Solo Tone

Fell On Black Days

Soundgarden

Guitarrock1990s

Original Gear

GuitarGuild S-100 Polara

AmpMesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Solo Head blended with Marshall JMP 50 half stack

PickupsGuild HB-1 humbuckers

Amp Settings

gain6

bass6.5

mid7

treble6

reverb2.5

presence4.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1993-1994 for the album 'Superunknown'. Kim Thayil used the Guild S-100 with stock humbuckers. The amps were blended for the album, with the Marshall providing brightness and the Mesa/Boogie adding body and low end. No evidence of pedal use for the solo, only amp gain. No explicit mention of effects loop or pedalboard for this section.

Tone Character(10)

thick and warmmidrange-focusedorganic and full-bodiedsinging sustainarticulate note separationdynamic and expressivetouch-sensitiveslightly compressednot overly saturatedBritish crunch with modern body

Difficulty

The solo requires intermediate technique, with expressive bends, vibrato, and dynamic phrasing, but does not involve fast runs or advanced shred techniques.

Sources

Soundgarden's Kim Thayil: “I'm not on a first-name basis with my gear Chris Cornell's guitar tone on Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun Interview: Soundgarden's Kim Thayil - Premier Guitar

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