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Let's Dance (2002 Remaster) Guitar Tone Settings — David Bowie
David Bowie · 1980s · rock
studio
Original Recording
Guitar
Fender Stratocaster (early 1960s, likely 1962, owned by Stevie Ray Vaughan)
Pickups
Fender single-coil pickups (original vintage spec, likely stock or period-correct replacements)
Amp
Fender Vibroverb (Blackface, 1964, 2x15), possibly with Dumble Steel String Singer for additional clean headroom
Pickup Position
Position 4 (neck + middle)
Studio recording, 1982 (album released 1983, 2002 remaster). Stevie Ray Vaughan played the riff section. The Roland SDD-320 Dimension D chorus was added in mixing, not live. No evidence of overdrive/distortion pedals used for the riff. Guitar plugged straight into amp, with chorus added post-recording.
Amp Settings
Mids6.5
Bass6
Gain4.5
Reverb3
Treble7.5
Presence6
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Tone Character
- fat and clean
- sparkling highs
- tight and percussive
- warm low end
- articulate attack
- subtle stereo width (from chorus)
- dynamic and touch-sensitive
- funky rhythmic clarity
- slight compression from amp
- no audible distortion
Notes & Caveats
- No direct numeric amp settings for 'Let's Dance' riff found; settings estimated based on typical SRV Fender Vibroverb clean setup and era.
- Roland Dimension D chorus was added in studio mixing, not as a pedal in the live signal chain.
- No evidence of overdrive/distortion pedals or amp gain for the riff section; all sources describe a clean, fat Strat tone.
- Pickup position inferred from typical SRV rhythm tone and listening to the recording; not explicitly confirmed in sources.
- Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. Nile Rodgers' riff tone on 'Let's Dance' is clean but with a slight breakup and pronounced attack, typical of a Fender amp set for funk/rock; mids and treble are pushed for clarity and snap, bass is supportive but not boomy, and reverb is subtle to maintain punch while adding space.