Back in Black by AC/DC (Riff · Distorted) — Guitar Tone

The Back in Black by AC/DC guitar tone is built on a 100-watt Marshall Super Lead, dialed in at gain 5/10, bass 5, mid 6, treble 5.5, presence 3.5 (community-researched baseline). Full breakdown below — then adapt every knob to your exact guitar and amp, free.

Amp settings (0–10)

Community-researched baseline. Your rig is different — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials every knob for your specific guitar, amp and pickups.

How these settings compare

Measured against the 70 hard rock tones in our researched catalog: Gain 5 sits right around the hard rock average (6.0); mids at 6 are right around average (6.1); presence 3.5 is well below average — a smoother power-amp voicing.

Guitar controls

Original gear

Amp: 100-watt Marshall Super Lead (Plexi) / Marshall 2203 JMP — power-amp saturation, NOT a high-gain preamp

Gibson SG (late-’60s / 1967 Standard) with low-output Seymour Duncan humbuckers; NO pedals — guitar straight into the amp. Roll the guitar volume back for rhythm, up to 10 for solos.

Gear used on this tone

Don’t own this gear? GuitarToneAdapt re-creates the sound on the rig you actually have.

Pickups

bridge humbucker (low-output)

Effects / signal chain

distortion

Tone character

cranked Marshall crunch, mid growl, dynamic, clear, not over-driven

Recording context

studio

How it’s played

cranked-Marshall power-amp crunch (medium gain) distortion. This shapes how hard the amp is pushed and where the EQ sits for the Back in Black sound.

Difficulty

4/5 · Riff

The riffs are simple; the magic is feel, a cranked Marshall, low-output humbuckers and NOT over-gaining.

Level: Intermediate — see more intermediate guitar songs →

Worth knowing

• Back in Black is the classic AC/DC mistake to over-gain — it’s a cranked Marshall, NOT high gain. SG into the amp, mids up, presence low, and roll your guitar volume back for the verse riff.
• The single biggest mistake with AC/DC is TOO MUCH GAIN. Angus & Malcolm Young’s tone is NOT very distorted — it’s a cranked 100-watt Marshall (Super Lead Plexi / 2203 JMP) saturating in the POWER amp, not a high-gain preamp. A Gibson SG (low-output Seymour Duncan humbuckers ~7.7k) straight into the amp — NO pedals.
• Settings (from his 2203): Presence low (0-3), Bass ~5, Middle ~6, Treble ~5, master and preamp moderate. Keep gain modest, mids up, and crank the volume for the natural power-amp grit. Guitar volume and tone on 10; roll the guitar volume BACK a little for rhythm, up to 10 for solos — that dynamic is the whole technique.
• Settings are community-researched starting points, not official recall sheets — resist the urge to add gain; it’s an amp-and-hands tone.

🎸 All Back in Black guitar tones — every part & section →

Back in Black guitar tone — FAQ

Share this tone

Sources

• Angus Young Amp Settings & Gear — MusicStrive
• Angus Young tone secrets — Guitar World
• Angus Young Guitars & Gear — Ground Guitar

Free practice tools

🎤 Online guitar tuner →  ·  🎶 Guitar chords →  ·  🎸 Guitar tunings →  ·  🎚️ Tuning chart →  ·  🎼 Guitar scales →  ·  🎚️ Chord transposer & capo →  ·  🥁 Metronome →  ·  🎶 Song chords →  ·  🎧 Guess the Tone game →  ·  🎸 Tone Legend quiz →  ·  📊 Tone data report →

🔥 The most famous guitar tones of all time →  ·  🗂️ Browse tone collections (by genre & language) →

Songs by level: 🎯 Easy  ·  🎸 Intermediate  ·  🔥 Hardest — each with the amp settings.

More like this

🎸 How to get AC/DC’s guitar tone →  ·  🎸 more Hard Rock guitar tones →  ·  🎚️ Marshall Plexi settings →  ·  🎛️ best hard rock amp settings →  ·  🎸 more iconic guitar riffs →  ·  🎚️ Distortion tone guide →  ·  🎯 more dynamic touch sensitive tones →  ·  📖 New to amp settings? What every knob does →

Related tones