Hard rock & high gain
Gibson SG Standard
Lighter than a Les Paul, nastier in the upper mids, and with upper-fret access that actually makes sense. The SG is the reason a lot of heavy music sounds the way it does.
BitingMid-forwardRaw
Angus Young's Sound
Pure blues-rock aggression with the least complicated rig in stadium music.
SG straight into cranked Marshalls — no pedals, no tricks
The rig
The gear associated with the sound. Each item opens a live Reverb search — vintage examples where they exist, modern equivalents where they don't.
Guitars
- Gibson SG Standard (1968 and later)Find on Reverb
- Jaydee SG replicasFind on Reverb
Amps
- Marshall JTM45 / 1959 Super LeadFind on Reverb
- Marshall Plexi reissuesFind on Reverb
Effects
- Wireless system — and essentially nothing elseFind on Reverb
Pickups
- Gibson humbuckers, bridge position almost exclusivelyFind on Reverb
Other
- Schaller wireless as the only signal-chain deviceFind on Reverb
Why it sounds like that
Back in Black
The cleanest 'heavy' tone in rock — Marshall on the edge of breakup with the mids left completely alone.
Highway to Hell
Slightly rawer and more open, with the two guitars panned hard so the rhythm and lead never mask each other.
Thunderstruck
A picked, single-note pattern that only works because the gain is low enough to keep every note separate.
Let There Be Rock
The live tone at full commitment — feedback and sustain generated by volume, not saturation.
From the shop floor
Similar sounds
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