Riff Tone

Little T&A

The Rolling Stones

Guitarrock1980s

Original Gear

Guitar1975 Fender Telecaster Custom (Keith Richards' main guitar for 'Tattoo You' era studio recordings, likely in open G tuning with low E string removed)

AmpFender Twin Reverb (likely silverface, cranked for breakup; no pedal evidence for this track)

PickupsWide Range Humbucker (neck), Fender single-coil (bridge); bridge pickup used for riff

Amp Settings

gain5.5

bass6

mid7

treble7

reverb2

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1980/1981 sessions for 'Tattoo You'. Keith Richards played the main riff on his Telecaster Custom, likely through a cranked Fender Twin Reverb with minimal or no pedals. No evidence of effects loop or additional pedals for the riff section.

Tone Character(10)

bright and biting bridge pickup attackcrunchy, dynamic amp overdrivetight, punchy midrangeslightly compressed from amp breakupminimal reverb, mostly dryclear note separation in chordspercussive, rhythmic strummingtouch-sensitive responseclassic Stones 'open G' chimeraw, unprocessed studio sound

Difficulty

The riff requires familiarity with open G tuning, tight rhythmic strumming, and dynamic control to get the Stones' signature crunchy attack, but does not involve advanced techniques or fast passages.

Sources

Good setup to sound like The Rolling Stones? : r/guitars - Reddit Keith Richards' Guitars, Gear & Amps | Equipboard The Keith Richards Guide to Distortion | GuitarPlayer

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