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Thickfreakness Riff Guitar Tone Settings — The Black Keys
The Black Keys · 2000s · rock
studio
Original Recording
Guitar
1960s Harmony H78
Pickups
DeArmond Gold Foil single coils
Amp
Fender Silverface Twin Reverb
Pickup Position
Neck pickup
Studio recording, 2002. Dan Auerbach used a vintage Harmony H78 with DeArmond pickups into a Fender Twin Reverb for the 'Thickfreakness' album. No evidence of live/touring substitutions for the studio riff section. No evidence of amp distortion pedals; fuzz pedal is primary gain source.
Amp Settings
Mids6.5
Bass6.5
Gain6
Reverb1
Treble6.5
Presence5.5
Effects Chain
- Electro-Harmonix Big Muff (Russian or NYC variant) · fuzz
Harmony H78 → Big Muff → Fender Twin Reverb (spring reverb low)
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Tone Character
- thick and saturated
- wooly, compressed fuzz
- lo-fi, raw garage rock
- mid-heavy punch
- slightly scooped but not thin
- sustained and singing
- aggressive, biting top end
- vintage fuzz saturation
- percussive and dynamic
- broken-up, not smooth overdrive
Notes & Caveats
- No official amp knob settings found; values estimated based on typical Fender Twin Reverb settings for garage/blues rock fuzz tones and era.
- Guitar and amp confirmed by multiple forum sources and interviews for the 'Thickfreakness' album, but not always for this exact song section.
- Fuzz pedal model not 100% confirmed for the studio recording, but EHX Big Muff (Russian or NYC) is consensus for this era and tone.
- No evidence of time-based or modulation effects (delay, chorus, etc.) in the riff section; only fuzz is clearly audible.
- Pickup choice inferred from tone and typical Auerbach usage on this album; some live videos show bridge pickup, but studio tone is thicker/neckier.
- Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. Dan Auerbach's 'Thickfreakness' riff tone is thick, saturated, and mid-forward with a fuzzy, almost blown-out character, achieved via high gain (often with a fuzz pedal into a cranked tube amp), boosted bass and mids, restrained treble, and a very dry, in-your-face production typical of early 2000s garage blues rock.