Essential Acoustic Standards for testing your Setup

If you don't have a 12-string Guild to properly replicate the rhythm track then you are arguably wasting your time. Honestly the intro solo sounds terrible unless you have decent compression but it is the absolute best way to check for fret buzz around the third and fourth frets. I usually play this one first after I pull the D-28 out of the humidity-controlled case just to make sure the neck hasn't bowed from the weather changes.

Everyone thinks they know this but they play it like a sloppy mess. You need to nail that specific G-tuning technique Paul used or it just sounds like a campfire song. It is a fantastic workout for checking the separation of your bass and treble notes, especially if you are playing a Rosewood backed guitar that tends to get a little muddy in the low end.

Fine for testing if your capo works I guess.

Page was sloppy but in a genius way that you probably can't replicate. The hammer-ons and pull-offs in the intro are the ultimate test of your Action height because if your strings are too high off the fretboard you are going to fatigue your hand in about thirty seconds. I finally got my '74 Hummingbird dialed in perfectly for this track after swapping the nut for Tusq.

Capo on the third fret gives you that signature JT sound. The man is a tone wizard and if you aren't using a guitar with a Cedar top you are missing half the warmth required for these hammer-ons. I spent six months trying to find the right gauge of Phosphor Bronze strings to get the A-string to ring out like the record and my wife nearly left me over the credit card bill.

This is the one you pull out when some kid with a laminate-top Taylor starts bragging about knowing chords. It is a marathon that requires serious stamina and mental focus. I have the sheet music framed in the garage right next to the dehumidifier.

Don Felder and Joe Walsh get the credit but the 12-string acoustic intro is iconic. Good luck getting those arpeggios clean without a proper setup.

Simple open chords but you have to hit them with authority. This is my go-to track for testing the projection of a Dreadnought body shape against a Jumbo. You want that low G to rattle your ribcage if you are doing it right.

Lindsey Buckingham fingerpicking is not for the faint of heart. You really need to let your fingernails grow out a bit on the right hand to get the attack on the strings or else it just sounds muffled. I use a specific cuticle oil to keep my picking nails strong for songs like this.

Just a G C and D progression but it proves that a good Mahogany guitar doesn't need fancy tricks to sound huge.