Riff Tone

Hey

Pixies

Guitarrock1980s

Original Gear

GuitarGibson Les Paul Standard (likely late 70s/early 80s, humbuckers)

AmpMarshall JCM800 50-watt head

PickupsGibson humbuckers (stock or period-correct for Les Paul Standard)

Amp Settings

gain5.5

bass6

mid7

treble6.5

reverb2

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

overdriveFulltone Fulltone OCD

Notes

Studio recording, 1988 (Surfer Rosa sessions). Joey Santiago used his Les Paul through a Marshall JCM800 for dirty tones on Pixies albums. No evidence of alternate guitars or amps for this song's riff section. Vibrolux was used for clean tones, not for the main riff. All pedal and amp info is for studio use on this recording, not live.

Tone Character(10)

crunchy and vintagemid-forward and warmdynamic and touch-sensitivearticulate attackopen and uncompressedslightly saturated, not fuzzyBritish-voiced amp characterpercussive and rhythmicnot overly bright or scoopedretains note clarity

Difficulty

The riff requires tight rhythmic control and dynamic picking, but does not involve advanced techniques or fast playing, making it accessible to intermediate players.

Sources

Rig Rundown: Pixies - Premier Guitar Dear Guitar Hero: Pixies' Joey Santiago discusses his influences ...Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago on living life as an outsider guitar hero

This tone has been researched 5 times by the community

Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear

Create Free Account