I Shot the Sheriff

Amp settings (as recorded)

The recording

Recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida, in the spring of 1974 for the album '461 Ocean Boulevard'. Produced by Tom Dowd, the sessions featured a shift toward a cleaner, more rootsy sound compared to Clapton's earlier heavy blues-rock work. The guitar parts were recorded with an emphasis on immediate, in-the-room tones rather than complex effects, often using smaller vintage amplifiers cranked to capture natural tube saturation.