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Getting The AC/DC Angus Young sound...


shugo541

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just go easy on the gain... contrary to what many think, AC/DC has very little distortion... it's a pretty clean tone... just loud... and also playing style i think has as much effect of getting the Angus as tone as equipment does...

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1) Set your guitar to the TREBLE pickup only.

2) Use a HEAVY pick.

3) Use little distortion. Start at the lowest setting on a 'Gain' channel if you have one, and increase the gain until it starts breaking up when you hit a chord. You want the chords to sound through, in a way that you can hear all strings, not just a 'solid' single mushy chord. If you don't distinctly hear every string ring through the chord, you went too high on the gain.

 

Then you need to play with your bass/mid/treble controls until it souds right. Typically its flat on the bass, and a few nothces up on the mid. The treble varies... you want it high enough, but not piercing.

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you can try a Danelectro Drive pedal, the cool cat one. i just got one and it rocks. with the gain set at a 3rd or less, you get a nice ring and crunch... it was exactly what i was looking for to get that AC/DC tone.

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Amp: Use the "lesser" OD section, volume cranked, gain up just beyond breaking up, NO SCOOPING OF YOUR MIDRANGE

 

Guitar: Bridge pickup, backed-off to about "8" on the volume for riffs, full-tilt for leads

 

ETC: Fender Extra Heavy gauge old celluloid tortoiseshell-looking picks, Ernie Ball 10's

 

Technique: pay attention to what's supposed to be big, ringing OPEN chords (nowhere near as many barre/power-chords as a lot of folks mistakenly assume---you can tell the difference in sound when it's played right/wrong, trust me); start with your basic blues/pentatonic box, but listen to some Free/Yardbirds/early-AC/DC to hear where it's changed-up a little; PLAY HARD, but maintain focus and control so it doesn't sound sloppy

 

Best damned recipe for rock-n-roll ever, man!

 

H-Bomb

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Previous poster is right about the GUITAR volume knob. Set it to 10 first, and get enough gain/volume on the amp so that a solo tone is achieved. then, cut back the GUITAR volume to about 5,6,7 or so, whatever gives you a nice crunch, but not so much that the individual strings are not heard on the open cords...

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Incidentally, I manage to get almost perfect Angus tone on the rhythm bits, but the solo does not sound right. There is something about the way his guitar whails on the solos, that is totally unachievable by my SG Std, and I have tried several pups...

 

...if you pay attention, AY's tone on the solos has a bit of a 'whah-whah' feel when he bends the strings... very slight, but enough to make a difference Anyone know why, or how to ahieve this?

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There is something about the way his guitar whails on the solos' date=' that is totally unachievable by my SG Std, and I have tried several pups...

 

...if you pay attention, AY's tone on the solos has a bit of a 'whah-whah' feel when he bends the strings... very slight, but enough to make a difference Anyone know why, or how to ahieve this?

[/quote']

 

Finger vibrato...Angus is gifted with the most wicked finger vibrato on the planet.

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The hell with Angus! Why not get your OWN TONE!

 

I think the answer is because for better or (in most cases) worse' date=' it's all been done and no one, no matter how original he/she thinks they are, is "original" anymore. I think it's more or less picking a couple favorite familiar tones and riding them out. I passed the denial stage of [i']originality[/i] a few years back, and am blissfull with my mix of Angus, Keith Richards and Steve Jones tones. =P~

 

H-Bomb

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That I know... but still' date=' am referring to something else about the tone.... hard to describe.[/quote']

 

A lot of Angus' tone comes from a VERY heavy right hand technique...very percussive. "Don't tickle it..." is one of the brothers' sayings. Play it like you hate it, and it'll scream like it loves ya'.

 

H-Bomb

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Alot of the tone has to do with the Amp's he uses too. Those Marshall Plexi's are very dynamic. I do notice in the late 70's he had JMP 2204's or 2203's though. The Young brothers hit the strings a lot harder than you think you should hit the strings. My favorite AC/DC solo and tone is on the song Soul Stripper. It sounds glassy and both Angus and Malcolm go back and forth on the solo it is just brilliant.

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