Riff Tone

I'm Above

Mad Season

Guitarrock1990s

Original Gear

GuitarFender Stratocaster (likely 1960s reissue, as used by Mike McCready in Mad Season era)

AmpFender Bassman (1963 Blonde AB165 circuit, as used in studio for Mad Season 'Above' sessions)

PickupsFender single-coil pickups

Amp Settings

gain5.5

bass6

mid6.5

treble6.5

reverb2.5

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1994-1995. Mike McCready is known to have used a 1963 Blonde Fender Bassman for clean and edge-of-breakup tones on Mad Season's 'Above' album. No evidence of live rig or alternate amps for this specific recording. No confirmed pedalboard photos or session notes for this song's riff section.

Tone Character(10)

edge-of-breakup crunchclear and articulateslightly gritty single-coil attackopen and dynamicwarm but present midrangetouch-sensitive responsenot heavily saturatedamp-driven breakuptight low endbright upper mids

Difficulty

The riff requires moderately precise timing and dynamic picking to achieve the edge-of-breakup tone, but does not involve advanced techniques or fast passages.

Sources

Mike McCready Talks Mad Season Reissue, New Pearl Jam - Premier Guitar Mad Season - Above | Guitar Forum

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