Riff Tone

My Iron Lung

Radiohead

Guitarrock1990s

Original Gear

GuitarFender Telecaster Plus V1

AmpFender Eighty-Five (late 1980s solid-state combo)

PickupsLace Sensor Red (bridge humbucker)

Amp Settings

gain8

bass7

mid3.5

treble7.5

reverb2

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

modulationDigiTech DigiTech Whammy WH-1

distortionMarshall Marshall Shred Master

Notes

Studio recording, 1994 (The Bends sessions). Jonny Greenwood used the Telecaster Plus V1 with bridge humbucker into a Fender Eighty-Five amp. The riff section features the DigiTech Whammy WH-1 (octave up) and Marshall Shred Master for distortion. Settings and pedal use are confirmed for the studio recording, not live.

Tone Character(10)

aggressive and bitingharsh, warbling octave-up texturemid-scooped, cutting toneclear note definition despite high gaincompressed and focused attackslightly digital, glitchy character from Whammytight and percussive riff articulationnot overly bright (treble controlled)dense, saturated distortiondistinctive octave effect layered over distortion

Difficulty

The riff requires tight synchronization between picking and Whammy pedal use, clarity under heavy distortion, and dynamic control for the aggressive, percussive attack.

Sources

Jonny Greenwood's guitar tone on Radiohead's My Iron Lung | Guitar World Learn to play My Iron Lung on guitar from Radiohead's classic album The Bends | MusicRadar how to get my iron lung guitar tone : r/BossKatana

This tone has been researched 13 times by the community

Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear

Create Free Account