Riff Tone
Ohio
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Guitarrock1970s
Original Gear
GuitarGibson Les Paul 'Old Black' (1953, heavily modified)
AmpFender 'Wide Panel Tweed' Deluxe
PickupsP90 single coil (bridge), Firebird mini-humbucker (neck)
Amp Settings
gain6
bass6
mid7
treble6.5
reverb2
presence6
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording, 1970. Neil Young played the main riff on his 'Old Black' Les Paul through a Fender Tweed Deluxe. No evidence of live/touring substitutions for the original recording. No evidence of additional guitars or amps for the riff section.
Tone Character(10)
raw and bitingslightly fuzzy edgeopen, woody midrangepunchy and percussivevintage tube breakupdynamic and touch-sensitiveclear note separationorganic, uncompressedminimal sustainno heavy compression
Difficulty
The riff is rhythmically tight and requires dynamic strumming and muting, but uses straightforward chord shapes and moderate tempo, making it accessible to intermediate players.
Sources
Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear
Create Free AccountGuitarrock1970s
Original Gear
GuitarGibson Les Paul 'Old Black' (1953, heavily modified)
AmpFender 'Wide Panel Tweed' Deluxe
PickupsP90 single coil (bridge), Firebird mini-humbucker (neck)
Amp Settings
gain6
bass6
mid7
treble6.5
reverb2
presence6
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording, 1970. Neil Young played the main riff on his 'Old Black' Les Paul through a Fender Tweed Deluxe. No evidence of live/touring substitutions for the original recording. No evidence of additional guitars or amps for the riff section.
Tone Character(10)
raw and bitingslightly fuzzy edgeopen, woody midrangepunchy and percussivevintage tube breakupdynamic and touch-sensitiveclear note separationorganic, uncompressedminimal sustainno heavy compression
Difficulty
The riff is rhythmically tight and requires dynamic strumming and muting, but uses straightforward chord shapes and moderate tempo, making it accessible to intermediate players.