Riff Tone

White Rabbit

Jefferson Airplane

Guitarrock1960s

Original Gear

GuitarGibson Thunderbird

AmpStandel Super Imperial

PickupsGibson Thunderbird single-coil pickups

Amp Settings

gain5

bass6

mid7

treble6.5

reverb6.5

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1966 for the album 'Surrealistic Pillow'. Jorma Kaukonen used a Gibson Thunderbird through a Standel Super Imperial amp. No evidence of pedals for the riff section; amp reverb was used for breakup/distortion. Settings estimated based on amp type and era.

Tone Character(10)

slightly overdriven amp breakuppsychedelic, haunting sustainclear, bell-like attackmid-forward, vocal-like qualitywarm, rounded highstouch-sensitive dynamicsdistinct note separationnot heavily compressedno fuzz or heavy distortionreverb-laden ambience

Difficulty

The riff is not technically complex but requires careful dynamic control and phrasing to achieve the iconic psychedelic tone and sustain.

Sources

The Lovin’ Spoonful's Zal Yanovsky: one of the 60s' most overlooked guitarists | Guitar World Sounding like Jefferson Airplane? : r/Guitar - Reddit

This tone has been researched 3 times by the community

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