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Riff Tone
Creep (Acoustic)
Radiohead
Guitarrock1990s
Original Gear
GuitarFender Telecaster (likely Jonny Greenwood's 1980s model, as seen in early Radiohead performances and studio photos)
AmpVox AC30 (early 1990s studio recording, as confirmed by multiple sources for Pablo Honey era)
Amp Settings
gain6
bass5.5
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Notes
Studio recording, 1992-1993, Pablo Honey sessions. This is for the distorted/heavy riff/chorus section, not the acoustic intro. Greenwood used a Marshall Shredmaster pedal into a Vox AC30 for the signature heavy sound. No evidence of acoustic guitar or clean amp for this section.
Tone Character(10)
aggressive and saturatedtight palm-muted chugscrunchy, mid-heavy distortionpercussive attackBritish-voiced overdrivearticulate power chordsslightly scooped but present midsnot overly bright, but cuttingcompressed and focusedsustained, singing lead lines
Difficulty
The riff is based on simple power chords and strumming, but requires tight palm muting and dynamic control to capture the aggressive, percussive feel of the original recording.
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Create Free AccountGuitarrock1990s
Original Gear
GuitarFender Telecaster (likely Jonny Greenwood's 1980s model, as seen in early Radiohead performances and studio photos)
AmpVox AC30 (early 1990s studio recording, as confirmed by multiple sources for Pablo Honey era)
Amp Settings
gain6
bass5.5
Create an account to see all tone details
Create Free AccountEffects & Signal Chain
Notes
Studio recording, 1992-1993, Pablo Honey sessions. This is for the distorted/heavy riff/chorus section, not the acoustic intro. Greenwood used a Marshall Shredmaster pedal into a Vox AC30 for the signature heavy sound. No evidence of acoustic guitar or clean amp for this section.
Tone Character(10)
aggressive and saturatedtight palm-muted chugscrunchy, mid-heavy distortionpercussive attackBritish-voiced overdrivearticulate power chordsslightly scooped but present midsnot overly bright, but cuttingcompressed and focusedsustained, singing lead lines
Difficulty
The riff is based on simple power chords and strumming, but requires tight palm muting and dynamic control to capture the aggressive, percussive feel of the original recording.