Solo Tone

Taxman

The Beatles

Guitarrock1960s

Original Gear

Guitar1964 Gibson SG Standard

Amp1966 Vox 7120 (hybrid solid-state/tube head, 4x12 cabinet with Celestion T1225 speakers)

PickupsGibson PAF-style humbuckers

Amp Settings

gain3.5

bass5.5

mid7

treble7.5

reverb1

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1966. Clean rhythm/verse sections played by George Harrison. No evidence of pedals or effects used for clean sections; all sources agree the solo (not clean) was played by Paul McCartney on Epiphone Casino. Settings and effects below are for the clean rhythm/verse parts only.

Tone Character(10)

tight and articulatepercussive attackscratchy treblenasal midrangeclear note separationclean, biting rhythmslightly compressedclassic British clean soundno audible effectsdynamic response to picking

Difficulty

The clean rhythm part requires precise timing and dynamic control for the percussive, staccato feel, but involves straightforward chord shapes and no advanced techniques.

Sources

Song Facts: The Beatles — "Taxman" | Guitar World The Beatles' guitars & amps: what they played on every album

Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear

Create Free Account