Riff Tone

Highway 101

Social Distortion

Guitarpunk1980s

Original Gear

GuitarGibson Les Paul Junior (likely 1950s or reissue)

AmpMarshall JCM800 (likely 2203 or 2204 head, era-correct for early Social Distortion recordings)

PickupsP-90 single coil

Amp Settings

gain6.5

bass6

mid7

treble6.5

reverb2

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1983 (from 'Mommy's Little Monster'). No direct evidence for pedals or alternate guitars/amps for this song's riff section; inference based on era, genre, and Mike Ness's known gear for this album.

Tone Character(10)

raw and mid-heavypunchy and aggressiveslight breakup with strong pick attacktight and percussiveminimal ambience, dry soundno audible modulation or delayclassic punk drive, not high-gainclear note separation in chordsslightly nasal, upper-mid focusno excessive low end

Difficulty

The riff is fast and requires tight, aggressive downstroke strumming and palm muting, but uses straightforward power chords and rhythm patterns typical of early punk.

Sources

Highway 101 Chords by Social Distortion Social Distortion - Mommy's Little Monster (1983) : r/punk - Reddit

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