Riff Tone

September

Earth, Wind & Fire

Guitarother1970s

Original Gear

Guitar1972 Gibson ES-335 (left-handed, vintage, as used by Al McKay)

AmpRoland JC-120 (modified, as used by Al McKay on studio recordings in late 1970s)

PickupsGibson humbuckers (vintage 1970s spec, likely T-Top)

Amp Settings

gain0

bass5.5

mid7

treble7

reverb2

presence5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1978. Gear confirmed for studio use by Al McKay on 'September' era. No evidence of live/tour substitutions for this song's riff. No pedalboard evidence for this section; effects are likely studio or amp-based.

Tone Character(10)

bright and articulatetight and percussiveshiny, jangly funk chordsclean and compressedeven dynamicsno audible breakupstudio claritysnappy attackminimal sustaincrisp high end

Difficulty

The riff requires precise 16th-note strumming, tight muting, and rapid chord changes typical of disco-funk, making it moderately challenging for intermediate players.

Sources

5 Funk Guitarists You Should Know - Premier Guitar ’70s funk guitar lesson: learn from the glitterball guitar heroes | Guitar World Fine-tune your rhythm chops with this lesson on classic disco funk | Guitar World

This tone has been researched 3 times by the community

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