Riff Tone

Mary Jane's Last Dance

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Guitarrock1990s

Original Gear

GuitarRickenbacker 660/12 (main riff), likely Fender Stratocaster or Telecaster for clean rhythm

AmpFender Vibrolux Reverb (blackface, 1960s, studio recording)

PickupsRickenbacker single-coil 'toaster' pickups (for 660/12), Fender single-coil (if Strat/Tele used)

Amp Settings

gain3

bass6

mid6

treble6.5

reverb3.5

presence5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1993. Mike Campbell is known for using a Rickenbacker 660/12 for the main riff and a Fender Vibrolux Reverb amp in the studio. No evidence of live/touring gear or other amp models for the clean riff section. No pedalboard evidence for clean riff; overdrive is not present in the clean section.

Tone Character(10)

chiming and janglybright and articulateopen and airyslightly compressedclear note separationwarm low endsubtle spring reverbtouch-sensitivedistinctive 12-string shimmerno audible distortion

Difficulty

The riff requires clean, precise picking and good muting technique to maintain clarity on a 12-string guitar, but the chord shapes and tempo are accessible to intermediate players.

Sources

Last Dance with Dorian need help to get Tom Petty's sound - forum topic - Ultimate Guitar 13 of the best guitar tones of all time

This tone has been researched 2 times by the community

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