Weekend riff: Status Quo - Down Down

By Total Guitar
published

Twin-guitar riff lesson

Rock on with Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt's dual-guitar riffage from 1974

Quo are often dismissed as mere purveyors of the 'three-chord trick', with little to offer the serious guitarist. And, although 'Down Down' is based on a I-IV-V progression, we'd argue that there's some decent guitar work going on here.

Francis Rossi tunes to open G (DGDGBD) and places a capo at the 4th fret. This allows him to riff around the 'open' second, third and fourth strings with a Keith Richards style hammer-on chord. Rick Parfitt opts for standard tuning to back Rossi up with a typical rock 'n' roll groove played on the bass strings.

The idea is that the two guitar parts complement each other in different pitch ranges. Played on its own, each part will only have so much drive and impact. Played together, the two parts deliver far more power, the result being a much 'bigger' sound than if Parfitt and Rossi played the same thing. If you like to write your own riffs -especially for a twin-guitar lineup- this is a great approach.

Click the following links to download the 'Down Down' presets for the Peavey Vypyr VIP-2:

Francis Rossi

Rick Parfitt

'Down Down'
© 1974 Status Quo

Tutor: Jamie Hunt
Videographer: Martin Holmes

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