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Riff Tone

Guns for Hire

AC/DC

Guitarrock1980s

Original Gear

GuitarGibson SG Standard (early 1970s, likely 1970-1973, as used by Angus Young on 'Flick of the Switch')
AmpMarshall Super Lead 1959 (100W, non-master volume, EL34 tubes, used in studio for 'Flick of the Switch')

Amp Settings

gain5.5
bass5.5

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Effects & Signal Chain

Notes

Studio recording, 1983. Angus Young plugged straight into the amp, no pedals for rhythm/riff. Pickup selector set to bridge for main riff. No reverb or delay; dry, punchy tone. Multiple Marshall heads were used in the studio, but the Super Lead 1959 is most consistently cited for this era. Settings estimated from era-accurate sources and typical AC/DC practices.

Tone Character(10)
crunchy and mid-forwarddry and punchybright and articulate bridge pickup soundtight and percussive attackminimal sustain, quick decayraw and unprocessedmoderate bass for mix clarityprominent mids for British rock cutslightly rolled-off treble to avoid harshnessamp-driven overdrive, not pedal-based

Difficulty

The riff requires precise, fast alternate picking and tight palm muting to maintain clarity at tempo, but does not involve advanced chord shapes or complex techniques.

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