Riff Tone

Then Came the Last Days of May

Blue Öyster Cult

Guitarrock1970s

Original Gear

GuitarGibson ES-175 (studio's, c. 1960s, likely bridge pickup for riff)

AmpMarshall 100W Super Lead (studio, 1972 recording)

PickupsGibson PAF-style humbucker (T-top or PAF, likely bridge position)

Amp Settings

gain4

bass6

mid7

treble6.5

reverb5

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1972 debut album. Guitar is the studio's ES-175 (per forum consensus and gear discussions), plugged into a Marshall 100W Super Lead. Plate reverb used, likely from studio outboard gear or amp. No evidence of pedals for the riff section; effects are reverb only. Settings estimated based on era, amp, and genre.

Tone Character(10)

warm and smoothclean and articulatespacious with plate reverbtouch-sensitivemellow attackopen and airyslightly compressed highsclear note separationno audible distortionsubtle jazz influence

Difficulty

The riff requires clean playing with subtle dynamics and articulation, but does not involve complex chord shapes or advanced techniques. The main challenge is maintaining clarity and feel at a slow tempo.

Sources

I’m trying to replicate the tone in the song - Then Came the Last Days of May How is Blue Oyster Cult's guitar tone always so good?

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