Riff Tone

Rockin' In the Free World

Neil Young

Guitarrock1980s

Original Gear

Guitar1953 Gibson Les Paul 'Old Black' (modded with mini-humbucker in neck, Firebird pickup in bridge, Bigsby vibrato, and other modifications)

Amp1959 Fender Tweed Deluxe (5E3 circuit)

PickupsFirebird mini-humbucker (bridge), P-90 (neck, replaced with mini-humbucker)

Amp Settings

gain0

bass5.5

mid7

treble7

reverb2.5

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1989. Neil Young's 'Old Black' Les Paul into his signature tweed Fender Deluxe. Clean sections are achieved by rolling back the guitar volume and picking lightly. No evidence of pedals in the clean sections; amp reverb is used. Settings estimated for clean tone as most sources focus on his cranked/distorted sound.

Tone Character(10)

warm and woodydynamic and touch-sensitiveclear and articulateslightly compressedopen and uncompressedsubtle amp reverb ambiencemidrange-forwardclassic Fender clean with some grit when pushedresponsive to picking dynamicsno audible modulation or delay

Difficulty

The riff is straightforward and relies on open chords and steady rhythm, but requires good dynamic control and clean articulation to match Neil Young's expressive clean tone.

Sources

Neil Young's guitar rig: from Old Black to his Fender Deluxe | Guitar World The NEWER Ultimate Settings Thread!Neil Young Tone : r/guitarpedals

Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear

Create Free Account