Riff Tone

Start Me Up

The Rolling Stones

Guitarrock1980s

Original Gear

Guitar1953 Fender Telecaster 'Micawber' (5-string, open G tuning, bridge humbucker mod)

AmpFender Twin Reverb (blackface, early 1970s model, studio recording)

PickupsSeymour Duncan SH-1 '59 humbucker (bridge), Fender Tele single coil (neck)

Amp Settings

gain4.5

bass5.5

mid7

treble7

reverb2.5

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1981. Keith Richards' main riff guitar was 'Micawber', a 5-string Telecaster in open G tuning with the low E string removed and a humbucker in the bridge. Amp is widely cited as a Fender Twin Reverb. No evidence of pedals or outboard effects for the riff section.

Tone Character(10)

bright and percussivemidrange-forwardtight and punchyslightly gritty edge-of-breakuparticulate chord voicingsdynamic and responsiveminimal sustainquick note decayopen and airyclassic Telecaster twang

Difficulty

The riff requires familiarity with open G tuning and a 5-string Telecaster setup, as well as tight, syncopated strumming and muting for the classic Stones groove. While not technically advanced, the feel and articulation are critical for authenticity.

Sources

Keith Richards’ Micawber: Inside the Rolling Stones Guitar Legend’s Five-String Telecaster | Equipboard Good setup to sound like The Rolling Stones? : r/guitars - Reddit Question about Rolling Stone's Start me up guitar tone - Reddit

This tone has been researched 5 times by the community

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