Riff Tone

Powderfinger

Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Guitarrock1970s

Original Gear

Guitar1953 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop (aka 'Old Black', heavily modified, with mini-humbucker in bridge)

AmpFender Tweed Deluxe (5E3, vintage, cranked)

PickupsMini-humbucker (bridge), P-90 (neck)

Amp Settings

gain7

bass6

mid7

treble7

reverb2

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1978-1979 (Rust Never Sleeps sessions). All evidence points to Neil Young using his signature 'Old Black' Les Paul and a cranked Fender Tweed Deluxe for the riff section. No evidence of pedals or additional effects in the studio version riff; distortion comes from amp overdrive. No evidence of live rig or alternate guitars/amps for this section.

Tone Character(10)

raw and organicloose and grittyopen and bigheavy and unpredictableamp-driven crunchdynamic and touch-sensitiveslightly compressed from amp overdrivemid-forward with biting treblesustained but not overly saturatedminimal effects coloration

Difficulty

The riff is based on open chords and aggressive strumming, but requires dynamic control and a strong sense of groove to capture the raw, loose feel of the original recording.

Sources

The guitar gear used by Neil Young on the Everyone Knows This Is Nowhere | Guitar.com | All Things Guitar Neil Young News: How To Get Neil Young's Sound? | Discussion on 'Effects, Pedals, Strings & Things'Best Way to Get Neil Young Crazy Horse Tone w/o Going Deaf ...

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