Riff Tone

What Makes You Beautiful

One Direction

Guitarrock2010s+

Original Gear

GuitarFender Telecaster (exact model unknown, likely American Standard or similar studio Telecaster)

AmpFender Hot Rod Deluxe (likely, based on typical pop studio practice and Telecaster pairing in 2010s pop/rock)

PickupsSingle-coil (Fender Telecaster stock single-coils)

Amp Settings

gain3.5

bass5.5

mid6

treble7

reverb3

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 2011. No direct evidence for exact guitar/amp model in sources; inferred from genre, era, and typical session gear for UK pop productions. No evidence of alternate guitars or amps for riff section.

Tone Character(10)

bright and articulatetight and percussiveclear and upfrontpop claritysingle-coil snapstudio-polishedno audible overdrivedistinct, recognizable riffcrisp attackminimal sustain

Difficulty

The riff is straightforward but requires tight timing and clean picking for the signature pop sound; no advanced techniques or complex chord shapes.

Sources

CMV: One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful" is a brilliant song.

This tone has been researched 2 times by the community

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