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Riff Tone

Wake Up

Rage Against the Machine

Guitarrock1990s

Original Gear

GuitarCustom 'Arm The Homeless' guitar (Tom Morello's main guitar, custom body, graphite Kramer neck, EMG 81/85 pickups, Ibanez Edge tremolo)
AmpMarshall JCM800 2205 head into Peavey 4x12 cabinet

Amp Settings

gain7
bass5.5

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Effects & Signal Chain

Notes

Studio recording, 1991-1992. Guitar signal runs into pedalboard, then into Marshall JCM800 head. Ibanez DFL Flanger is placed in the amp's effects loop for the main riff. No evidence of other guitars or amps for this section. Settings are estimated based on era, genre, and amp model as no direct studio knob settings are published for this song.

Tone Character(10)
aggressive and modulatedtight and percussivemetallic edgemidrange punchcutting top endclear note separationhigh-gain saturationactive pickup clarityflanger sweep dominates texturedry, no reverb

Difficulty

The riff requires tight, aggressive picking and muting, plus coordination with the flanger's sweep to maintain clarity and groove. The high-gain tone and modulation make articulation and timing more challenging than a standard rock riff.

This tone has been researched 3 times by the community

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