No. 0981979·hard-rock·4 blocks
Highway to Hell
The swaggering riff that opens AC/DC's breakthrough. Angus Young plugged a 1968 Gibson SG Standard straight into a cranked Marshall 1959 Super Lead Plexi — no pedals — and producer Mutt Lange shaped it into a tighter, glossier sound than the band's earlier records at Roundhouse Studios, London. Angus's Schaffer-Vega wireless added a subtle preamp boost that tightened the top end. Standard tuning; the swagger is in the right hand.
Signal path · input → output · 7 blocksLive values · Neural DSP Quad Cortex
Guitar
Gibson SG Standard (1968)
Pickups
HH
Tuning
bridge
Strings
standard
Studio Comp
Klon
1959 SLP Treble
4x12 Greenback
Plate
Tilt EQ
Studio Comp
← Studio compression
Threshold
-34dB
Ratio
2:1
Attack
12s
Release
200s
Mix
45
Level
0dB
Klon
← Schaffer-Vega wireless preamp boost
Drive
1.5
Tone
6
Level
7
1959 SLP Treble
← Marshall 1959 Super Lead 100W (Plexi)
Gain
6.5
Bass
4
Mid
5
Treble
7
Presence
6
Master
7
Sag
5
4x12 Greenback
← Marshall 4x12 (Celestion G12-65)
LowCut90Hz
HighCut12000Hz
Level
0dB
Plate
← Studio plate (light, Roundhouse)
Decay
1s
Predelay
20ms
Mix
12
Level
0
Tilt EQ
← Tilt EQ (global brightness)
Tilt
5
CenterFreq
1000Hz
Level
0
Engineer's note
File 098
The swaggering riff that opens AC/DC's breakthrough. Angus Young plugged a 1968 Gibson SG Standard straight into a cranked Marshall 1959 Super Lead Plexi — no pedals — and producer Mutt Lange shaped it into a tighter, glossier sound than the band's earlier records at Roundhouse Studios, London. Angus's Schaffer-Vega wireless added a subtle preamp boost that tightened the top end. Standard tuning; the swagger is in the right hand.
— Angus Young
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