Riff Tone

Killing In the Name

Rage Against the Machine

Guitarrock1990s

Original Gear

Guitar1982 Fender American Telecaster (Drop D, stickers, stock single-coil neck pickup)

AmpMarshall JCM 800 2205 head into Peavey 4x12 cabinet

PickupsFender single-coil (stock Telecaster neck pickup)

Amp Settings

gain0

bass5.5

mid7

treble6.5

reverb0

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1991-1992. Used exclusively for all drop D Rage Against the Machine tracks including 'Killing In the Name' riff/clean sections. Neck pickup only, as confirmed by multiple interviews. No evidence of pedal effects or amp reverb used for clean riff section.

Tone Character(10)

warm neck pickup toneclear and articulatetight, punchy rhythmdynamic response to pickingbig, crunchy sound that doesn’t sear the earspercussive attackminimal gain, amp set cleanno audible reverb or delayslightly rounded highsfull-bodied midrange

Difficulty

The riff is rhythmically syncopated and requires tight palm muting and dynamic control, but does not involve advanced techniques or fast playing, making it accessible to most players with some experience.

Sources

Tom Morello's Guitar Gear, Pedalboard & Amps | Equipboard Instruments of Rage: Tom Morello's Guitars and Gear Explained HOW TO SOUND LIKE YOUR HEROES - Tom Morello | Guitar World Tom Morello’s 'The Atlas Underground' - Premier Guitar

This tone has been researched 2 times by the community

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