Riff Tone

Walk This Way

Aerosmith

Guitarrock1970s

Original Gear

Guitar1960 Gibson Les Paul Junior (double cutaway)

AmpAmpeg V-2 head into Marshall 4x12 cabinet

PickupsP-90 single coil

Amp Settings

gain5.5

bass4.5

mid7.5

treble6.5

reverb1

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1975, Toys in the Attic sessions at Record Plant. The Les Paul Junior was used for the main riff and first solo; Stratocaster was used for later solos only. No evidence of pedal-based gain or time-based effects on the riff. MXR EQ pedal mentioned as a modern way to replicate the Ampeg's mid character, but not used on the original recording.

Tone Character(10)

tight and funkymidrange-forwardpercussive attacksnappy highsclear note separationraw and opendynamic and responsiveslight amp breakupminimal compressionno ambient effects

Difficulty

The riff requires tight, funky timing, advanced muting, and precise picking technique, making it challenging for most players despite its apparent simplicity.

Sources

Joe Perry's guitar tone on Aerosmith's Walk This Way: secrets behind the sound | Guitar World Aerosmith's '70s studio gear?

This tone has been researched 5 times by the community

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