Brown Sugar

Engineer Jimmy Johnson recalled the Stones bringing Fender Twin amplifiers to the Muscle Shoals sessions, while gear documentation also places a Fender Bassman in the session setup. Keith Richards’ defining part is the five-string open-G rhythm approach; exact guitar and control positions for the master take are not fully settled, so the values below are representative. Source: Tape Op’s Jimmy Johnson interview and Equipboard’s song-session documentation.

The rhythm is built around Richards' five-string open-G vocabulary, with suspended-fourth and sixth embellishments moving around compact chord inversions. Mick Taylor adds a second, standard-tuned guitar that darts around Richards' rhythm, but the precise Muscle Shoals guitars and amplifiers remain debated. Settings approximated from the documented tuning and two-guitar arrangement. Source: Guitar World's Rolling Stones riff feature, open-G guide and Stones guitarist history.