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Riff Tone
Boys Don't Cry
The Cure
Guitarrock1980s
Original Gear
GuitarGibson ES-175 (single pickup, black, as seen in official 'Boys Don't Cry' video)
AmpUnknown combo amp (no direct source for studio amp; likely clean British or Fender-style combo typical of late 70s/early 80s post-punk recordings)
Amp Settings
gain0
bass5
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Notes
Studio recording, 1979 (Three Imaginary Boys sessions). Guitar confirmed by video evidence. No direct amp or pedalboard photos from the original studio session. Effects inferred from audio and era-typical gear.
Tone Character(10)
bright and janglyarticulate and percussiveclear single-coil snaptight low endslightly scooped midsmodest natural reverbopen, ringing chordsno audible modulationdynamic, responsive to pickingclassic post-punk clean
Difficulty
The riff is rhythmically fast and requires tight, consistent strumming with clean chord changes, but uses basic open chords and no advanced techniques.
This tone has been researched 2 times by the community
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Create Free AccountGuitarrock1980s
Original Gear
GuitarGibson ES-175 (single pickup, black, as seen in official 'Boys Don't Cry' video)
AmpUnknown combo amp (no direct source for studio amp; likely clean British or Fender-style combo typical of late 70s/early 80s post-punk recordings)
Amp Settings
gain0
bass5
Create an account to see all tone details
Create Free AccountEffects & Signal Chain
This tone has been researched 2 times by the community
Notes
Studio recording, 1979 (Three Imaginary Boys sessions). Guitar confirmed by video evidence. No direct amp or pedalboard photos from the original studio session. Effects inferred from audio and era-typical gear.
Tone Character(10)
bright and janglyarticulate and percussiveclear single-coil snaptight low endslightly scooped midsmodest natural reverbopen, ringing chordsno audible modulationdynamic, responsive to pickingclassic post-punk clean
Difficulty
The riff is rhythmically fast and requires tight, consistent strumming with clean chord changes, but uses basic open chords and no advanced techniques.