How to Sound Like Keith Richards — Rolling Stones Tone Guide

Keith Richards built one of the most imitated guitar sounds in rock on a tuning innovation that changed the way the instrument can be played. The open G tuning — with the low E string removed — underpins virtually every classic Rolling Stones riff, from "Brown Sugar" to "Honky Tonk Women" to "Start Me Up."

Understanding his approach requires understanding the tuning first, then the gear, then the playing philosophy — in that order.

The Most Important Thing: Open G Tuning and Five Strings

Standard guitar tuning is EADGBE. Open G tuning — the tuning Richards uses for most of his iconic work — is GDGBD (from low to high). In this tuning, strumming all open strings produces a G major chord.

But Richards takes this further: He removes the low E string entirely, playing a five-string guitar. His lowest note is therefore the open G.

Why Remove the Low E String?

Richards adopted this approach after being shown open G tuning by Ry Cooder in the late 1960s. The low E string removal serves several purposes:

1. The low G string becomes the "bass" string — it is already tuned to G, meaning all chord shapes in open G have a consistent, correct root note available on the lowest string
2. Simplified chord shapes — without a separate bass string to worry about, Richards can form all his characteristic chord shapes across five strings without muting the sixth
3. The specific tone — the open G strings (string 1 at D, string 2 at B, string 3 at G, string 4 at D, string 5 at G) ring together to form a specific register of notes that is the Rolling Stones' sonic fingerprint

How to Tune to Open G (Five String)

1. Remove the low E string from your guitar
2. Tune the remaining strings: 6th position (low string) → G, 5th → D, 4th → G, 3rd → B, 2nd → D

Alternatively, tune all six strings to open G (DGDGBD from low to high) and simply mute or avoid the low string when playing. However, the five-string approach is what Richards actually uses and affects the guitar's balance and resonance.

Chord Shapes in Open G

The power of open G is that simple chord shapes produce the characteristic Rolling Stones sound:

• Barre across strings 1–3 at fret 5: C major chord (fundamental Stones voicing)
• Barre across strings 1–3 at fret 7: D major chord
• Open strings: G major
• Second fret, strings 2 and 3: The specific voicing used in "Brown Sugar" intro

These voicings have a specific mid-register fullness — they do not have the bass-to-treble range of standard tuning chords because the lowest string is a G rather than a low E. This mid-register focus is the Stones' signature.

The Guitars

Fender Telecaster ("Micawber")

Richards' primary guitar for most of his career is a blonde 1953 Fender Telecaster nicknamed "Micawber" (after the Dickens character). It has a maple neck, an ash body, and the classic single-coil Telecaster pickups.

Why a Telecaster? The Telecaster's bridge single-coil pickup has a specific twang and presence that cuts through a mix. In open G tuning, where mid-register chord voicings dominate, the Tele's cutting quality prevents the guitar from sounding too thick or muddy.

Micawber has been modified over the years — a Gibson PAF humbucker has been added to the neck position at various points, the wiring has changed, and various hardware modifications have been made.

1959 Gibson Les Paul Custom "Black Beauty"

Richards used a 1959 Les Paul Custom extensively in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Black Beauty (three humbuckers, ebony fretboard) provides a warmer, more sustaining character than the Telecaster — more suited to the bluesier, more produced recordings.

Sympathy for the Devil and Gimme Shelter use the Les Paul in various configurations.

Various Gibsons and Fenders

Richards owns and uses an extensive collection of vintage guitars. The through-line is American vintage instruments — he does not use modern high-gain guitars.

For recreation:

• Budget: Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster (£350) in open G (remove low E, tune accordingly)
• Mid-range: Fender Player Telecaster (£700)
• Authentic: Fender American Vintage II 1952 Telecaster (£2,200)

The Amplifiers: Tweed Fenders

Richards uses vintage Fender tweed amplifiers — primarily a tweed Fender Twin and various Fender combos. The tweed character (warm, slightly compressed, with a characteristic mid-forward quality when pushed) suits the Stones' rhythm-guitar-focused approach.

He is not using a particularly high-gain setup. The Stones' core sound is medium-gain at most — a driven tweed character, not the heavy saturation of hard rock. The riff tone on "Satisfaction" is relatively clean; the crunch on "Brown Sugar" is tweed saturation, not modern distortion.

Settings for tweed Fender-style amp:

• Volume: 6–7 (enough to push into natural saturation, not full power)
• Tone: 6–7 (moderate brightness)
• Bass: 5
• Treble: 6

Modern alternatives:

• Fender Blues Junior IV (£550) — accessible tweed-adjacent character
• Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (£900) — cleaner platform, use an overdrive for saturation
• Vintage Fender Tweed Deluxe or Tweed Twin (£2,000–5,000+)

The Pedals: Minimal

Richards' signature tone uses minimal effects.

Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer (Compressor)

A clear but significant compression element appears in Richards' tone on many recordings. The Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer is a simple one-knob compressor from the early 1970s. It adds sustain and consistency to the mid-register chord playing.

Modern equivalent: MXR Dyna Comp (£80), Xotic SP Compressor (£130).

Fuzz (Satisfaction)

The guitar sound on "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" uses a fuzz pedal — specifically a Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face or an early Gibson Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz-Tone. The story is that Richards intended the fuzz as a guide track placeholder but the producer (Andrew Loog Oldham) decided it was the definitive sound.

Modern equivalents: Dunlop Fuzz Face Mini (£80), EHX Big Muff (£75).

After Satisfaction, fuzz recedes in the Stones' setup. The later, more characteristic Stones sound is tweed saturation without additional fuzz.

The Playing Philosophy: Rhythm First

Richards is primarily a rhythm guitarist. His approach differs fundamentally from the lead-guitar-over-rhythm-section model that dominates rock music.

The Stones' two-guitar system:

Richards and Ron Wood (or earlier, Brian Jones) play interlocking rhythm parts that together form the complete harmonic and rhythmic content of the music. Neither player is "the rhythm" and neither is "the lead" in the traditional sense — they weave together.

Richards has described his approach as "ancient" — connected to African rhythmic guitar traditions rather than the blues-lead tradition. The riff is not accompaniment to something else; the riff is the song.

The "weave": On "Gimme Shelter," "Brown Sugar," and other two-guitar tracks, Richards' and Wood's (or Jones') parts would be incomplete individually. Together they form a single musical entity. This is why Stones songs played by a single guitarist always sound thin — you are only hearing half the arrangement.

Note Choice in Open G

In open G, Richards tends to:

• Use partial chord voicings (two or three strings) rather than full chords
• Leave strings ringing across chord changes (the open G and B strings are in the key and ring naturally)
• Use the open first string (D) as a sustained pedal note above chord changes
• Incorporate hammer-ons and pull-offs from open strings to first-fret notes

These techniques produce the characteristic "rolling" quality of Stones rhythm guitar — there is always movement even within a static riff because open strings drone beneath the moving chord shapes.

Key Songs and Their Techniques

Budget Recreation Setups

Under £450 — Open G Essentials

• Guitar: Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster (£350), remove low E string, tune to open G
• Amp: Any tube combo at medium volume

The most important investment is understanding open G tuning. Spend time with the tuning on a cheap guitar before upgrading.

£450–900 — Proper Setup

• Guitar: Fender Player Telecaster (£700), open G
• Pedal: MXR Dyna Comp (£80) for compression
• Amp: Fender Blues Junior IV (£550) or used Fender Blues Deluxe

£900–2,000 — Near-Authentic

• Guitar: Fender American Professional II Telecaster (£1,500)
• Pedal: Xotic SP Compressor (£130) + Dunlop Fuzz Face Mini (£80, for Satisfaction specifically)
• Amp: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (£900) or tweed-style boutique amp

Frequently Asked Questions

What tuning does Keith Richards use? Open G tuning (GDGBD from low to high) with the low E string removed, giving a five-string guitar. This tuning allows the characteristic Rolling Stones chord voicings and riff patterns.

What guitar does Keith Richards play? His primary guitar is a 1953 Fender Telecaster nicknamed "Micawber." He also uses Gibson guitars extensively, particularly a 1959 Les Paul Custom "Black Beauty" and various other vintage instruments.

Why does Keith Richards use five strings? Removing the low E string means the lowest string (G) is already the root of the open G tuning. This simplifies chord shapes and produces a specific mid-register focus that is the Stones' sonic signature.

What amplifier does Keith Richards use? Vintage Fender tweed amplifiers — primarily a Fender tweed Twin and various Fender combos. The tweed character (warm, slightly compressed, not high-gain) suits the Stones' approach.

How do I play Brown Sugar guitar? Tune to open G (remove low E, tune remaining strings GDGBD), use a Telecaster or any single-coil guitar, and use the open-string chord shapes in the key of G. The intro riff uses the 5th fret barre (C chord) and the open strings (G chord) in alternation.

Is Keith Richards actually a good guitar player? This is a genre question. By technical shred or jazz standards, no. By the standards of serving a song, building a groove, and creating a feel that cannot be separated from the music — he is one of the best who ever played. The Stones' catalogue would not exist as it does without his specific approach.