🎸 Rock · 1960s

Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones (Riff · Clean) — Guitar Tone

by The Rolling Stones · riff

The Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones guitar tone is built on a Clean/edge-of-breakup amp, dialed in at gain 2.5/10, bass 4.5, mid 6, treble 7, presence 5.5 (community-researched baseline). Full breakdown below — then adapt every knob to your exact guitar and amp, free.

🎛️ These settings are for the original rig — re-dial them for YOUR amp in 10 seconds. Free, no signup →

Amp settings (0–10)

2.5

GAIN

4.5

BASS

MID

TREBLE

5.5

PRESENCE

2.5

REVERB

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 540 rock tones in our researched catalog: Gain 2.5 sits well below the rock average (4.8) — cleaner and more dynamic than typical rock; mids at 6 are right around average (6.2).

Guitar controls

VOLUME

TONE

Original gear

Amp: Clean/edge-of-breakup amp (bright) — to mimic the droning sitar line on guitar

On the record the famous melody is a SITAR (Brian Jones); Keith Richards played the acoustic chords that drive the brooding minor-key groove. Played on guitar, the riff is a bright, clean-to-edge tone (often a Tele/Les Paul) — let the notes drone and ring to evoke the sitar. Add a little reverb.

Gear used on this tone

🎚️ Gibson Les Paul songs & tones →

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

Pickups

bridge (bright, sitar-like bite)

Effects / signal chain

reverb

Tone character

bright clean, droning & minor, sitar-evoking, brooding

Recording context

studio

How it’s played

bright clean (sitar-evoking) distortion. This shapes how hard the amp is pushed and where the EQ sits for the Paint It Black sound.

Difficulty

2/5 · Riff

The riff is a simple minor-key line; the tone is a bright clean (or light breakup) — let the notes ring and drone to evoke the original sitar.

Level: Beginner-friendly — see more easy guitar songs to play →

Worth knowing

Paint It Black’s melody was a SITAR (Brian Jones) over Keith Richards’ acoustic. On guitar, use a bright, clean-to-edge tone (treble up) and let the notes ring/drone to evoke the sitar — not a distorted rock tone. A little reverb helps.
Bright bridge pickup, low gain, treble up, let notes ring. Aim for the droning, minor-key sitar feel rather than crunch.
Settings are community-researched starting points, not official recall sheets.

⚡ Same tone, YOUR gear — re-dials the gain & EQ for your amp and pickups, free →

🎧 Can you guess the tone?

Recognise famous songs from just the amp dials — a quick 10-round game. Beat your friends. Play free →

🎸 Which guitar legend is your tone twin? Take the quiz & share your result →

Paint It Black guitar tone — FAQ

What amp settings do I need for the Paint It Black guitar tone?

Set your amp to roughly: gain 2.5, bass 4.5, mid 6, treble 7, presence 5.5, reverb 2.5. These are community-researched baselines — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials them for your exact guitar and amp.

What gear was used for the Paint It Black tone?

Original gear/effects: Amp: Clean/edge-of-breakup amp (bright) — to mimic the droning sitar line on guitar; reverb.

Can I get the Paint It Black tone on a different guitar or amp?

Yes. Different guitars and amps need different knob positions to sound the same. GuitarToneAdapt models pickup output and wood brightness, then compensates so you match the record on your own rig.

How do I sound like The Rolling Stones on Paint It Black — what gear and pedals?

Start with bridge (bright, sitar-like bite), the amp EQ above (gain 2.5, bass 4.5, mid 6, treble 7, presence 5.5, reverb 2.5), and reverb. Then let GuitarToneAdapt compensate for the guitar, amp and pedals you actually own so it sits like the record.

Share this tone

Sources

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🔥 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 The Rolling Stones’s guitar tone → · 🎸 more Rock guitar tones → · 🎛️ best rock amp settings → · 🎸 more iconic guitar riffs → · 🎚️ Reverb tone guide → · 🎯 more bright tones → · 📖 New to amp settings? What every knob does →

Settings are community-researched estimates, not official. GuitarToneAdapt adapts them to your gear. guitartoneadapt.com