Thinking Out Loud
Ed Sheeran · x (Multiply) · 2014
The rhythm bed is Ed Sheeran's acoustic — his documented main guitar in this period was the Martin LX1E Little Martin — recorded direct to mics at Jake Gosling's Sticky Studios on 4 February 2014, with no guitar amp involved. Chris Leonard is credited with the electric guitar, bass, and Hammond, including the neck-pickup single-coil solo that has just a touch of amp breakup. For the rhythm part, aim for a warm, slightly compressed acoustic with mids a hair up, treble flat, and only a whisper of reverb; keep the strum soft so the muted chinks read.
Where these numbers come from: worked out from the documented rig and the sound of the record
Tuning
Standard tuning, no capo
The record sits in D major and the acoustic plays open D–D/F#–G–A–Bm shapes in standard tuning; many lesson arrangements put a capo at 2 and use C shapes, which changes the voicings from the record.
Guitar
- Martin LX1E Little Martin (Ed Sheeran Signature) · Fishman under-saddle (guitar mic'd for the take)
- Fender Stratocaster-style electric · single-coil · neck pickup
Amp
Acoustic amp or PA/DI channel (flat EQ)
There is no guitar amp on the acoustic rhythm part — it was tracked at Sticky Studios, where Jake Gosling has said he recorded Ed's guitars with a pair of sE Electronics sE4400a condensers; these knobs are a starting point for reproducing that mic'd sound live.
Amp
Low-wattage tube combo (Vox AC15/AC30 class, clean channel)
For Chris Leonard's electric chord pads and the solo, which show light amp breakup rather than pedal distortion; no source names his session amp, so the model is given as a category and the settings are derived from the recording.
Pedals
- Compressor (light studio-style) · compressor · Low ratio, 2–3 dB gain reduction, slow attack — evens out the strum without squashing the percussive chinks
Tone character
warm mic'd acoustic · soft percussive strum · rolled-off top end · gentle compression · dry, intimate room
Open chords at a slow tempo, but the feel depends on a syncopated strum with muted chinks and clean quick moves from D to D/F# and into Bm.
Want this on your own amp?
These are the record's settings. Tell us what you play through and we'll translate every knob to the amp you actually own — free.
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