Riff Tone

Black Hole Sun

Soundgarden

Guitarrock1990s

Original Gear

GuitarGuild S-100

AmpLate-Seventies Marshall Model 1987 JMP 50-watt Lead head (blended with Mesa-Boogie Dual Rectifier Solo head)

PickupsGuild HB-1 humbuckers (microphonic, stock on S-100)

Amp Settings

gain6

bass6

mid7

treble5.5

reverb1.5

presence4

Effects & Signal Chain

modulationLeslie Leslie Model 16 rotating speaker cabinet

Notes

Studio recording, 1994. Both Marshall JMP 50 and Mesa-Boogie Dual Rectifier Solo heads were blended for the main riff. The Leslie Model 16 rotating speaker cabinet was used for the signature modulation effect. Guitar is confirmed as Guild S-100 for riff section by Kim Thayil.

Tone Character(10)

warbly and swirling modulationbright and janglydefined string attackambient and psychedelicopen-string drone resonancemoderate overdrivenot overly compresseddynamic and expressivesitar-like ambient effectfull-bodied with bottom-end girth

Difficulty

The riff requires intermediate technique due to syncopated picking, open-string drones, and dynamic control to work with the swirling modulation. The part is not technically advanced but demands precision and musicality.

Sources

Chris Cornell's guitar tone on Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun Kim Thayil picks Soundgarden's landmark guitar moments

This tone has been researched 8 times by the community

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