Paint It Black
A droning, Eastern-sounding riff played on sitar over a double-time organ bass line.
What is the Paint It Black guitar tone?
The Paint It Black guitar tone is a droning, Eastern-sounding riff played on sitar over a double-time organ bass line, heard on The Rolling Stones' 1960s psychedelic rock recording. It is a clean riff tone, and The Rolling Stones reportedly tracked it with a sitar played by Brian Jones, which carries the riff because, as Keith Richards explained it, the band tried a guitar on the part but could not bend it enough, with Richards on electric and acoustic guitars that no source read here names, and no amp documented; Richards said the band had picked up sitars during a few days in Fiji, and Wikipedia says the song grew from Jones' improvised sitar melodies, after a first version in a conventional minor-key pop arrangement nearly led the band to drop it; during a session break Bill Wyman played a Hammond organ looking for a heavier bass sound, and American Songwriter quotes him saying he lay on the floor under the organ and played a second bass riff on the pedals at double time, with Charlie Watts adding his own double-time drum pattern, and Richards saying it was Wyman on the organ that made the record; Wikipedia credits Richards with a bolero-driven acoustic guitar outro, says the song may have the first recorded fretless bass, and quotes Mick Jagger calling it this kind of Turkish song; engineer Dave Hassinger recorded it on 6 and 9 March 1966 at RCA Studios in Los Angeles with Andrew Loog Oldham producing; released as a single in May 1966, it reached number one in the US and the UK, the first number-one single to feature the sitar. Here the riff is a sitar line and the guitars under it are not documented, so on guitar the part wants a clean, droning sound with room for bends rather than fuzz.
You do not need that exact gear to land in the same place. What carries this sound is the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup choice and the order of the effects, and all four can be rebuilt on equipment that costs a fraction of the original. The numbers change from amp to amp, because a clean channel on a modelling combo and a small practice amp reach the same voicing from different knob positions. That translation is what Tonelify works out for the rig you actually own.
Paint It Black amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 2, Bass 6, Middle 6, Treble 5, Presence 5, Reverb 3, with the neck or middle position.
- Gain 2
- Bass 6
- Middle 6
- Treble 5
- Presence 5
- Reverb 3
- Signal chain
- None documented for the guitars
- The control that matters most
- Bends over a drone. Richards said a guitar could not bend the riff's notes enough, which is why it went to sitar, so on guitar keep the amp clean, let an open string drone under the melody, and bend into the notes rather than fretting them straight.
These positions are free and they are a starting point. A Katana, a Spark and a valve head reach this voicing from different knob positions, so Tonelify rewrites every value above for the amp and guitar you own. A first plan starts with 7 days free, $0 today.
Adapt these to my amp- Pickup
- Neck or middle position
These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. If you tell Tonelify which amp you own, it rewrites every value above for the controls that amp actually has.
Does the Paint It Black tone sound off on your amp?
Pick what you hear. You get the knobs to turn from the starting point above, and how far.
What gear did The Rolling Stones use on Paint It Black?
A sitar played by Brian Jones, which carries the riff because, as Keith Richards explained it, the band tried a guitar on the part but could not bend it enough, with Richards on electric and acoustic guitars that no source read here names, and no amp documented; Richards said the band had picked up sitars during a few days in Fiji, and Wikipedia says the song grew from Jones' improvised sitar melodies, after a first version in a conventional minor-key pop arrangement nearly led the band to drop it; during a session break Bill Wyman played a Hammond organ looking for a heavier bass sound, and American Songwriter quotes him saying he lay on the floor under the organ and played a second bass riff on the pedals at double time, with Charlie Watts adding his own double-time drum pattern, and Richards saying it was Wyman on the organ that made the record; Wikipedia credits Richards with a bolero-driven acoustic guitar outro, says the song may have the first recorded fretless bass, and quotes Mick Jagger calling it this kind of Turkish song; engineer Dave Hassinger recorded it on 6 and 9 March 1966 at RCA Studios in Los Angeles with Andrew Loog Oldham producing; released as a single in May 1966, it reached number one in the US and the UK, the first number-one single to feature the sitar.
Sources: Wikipedia: Paint It Black, Songfacts: Paint It Black by the Rolling Stones, American Songwriter: behind the song Paint It Black
Tonelify's tone matcher reads that chain and translates it to the amp and guitar you already own, returning gain, bass, mids, treble and presence values along with a pickup position.
How do you get the Paint It Black tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of Paint It Black
Get exact knob settings adapted to your rig
Paint It Black tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Paint It Black?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 2, Bass 6, Middle 6, Treble 5, Presence 5, Reverb 3, with the neck or middle position. These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. Tonelify rewrites the same values for the specific amp and guitar you own, because a high-gain head and a small solid-state combo reach the same droning, Eastern-sounding riff played on sitar over a double-time organ bass line from different positions.
What amp did Keith Richards and Brian Jones use on Paint It Black?
Amp: Not documented. Guitar: Not named in the sources read (Keith Richards on electric and acoustic guitars; the riff is Brian Jones' sitar). Sources: Wikipedia, Songfacts and American Songwriter.
What were Keith Richards and Brian Jones' amp settings on Paint It Black?
None of the sources cited on this page gives Keith Richards and Brian Jones' full amp settings on Paint It Black. The numbers here are a starting point for that kind of part, not the settings from the session, and Tonelify rewrites them for the amp and guitar you own.
How do you get Keith Richards and Brian Jones' tone on Paint It Black?
Bends over a drone. Richards said a guitar could not bend the riff's notes enough, which is why it went to sitar, so on guitar keep the amp clean, let an open string drone under the melody, and bend into the notes rather than fretting them straight. Play it with the neck or middle position.
Can you get the Paint It Black tone without the original gear?
Yes. The parts that define the sound are the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup position and the effects order, and those translate to other equipment. Tonelify's adaptation step works them out for the amp and guitar you own.
Does Tonelify cost anything to try?
A match for your own gear takes a plan, and a first plan starts with 7 days free with nothing charged that day: Stage is $6.99 a month for 20 matches, Headliner is $10.99 a month for unlimited matching within a fair use limit of 150 new matches a day, and yearly billing works out cheaper on both. Reading this page and the rest of the library costs nothing and needs no account.
