Reggae Rock1978
How to get the Roxanne guitar tone
The Police
Not quite clean, not quite dirty. That edge-of-breakup thing is genuinely hard to dial in and The Police got it right. There's real presence up top — that treble bite isn't an accident, it's what makes every picked note land. Layer in chorus and room reverb and the whole thing takes on a dimension you can't get from the amp alone.
Gear used on the recording
GuitarSingle coil (Stratocaster / Telecaster)
AmpFender Twin Reverb (clean)
EffectsChorus
Key tone characteristics
- 1Touch-sensitive breakup — pick harder for grit, lighter for clarity
- 2High treble presence — cuts through a dense mix without needing to boost volume
- 3Chorus modulation adds movement and depth — subtle on rhythm, unmistakable on leads
- 4Single-coil character matters here — the detail and snap of a Strat or Tele is genuinely part of the sound
Ready to dial it in?
Get these settings for your gear
We'll match the Roxanne tone profile to your specific amp, guitar, and pedals — recommended knob positions, not approximations.
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