Chords for The Secret to the AC/DC Sound - Guitar Lesson

Hello folks, today we are going to be discussing ACDC.
And specifically we are going to discuss [G#] the tone of ACDC and the secret to [G] achieving it.
Yes, that's right, I'm going to spill the beans.
[F#] I'm going to tell you how to get the secret [A] tone of ACDC.
So [C] awesome sounding, yet so simple, and so hard for people to duplicate for some reason.
What is the secret to their awesome tone?
[G]
Well, look no further than this video.
It's just going to be a quick [C#] explanation.
First of all, I'd like to say that because of ACDC, that's the [F#] reason why I play guitar.
_ Angus and Malcolm Young were my heroes growing up.
[D] They made me want to pick up the guitar.
As you can tell, I play a Gibson SG just like Angus Young.
It is indeed a Gibson.
This is the SG61 reissue.
[A#m] He uses this model a lot.
He also uses [A] the SG standard every now and then, like this [D] custom one with the lightning bolts and the fretboard.
_ But for an example, for the 61 reissue, you can watch, say, the [A#m] Live at Donington [A] video from the 90s.
His is black, but it's basically the same guitar.
_ [F#] _
He uses, Angus in [C] particular, uses stock pickups.
No [F] modifications on the guitar.
They don't use any pedals [C#] whatsoever.
Now, here's the first secret of [F#] how to get ACDC's tone.
One of two. _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [C#] _ Yep, you heard me right.
[N] They play through the clean channel of the amplifier.
They don't play through an overdrive channel.
They don't play with distortion or any of that nonsense.
It is simply the clean channel.
Now, hold on before you start [F#] yelling at your screen,
How is that possible to get that awesome sound and the distortion and stuff?
Well, they're not [C] actually using distortion.
All they're doing [A#] is playing on the clean [C#] channel with the volume turned up to where the amp clips and it overdrives naturally.
That's all they're doing.
And I'm going to demonstrate that [C] with the second, in, _ I [N] guess, the best way to put it. _ _
[D] Oh, fuck it, I'll just say it.
The second secret is even simpler than that.
While playing through the clean channel on the amplifier, control your picking hand.
That's it.
Control the power you're using in your picking hand.
Now, let's do an example, okay?
I'm playing through the clean channel on my amplifier.
Not an overdrive channel.
Just clean, okay?
Now, let's take the beginning of Rock and Roll.
Paint noise pollution, basically.
[C#m] _ _ [F#m] _ [A] _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ [Bm] _ _ [A] _ _ [Em] _ _ [A] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [Em] _ _ You can see, or [F] hear, how clean that is, [C#m] rather.
_ _ [A] _ _ [D] _
_ [G] _ _ See, it's [Gm] totally clean.
Now, let's move on to the second part.
All I'm [Em] doing, not hitting any foot pedals, nothing.
Same [G] clean channel.
_ _ [E] I'm [F#] just going to increase the attack, the power of the right hand, the picking hand.
And the second part, ready?
We'll start off again [A] with clean.
[Bm] _ _ [A] _ _ [G] _ _ [E] _
_ _ [A] _ _ _ [Em] _ Okay.
[E] _ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _
[E] _ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _
[E] _ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _ _
[E] _ _ _ [A] _ _ _ Did both [C#] Angus and [A#m] Malcolm's part there.
But, that's it.
Play through your [F] clean channel.
[D#] No effects, no overdrive channel, no distortion channel.
The clean channel, just crank the volume so it overdrives a little bit.
And control the power of your picking hand.
[A#m] Let's take a couple more examples. Let's see.
_ Off the new album, Rock and Roll Train, as you can see, [A] still using the clean channel.
_ _ [A] _ _
_ _ [D] _ _ Okay, clean channel.
All I'm doing is I'm modifying the attack [E] of my picking hand.
Rock and Roll Train.
[A] _
_ _ [G] _ _ _ [A] _ _
Okay, it's that [G] simple.
That's all you [F#] have to do is learn how to control the attack of your picking hand.
On the clean channel, the volume up a little bit.
That's it.
Let's take [Fm] another [A#] example of a more rare song that no one ever [G] plays.
_ _ _ How about Sink the Pink? _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[Em] _ [G] _ _ _ It's dirty there, all because of the right hand.
And [E] then there's that little clean part. _ _ _
[Dm] _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [Dm] _ _ _ _ _
[Dm] Okay, and [B] like I said, [C#m] just clean. _ _ _ _
[G] Clean.
[A#] And then they [C#] just pick up the power again [A#] in that right hand for the [G] main riff.
_ [C] _ _ _
_ _ [C] _ _ _ _ _ _
[D] _ _ [C] _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
[C] _ _ _ _ _ _ That's it.
That's the secret.
[A] Hell's bells.
_ _ _ [Am] _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ _ _ [Am] _ _
[B] _ [A] Now, [B] you can see that even though they're picking one note at a time [A] on the clean channel,
all they're doing to get that little zzzzzz in there is picking the strings just a little bit harder.
[C] If I were to lessen the [A] attack of the right hand, _
[D] _ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _
see, it becomes clean.
Or just pick up the attack a little bit. _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
[C#] That's all there is to it, folks.
I have given you the secret to ACDC's tone.
So simple.
No one really ever bullies it, really.
[A#m] Clean [C] guitar channel.
The volume turned up quite a ways. _
Control the power in your [C#] picking hand.
That's it.
There you go.