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Riff Tone

Hammer to Fall (Single Version)

Queen

Guitarrock1980s

Original Gear

GuitarBrian May Red Special (original, handmade by Brian May and his father)
AmpVox AC30 (multiple, cranked, studio recording)

Amp Settings

gain7.5
bass6

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Effects & Signal Chain

Notes

Studio recording, 1984, 'Hammer to Fall (Single Version)' riff section. Brian May's classic setup: Red Special into treble booster into multiple Vox AC30s. No evidence of additional pedals for the riff. Pickup selection and amp settings are critical for tone. No evidence of live/touring substitutions for this studio version.

Tone Character(10)
British crunchrich harmonic overtonestight, punchy attackarticulate chord voicingsslightly compressed, singing sustainmid-forward presencebright but not harsh top enddynamic response to pickingclear note separation in chordsclassic Queen rhythm guitar texture

Difficulty

The riff requires tight, fast downstroke rhythm, precise chord voicings, and dynamic picking for the classic Queen attack, but does not involve advanced lead techniques.

This tone has been researched 2 times by the community

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