Riff Tone

There's Only One Way to Rock

Sammy Hagar

Guitarrock1980s

Original Gear

GuitarGibson Explorer (early 1980s, red finish)

AmpMarshall JMP 2203 100-watt head into Marshall 4x12 cabinet

PickupsGibson humbuckers (stock, likely Dirty Fingers or standard Gibson humbuckers of the era)

Amp Settings

gain7

bass6

mid7

treble7

reverb2

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1981-1982. Gear confirmed by period photos, interviews, and live footage from the VOA/Standing Hampton era. No evidence of pedal use for main riff; amp distortion is primary. No evidence of effects loop or rack effects for riff section.

Tone Character(10)

British crunchaggressive and punchytight palm mutingarticulate pick attackfocused low endpresent midsslightly bright top endminimal ambienceclassic hard rock rhythmhigh-output humbucker bite

Difficulty

The riff requires solid palm muting and tight rhythm, but uses straightforward power chords and single-note lines typical of early 80s hard rock.

Sources

Sammy Hagar Eddie Van Halen on Sammy Hagar and his favorite Neil Young solo | Guitar World

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