Riff Tone

Key to the Highway

Derek & The Dominos

Guitarblues1970s

Original Gear

GuitarFender Stratocaster 'Brownie' (1956)

AmpFender Champ (tweed, late 1950s) into Orange/Matamp 2x12 cabinet

PickupsFender single-coil pickups

Amp Settings

gain4

bass6.5

mid6.5

treble6.5

reverb3

presence5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1970, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs sessions. Clapton used his 'Brownie' Stratocaster into a small Fender Champ amp, likely miked and run into an Orange/Matamp 2x12 cabinet for more body. No evidence of pedals or additional effects in the riff section.

Tone Character(10)

warm and smoothtouch-sensitive breakupclear and articulateslightly compressedorganic and unprocesseddynamic responsemild amp breakuprounded Strat neck/middle toneclassic blues shuffle feelopen, airy highs

Difficulty

The riff requires solid shuffle rhythm, dynamic picking to control amp breakup, and some blues chord voicings, but is accessible to intermediate players.

Sources

Eric Clapton's Guitar Rig, Gear & Pedalboard | Equipboard Learn the playing styles of every Eric Clapton era with this epic lesson

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