Song Rig
Jumpin' Jack Flash
Keith Richards · Single · 1968
Tone Overview
What Makes This Sound Unique
The "cassette recorder sound" — Richards recorded the guitar through a cheap cassette deck to achieve a compressed, frequency-limited, saturated quality that no amp could produce the same way. Open G tuning with the low E string removed gives the riff its five-string chord voicing.
Signal Chain
- 1Gibson Flying V or Les Paul (open G tuning — low E string removed)
- 2Cassette recorder (mic'd for intentional lo-fi saturation)
- 3Vox AC30 (live performances)
Amp Settings
The studio tone is intentionally lo-fi — tape saturation and frequency limiting from the cassette method create the boxy, aggressive character. For live use, a cranked Vox AC30 or Fender amp in open G is the closest approximation.
Technique
How to Play It
Open G tuning with the low E string removed (remaining strings tuned G-D-G-B-D). Standard barre chord shapes sound completely different in this tuning. Full downstroke rhythm; the power comes from the tuning and attack, not technique complexity.
Budget Alternative
Achievable With
Any guitar retuned to open G (five strings, low E removed) + driven amp or light overdrive. The tuning does 80% of the work — the same shapes in standard tuning sound nothing like this.
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