Solo Tone

Risk It All

Bruno Mars

Guitarother2010s+

Original Gear

GuitarAcoustic guitar (exact model unknown, likely nylon-string or steel-string acoustic based on Latin/Mariachi influence)

AmpNone (direct mic'd acoustic, no electric guitar amp used on studio recording)

PickupsNone (acoustic guitar, no pickups used in studio recording)

Amp Settings

gain2

bass3.5

mid3.5

treble3

reverb1.5

presence3

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 2024. The solo section is performed on acoustic guitar, as confirmed by production interviews and the song's Latin/Mariachi arrangement. No evidence of electric guitar or amp use for the solo section.

Tone Character(10)

warm and naturalclear and articulatepercussive strummingorganic acoustic resonancerich midrangebright but not harshdynamic and expressiveunprocessed studio soundLatin/Mariachi flavorno amp coloration

Difficulty

The solo requires clean acoustic technique and expressive dynamics, but does not involve advanced electric guitar techniques or high speed. The Latin/Mariachi style may be unfamiliar to some players, raising the challenge slightly above beginner.

Sources

"I picked up the acoustic guitar and noodled around, and Bruno was freestyling and singing along. That started the whole idea, and we were like, 'OK, this is where we go'": Why Bruno Mars' new single Risk It All could have ended up sounding very different | MusicRadar

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