Solo Tone

Down In a Hole

Alice In Chains

Guitarrock1990s

Original Gear

GuitarGibson Les Paul Custom (or clone, likely black finish, as used by Jerry Cantrell in studio circa 1992)

AmpMarshall JCM900 (modded, studio recording, 1992)

PickupsGibson humbuckers (stock, passive, likely 490R/498T or similar)

Amp Settings

gain4

bass6

mid6.5

treble6

reverb3.5

presence5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1992, Dirt album. Jerry Cantrell is known to have used a Gibson Les Paul Custom with stock humbuckers and a Marshall JCM900 for clean and edge-of-breakup tones on Dirt. No evidence of live/touring rig for this section. No pedalboard photos or interviews specifically for this song's clean solo, but forum consensus and era-typical gear point to this setup.

Tone Character(10)

warm and roundedclear note separationslightly compressedsubtle reverb ambiencemellow and smoothnot sparkling brightstudio claritysustained melodic linesmid-focusedno audible breakup

Difficulty

The solo requires intermediate-level melodic phrasing, expressive bends, and clean articulation, but does not involve fast runs or advanced techniques.

Sources

Alice in Chains sound - forum topic - Ultimate Guitar Master the melodic solo techniques of guitar's masters - MusicRadar

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