Riff Tone

Hard to Explain

The Strokes

Guitarrock2000s

Original Gear

GuitarEpiphone Riviera (1995, modified with Gibson P-94 pickups)

AmpFender Hot Rod DeVille 2x12

PickupsGibson P-94 single-coil-sized humbucker (bridge position, bright/clear modded for Nick Valensi)

Amp Settings

gain5

bass6

mid7

treble7.5

reverb1.5

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

overdriveVisual Sound Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde Overdrive

Notes

Studio recording, 2001, Is This It album. Both Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr. used nearly identical rigs for the album, but the main riff's distorted tone is widely attributed to Valensi's Riviera through the DeVille. No evidence of other amps or guitars for this riff section.

Tone Character(10)

gritty and dirtycrunchy overdriveraw, lo-fi aestheticbright and articulatepunchy attacktight and percussiveslightly compressedvintage garage rock edgemid-forward presencenot overly saturated

Difficulty

The riff is rhythmically tight and requires consistent palm muting and strumming accuracy, but does not involve advanced techniques or fast lead playing.

Sources

The Strokes Amp Settings & Gear to Emulate Their Guitar Tone!Gear Rundown: The Strokes Best pedal and amp settings to sound like the "Is This It" album on ...

This tone has been researched 3 times by the community

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