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Riff Tone
Testify
Rage Against the Machine
Guitarrock1990s
Original Gear
Guitar1982 Fender American Telecaster (Tom Morello's main Drop D Telecaster, with stickers)
AmpMarshall JCM800 2205 head into Peavey 4x12 cabinet
Amp Settings
gain7
bass5.5
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Notes
Studio recording, 1999 (The Battle of Los Angeles). Guitar always in neck pickup position for all Drop D Rage tracks including 'Testify'. No evidence of alternate guitars or amps for this riff section. Effects chain unchanged from early RATM era.
Tone Character(10)
warm and thick neck pickup soundaggressive, saturated distortiontight, percussive attackmid-forward punchdistinctive filter sweep (wah pedal)dry, unprocessed amp tone (no reverb)dynamic, expressive riffingcompressed, focused soundheavy, drop D riffingclear articulation despite high gain
Difficulty
The riff requires advanced coordination between hands and foot for wah sweeps, tight rhythmic precision, and control over a high-gain, effect-laden tone. The combination of effects and physical technique makes it challenging for most players.
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Create Free AccountGuitarrock1990s
Original Gear
Guitar1982 Fender American Telecaster (Tom Morello's main Drop D Telecaster, with stickers)
AmpMarshall JCM800 2205 head into Peavey 4x12 cabinet
Amp Settings
gain7
bass5.5
Create an account to see all tone details
Create Free AccountEffects & Signal Chain
Notes
Studio recording, 1999 (The Battle of Los Angeles). Guitar always in neck pickup position for all Drop D Rage tracks including 'Testify'. No evidence of alternate guitars or amps for this riff section. Effects chain unchanged from early RATM era.
Tone Character(10)
warm and thick neck pickup soundaggressive, saturated distortiontight, percussive attackmid-forward punchdistinctive filter sweep (wah pedal)dry, unprocessed amp tone (no reverb)dynamic, expressive riffingcompressed, focused soundheavy, drop D riffingclear articulation despite high gain
Difficulty
The riff requires advanced coordination between hands and foot for wah sweeps, tight rhythmic precision, and control over a high-gain, effect-laden tone. The combination of effects and physical technique makes it challenging for most players.