Riff Tone

Mary Jane's Last Dance

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Guitarrock1990s

Original Gear

GuitarAmpeg Dan Armstrong Plexi Electric Guitar

AmpVox AC-30 Super Twin Reverb with Top Boost

PickupsSingle Dan Armstrong humbucker (removable, high-output, clear plastic casing)

Amp Settings

gain4.5

bass6

mid7

treble7

reverb3.5

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1993. Guitar and amp confirmed via Equipboard and live studio footage. No direct evidence of pedals or additional effects for riff section. Mike Campbell played the riff. No evidence of alternate guitars for riff section in studio. Settings estimated based on typical Vox AC-30 Top Boost usage for classic rock in early 1990s studio context.

Tone Character(10)

chimey and openslightly gritty edge-of-breakuparticulate and dynamicjangly with British amp sparklewarm but cleartight, punchy attackresponsive to picking dynamicsnot heavily compressedno excessive gain or fuzzclassic rock rhythm clarity

Difficulty

The riff requires tight chord changes and dynamic picking to achieve the signature chime and edge-of-breakup tone, but does not involve advanced techniques or fast passages.

Sources

Tom Petty's Rickenbacker Guitar, Gear, Amps & Pedalboard | Equipboard Vox AC-30 Super Twin Reverb with Top Boost - What To Know & Where To Buy | Equipboard 13 of the best guitar tones of all time | Guitar World

This tone has been researched 13 times by the community

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