Riff Tone

King of Hearts

Kiss

Guitarrock1980s

Original Gear

GuitarGibson Les Paul Standard (likely 1970s-1980s, as used by Paul Stanley and Bruce Kulick in this era)

AmpMarshall JCM800 2203 (100-watt head, typical Kiss studio amp for this era)

PickupsDiMarzio Super Distortion (bridge humbucker, as commonly used by Kiss in the late 1980s)

Amp Settings

gain7

bass6

mid6

treble7

reverb2

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1989 (Hot in the Shade album sessions). No direct evidence for pedals or alternate guitars for the riff section; inference based on era, genre, and Kiss's known studio practices.

Tone Character(10)

tight, saturated rhythm crunchaggressive bridge pickup bitepunchy, articulate attackfocused midrange presenceclassic 80s Marshall roarslightly compressed, controlled sustainminimal ambienceno obvious modulation or time-based effectspercussive palm-muted chugsthick, harmonically rich distortion

Difficulty

The riff requires solid palm muting and tight rhythm playing, but does not involve advanced techniques or complex chord voicings.

Sources

KISS's Tommy Thayer: my top 6 tips for guitarists - MusicRadar

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