Riff Tone

Incinerate

Sonic Youth

Guitarrock2000s

Original Gear

GuitarFender Jazzmaster (Thurston Moore signature or modified, likely with stock or Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickups)

AmpPeavey Roadmaster head into Marshall 4x12 cabinet

PickupsSingle coil Jazzmaster pickups (likely Seymour Duncan Antiquity or Fender stock, as per Thurston's typical setup for this era)

Amp Settings

gain6.5

bass6

mid7

treble6.5

reverb2

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

fuzzElectro-Harmonix Electro-Harmonix Sovtek Big Muff (Civil War or Green Russian)

distortionProCo ProCo Turbo RAT

wahMu-Tron Mu-Tron Wah/Volume

Notes

Studio recording, 2006 (Rather Ripped album). Gear confirmed for this era and album by Equipboard and interviews. No evidence of alternate guitars or amps for this riff section. Thurston Moore's main distorted tone for this period is Jazzmaster → pedals → Peavey Roadmaster → Marshall cab.

Tone Character(10)

fuzz-laden and saturatedmid-heavy and cuttingpercussive attackraw, noisy texturesustained power chordsarticulate pick attackslightly scooped mids but not thinwall-of-sound fuzzpronounced upper harmonicsaggressive, driving rhythm

Difficulty

The riff requires alternate tuning, aggressive attack, and precise muting to maintain clarity with heavy fuzz/distortion. The rhythm is syncopated but not technically advanced, making it intermediate.