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Riff Tone
Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)
Neil Young
Guitarrock1970s
Original Gear
Guitar1953 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop 'Old Black' (heavily modified, mini-humbucker in neck, Firebird pickup in bridge, Bigsby vibrato)
Amp1959 Fender Tweed Deluxe (5E3, modded with 6L6 tubes)
Amp Settings
gain8
bass6.5
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Notes
Studio recording, Rust Never Sleeps (1978); amp cranked to maximum for signature distortion; Whizzer device used to control amp knobs remotely. All evidence points to this exact setup for the original studio riff section.
Tone Character(10)
explosive, saturated fuzz-like distortionraw, ragged, and uncompressedhuge low-end growlsaggy, compressed attackthick, mid-heavy sustainpiercing, biting highsdynamic response to pickingloose, wild, and unpredictable breakupoctave-down bass undertonesaggressive, in-your-face presence
Difficulty
The riff is rhythmically straightforward but requires control of a loud, unstable amp and octave pedal, plus dynamic picking to shape the tone and avoid unwanted feedback.
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Create Free AccountGuitarrock1970s
Original Gear
Guitar1953 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop 'Old Black' (heavily modified, mini-humbucker in neck, Firebird pickup in bridge, Bigsby vibrato)
Amp1959 Fender Tweed Deluxe (5E3, modded with 6L6 tubes)
Amp Settings
gain8
bass6.5
Create an account to see all tone details
Create Free AccountEffects & Signal Chain
Notes
Studio recording, Rust Never Sleeps (1978); amp cranked to maximum for signature distortion; Whizzer device used to control amp knobs remotely. All evidence points to this exact setup for the original studio riff section.
Tone Character(10)
explosive, saturated fuzz-like distortionraw, ragged, and uncompressedhuge low-end growlsaggy, compressed attackthick, mid-heavy sustainpiercing, biting highsdynamic response to pickingloose, wild, and unpredictable breakupoctave-down bass undertonesaggressive, in-your-face presence
Difficulty
The riff is rhythmically straightforward but requires control of a loud, unstable amp and octave pedal, plus dynamic picking to shape the tone and avoid unwanted feedback.