GuitarDistortedRiff80% confidence
Stranglehold Riff Guitar Tone Settings — Ted Nugent
Ted Nugent · 1970s · rock
studio
Original Recording
Guitar
1964 Gibson Byrdland (blonde, all-stock)
Pickups
Gibson mini-humbuckers (stock on Byrdland)
Amp
Fender Twin Reverb (x4) into four Fender Dual Showman 2x15 cabinets
Pickup Position
Neck pickup
Studio recording, 1975. Rhythm guitar for riff section. Confirmed by Ted Nugent in Guitar World interview. No evidence of pedals or effects other than amp reverb. No evidence of live rig or alternate guitars for this section.
Amp Settings
Mids7
Bass6.5
Gain6.5
Reverb2.5
Treble7
Presence6
Tone Matcher
Match This Tone to Your Gear
Tell us your guitar and amp — we’ll calculate the exact settings translated to your specific rig.
Adapt to MY Gear →7-day free trial · Cancel anytime.
Tone Character
- singing sustain
- rich harmonic feedback
- open, airy crunch
- woody semi-hollow resonance
- touch-sensitive dynamics
- classic rock bite
- warm, round low end
- clear note separation
- natural amp overdrive
- not overly compressed
Notes & Caveats
- No specific numeric amp knob settings found in sources; settings estimated based on typical Fender Twin Reverb usage in classic rock and era.
- No evidence of any pedals or outboard effects used on the riff section; all overdrive and reverb are from amp and room.
- Pickup position inferred from typical Nugent usage and tone descriptors; sources do not explicitly state 'neck' but tone matches neck pickup on Byrdland.
- No evidence of effects loop or additional rack gear for this section.
- Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. Nugent's 'Stranglehold' riff tone is classic 70s hard rock: crunchy but not high gain, with a thick, mid-forward sound from his Byrdland into a cranked Fender or Marshall, moderate bass for warmth, strong mids for punch, balanced treble, and a touch of presence and reverb for space.