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Riff Tone
You're No Good
Van Halen
Guitarrock1970s
Original Gear
Guitar1979 Charvel Strat-style (custom black-and-white 'Frankestrat')
AmpMarshall Super Lead 1959 100-watt (Plexi, late 1960s, variac at 90V)
Amp Settings
gain7.5
bass6
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Notes
Studio recording, 1979. Guitar into Marshall Plexi with variac, no confirmed pedals for riff. No evidence of effects loop or outboard effects on riff. All info specific to studio recording of 'You're No Good' riff section.
Tone Character(10)
tight palm-muted chugsaggressive bridge pickup attackwarm, harmonically rich distortionpercussive rhythm tonefocused midrange punchdynamic pick attackclassic Marshall crunchslight room ambiencenot overly saturatedarticulate note separation
Difficulty
The riff requires intermediate-level control of palm muting, precise rhythm, and dynamic picking to achieve the signature Van Halen crunch and articulation.
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Create Free AccountGuitarrock1970s
Original Gear
Guitar1979 Charvel Strat-style (custom black-and-white 'Frankestrat')
AmpMarshall Super Lead 1959 100-watt (Plexi, late 1960s, variac at 90V)
Amp Settings
gain7.5
bass6
Create an account to see all tone details
Create Free AccountEffects & Signal Chain
Notes
Studio recording, 1979. Guitar into Marshall Plexi with variac, no confirmed pedals for riff. No evidence of effects loop or outboard effects on riff. All info specific to studio recording of 'You're No Good' riff section.
Tone Character(10)
tight palm-muted chugsaggressive bridge pickup attackwarm, harmonically rich distortionpercussive rhythm tonefocused midrange punchdynamic pick attackclassic Marshall crunchslight room ambiencenot overly saturatedarticulate note separation
Difficulty
The riff requires intermediate-level control of palm muting, precise rhythm, and dynamic picking to achieve the signature Van Halen crunch and articulation.