Rock You Like a Hurricane
Scorpions
A driving Flying V riff under a big chorus, with backward echo on the verse after the solo.
What is the Rock You Like a Hurricane guitar tone?
The Rock You Like a Hurricane guitar tone is a driving Flying V riff under a big chorus, with backward echo on the verse after the solo, heard on Scorpions' 1980s hard rock recording. It is a distorted riff tone, and Scorpions reportedly tracked it with Rudolf Schenker's 1958 Gibson Flying V, which he bought from Alex Conti of the German band Lake after years of asking and calls the best of the five 1958 Flying Vs he owns, played through a Marshall amp, the make he says he always used for recording and live work at the time; Matthias Jabs played the lead guitar, and although he says his 1976 Gibson Explorer was heard on the band's famous songs through to the mid-1980s, which guitar and amp he used on this solo is not documented; the album was begun at Polar Studios in Stockholm, then started again from scratch at producer Dieter Dierks' studio in Germany after the band's 1983 US Festival show and recorded digitally, which Schenker now thinks made the guitars sound a little clinical, and the song was mixed at the Power Station in New York, where the backward echo on the verse after the solo came in; Schenker says the lyrics were rewritten nine times before the single came out on 30 January 1984. This is a mid-forward sound rather than a scooped one, and it usually sits closer to the edge of breakup than to full saturation.
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 high-gain head 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.
Rock You Like a Hurricane amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 6, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 2, with the bridge pickup.
- Gain 6
- Bass 5
- Middle 6
- Treble 6
- Presence 6
- Reverb 2
- Signal chain
- Marshall distortion → Backward echo on the verse after the solo (mix)
- The control that matters most
- Middle. Schenker played the riff on a Flying V straight into a Marshall, so a mid-forward crunch that keeps every chord distinct gets closer than a scooped, high-gain setting. He says recording digitally made the guitars a little clinical and that tape gives a warmer sound, so do not chase extra treble to match the record.
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. Your first match is free with an account, and needs no card.
Adapt these to my amp- Pickup
- Bridge pickup
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.
What gear did Scorpions use on Rock You Like a Hurricane?
Rudolf Schenker's 1958 Gibson Flying V, which he bought from Alex Conti of the German band Lake after years of asking and calls the best of the five 1958 Flying Vs he owns, played through a Marshall amp, the make he says he always used for recording and live work at the time; Matthias Jabs played the lead guitar, and although he says his 1976 Gibson Explorer was heard on the band's famous songs through to the mid-1980s, which guitar and amp he used on this solo is not documented; the album was begun at Polar Studios in Stockholm, then started again from scratch at producer Dieter Dierks' studio in Germany after the band's 1983 US Festival show and recorded digitally, which Schenker now thinks made the guitars sound a little clinical, and the song was mixed at the Power Station in New York, where the backward echo on the verse after the solo came in; Schenker says the lyrics were rewritten nine times before the single came out on 30 January 1984.
Sources: Guitar Player: Rudolf Schenker on Rock You Like a Hurricane, MusicRadar: Matthias Jabs on his Explorers, amps and solos, Wikipedia: Rock You Like a Hurricane
Tonelify 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 Rock You Like a Hurricane tone on your own amp?
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Rock You Like a Hurricane tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Rock You Like a Hurricane?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 6, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 2, with the bridge pickup. 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 driving Flying V riff under a big chorus, with backward echo on the verse after the solo from different positions.
What is the most important control for the Rock You Like a Hurricane tone?
Middle. Schenker played the riff on a Flying V straight into a Marshall, so a mid-forward crunch that keeps every chord distinct gets closer than a scooped, high-gain setting. He says recording digitally made the guitars a little clinical and that tape gives a warmer sound, so do not chase extra treble to match the record.
Can you get the Rock You Like a Hurricane tone without the original gear?
Yes. The original was tracked with Rudolf Schenker's 1958 Gibson Flying V, which he bought from Alex Conti of the German band Lake after years of asking and calls the best of the five 1958 Flying Vs he owns, played through a Marshall amp, the make he says he always used for recording and live work at the time; Matthias Jabs played the lead guitar, and although he says his 1976 Gibson Explorer was heard on the band's famous songs through to the mid-1980s, which guitar and amp he used on this solo is not documented; the album was begun at Polar Studios in Stockholm, then started again from scratch at producer Dieter Dierks' studio in Germany after the band's 1983 US Festival show and recorded digitally, which Schenker now thinks made the guitars sound a little clinical, and the song was mixed at the Power Station in New York, where the backward echo on the verse after the solo came in; Schenker says the lyrics were rewritten nine times before the single came out on 30 January 1984, but the parts that define the sound are the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup position and the effects order. Those translate to other equipment, which is what the adaptation step does.
Is Rock You Like a Hurricane a rhythm or a lead tone?
It is a riff part with a distorted character, from Scorpions' 1980s hard rock catalogue.
Does Tonelify cost anything to try?
Your first match for your own gear is free with an account, and needs no card. After that both plans start with a 7-day free trial: 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.
