

reverb2.5

presence5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1978. Guitar used was Nile Rodgers' 'Hitmaker' Stratocaster, neck pickup only. Guitar volume and tone both at 10. Simultaneous direct input to Neve 8068 console and miked Deluxe Reverb amp, with the DI track mixed louder than the amp. Outboard compression and EQ used in studio. No evidence of pedal use on this recording.

Tone Character(10)

super clean and brighttight and percussivearticulate and snappyethereal rhythm guitar sheenmuted-string chuckingminimal low end (bass cut for mix clarity)chimey highssyncopated 16th note feelthree-string chord voicingsdynamic, responsive to picking

Difficulty

The riff requires advanced funk rhythm skills, including precise 16th note strumming, muted-string percussive technique, and tight chord voicings, making it challenging for most players.

Sources

Nile Rodgers' guitar tone on Chic's Le Freak: secrets behind the sound | Guitar World Funk guitar lesson: how to make your playing groove | Guitar World

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