Pete Townshend's Sound
The greatest rhythm guitarist in rock, playing lead parts by refusing to.
Suspended chords through Hiwatt stacks, huge and ringing
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 SpecialFind on Reverb
- Gibson Les Paul DeluxeFind on Reverb
- Rickenbacker (early, frequently destroyed)Find on Reverb
- Fender StratocasterFind on Reverb
- Gibson J-200 acousticFind on Reverb
Amps
- Hiwatt DR103 stacksFind on Reverb
- Fender Vibro-King (later)Find on Reverb
- Marshall (mid-1960s)Find on Reverb
Effects
- Edwards volume pedalFind on Reverb
- UnivibeFind on Reverb
- Boss OD-1 (later)Find on Reverb
- ARP synthesizer sequences on recordFind on Reverb
Pickups
- Gibson P-90s and humbuckersFind on Reverb
Other
- Hiwatts run loud and clean — the crunch comes from playing hardFind on Reverb
Why it sounds like that
Won't Get Fooled Again
Clean-to-edge Hiwatt with an ARP sequence behind it; the guitar's job is to be enormous and rhythmic, not saturated.
Baba O'Riley
Almost entirely open-position acoustic-style chords played electric, ringing over a synth pattern.
Pinball Wizard
Acoustic strumming carrying a rock arrangement — the aggression is all in the right hand.
Similar sounds
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