Riff Tone

Off He Goes (Live at The Forum, Inglewood, CA - July 1998)

Pearl Jam

Guitarrock1990s

Original Gear

GuitarFender American Vintage '57 Stratocaster

AmpMatchless DC-30 2x12 Combo Amp

PickupsFender single-coil pickups

Amp Settings

gain3.5

bass6

mid7

treble6.5

reverb3

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Live performance, July 1998 at The Forum, Inglewood, CA. Gear confirmed for this era and live context; McCready used the Strat and Matchless DC-30 for clean/riff sections. No evidence of additional pedals for the riff section.

Tone Character(10)

warm and glassyslightly gritty edge-of-breakupdynamic and touch-sensitiveopen, chimey highsfull-bodied midsclear note separationsubtle amp breakup when picking hardarticulate single-coil clarityorganic and uncompressedno heavy effects coloration

Difficulty

The riff requires careful picking dynamics to maintain the clean/edge-of-breakup tone, with some subtle chord voicings and embellishments, but does not involve advanced techniques or fast playing.

Sources

Mike McCready's Guitar Gear, Pedalboard & Amps | Equipboard [QUESTION] Pearl Jam guitar tone? : r/Guitar pearl jam black tone - forum topic | Ultimate Guitar

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