Riff Tone

Meant to Live

Switchfoot

Guitarrock2000s

Original Gear

GuitarFender Telecaster (exact model unknown, likely American Standard or similar early 2000s model)

AmpVox AC30 (studio recording, early 2000s model likely used)

PickupsSingle-coil (Fender Telecaster stock pickups, model unknown)

Amp Settings

gain0

bass5.5

mid5.5

treble7

reverb1.5

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 2003; Jon Foreman is documented using a Vox AC30 for this era. No direct evidence for the clean section guitar model, but Telecasters are visible in live and studio photos from this period. No evidence of pedals or effects for the clean section; overdrive/boost is used for distorted parts only.

Tone Character(10)

bright and articulatechimey single-coil claritytight, percussive attackslightly scooped midsdynamic and responsiveclean with subtle amp reverbno audible compression or modulationpresent upper midsclear note separationmodern alternative rock clean

Difficulty

The riff requires precise picking and clean bends, but is accessible to intermediate players. The main challenge is maintaining clarity and dynamic control in the clean tone.

Sources

Switchfoot Tone - forum topic - Ultimate Guitar I finally learned what guitar amp Jon used for Meant to Live! - Reddit Meant to Live by Switchfoot - Guitar Lesson & Tutorial - YouTube

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