Riff Tone

Rocket Queen

Guns N' Roses

Guitarrock1980s

Original Gear

GuitarKris Derrig Les Paul Standard replica (1959 Burst copy, used by Slash on Appetite for Destruction)

AmpMarshall 1959T Super Tremolo 'S.I.R. #39' (modded by Tim Caswell, 100W head, used in Appetite for Destruction studio sessions)

PickupsSeymour Duncan Alnico II Pro humbuckers

Amp Settings

gain6.5

bass6

mid7

treble7

reverb2

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1987. The S.I.R. #39 Marshall head was rented for the Appetite sessions and is widely accepted as the amp used for the main riff tones on 'Rocket Queen'. The guitar was a Kris Derrig Les Paul replica with Alnico II Pro pickups. No evidence of live/touring gear or other guitars/amps being used for the riff section. Effects are minimal; most of the tone is guitar and amp.

Tone Character(10)

classic British crunchtight, percussive rhythmwarm, mid-focused drivearticulate pick attacksinging sustain on held notesslightly saturated but not high-gainopen, dynamic responsepunchy low endpresent upper midsnot overly compressed

Difficulty

The riff requires tight, syncopated palm muting and precise articulation to capture the punchy, dynamic feel of the original. While not technically advanced in terms of speed or complex chord shapes, the groove and tone are challenging to replicate authentically.

Sources

Guns N' Roses – Appetite For Destruction - Gear & Equipment Used ...Slash's guitar gear: everything you need to nail the Guns N' Roses ...Slash's Guitar Gear, Pedalboard & Amps | Equipboard A-Z of classic rock guitar | MusicRadar

This tone has been researched 3 times by the community

Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear

Create Free Account