Riff Tone

Only In Dreams

Weezer

Guitarrock1990s

Original Gear

GuitarWarmoth Blue Stratocaster copy (single neck pickup, likely Seymour Duncan Hot Rails or similar, as used by Rivers Cuomo on Blue Album)

AmpMarshall JCM800

PickupsSingle-coil (neck position, possibly Seymour Duncan Hot Rails or similar high-output single-coil-sized humbucker)

Amp Settings

gain7

bass6.5

mid6

treble6

reverb2

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1994 (Blue Album sessions). Guitar was a custom Warmoth Strat copy with only a neck pickup installed at the time. Amp was a Marshall JCM800, as confirmed by multiple sources. No pedals used for distortion; amp distortion only. Delay used for swells, but not on main riff.

Tone Character(10)

thick, crunchy midrangehefty, balanced toneBritish-style amp breakupwarm, saturated chordsfull-bodied low endslightly scooped but not thinpunchy attackdynamic response to pickingnot overly brightclassic Marshall crunch

Difficulty

The riff is rhythmically straightforward but requires control over dynamics and palm muting to achieve the signature crunch and sustain, making it moderately challenging for beginners.

Sources

Weezer Amp Settings (gear and tone tips) - Guitar Chalk "I never would have seen that and I'm really grateful to him for that" – Rivers Cuomo reveals how The Cars' Ric Ocasek dramatically changed his guitar tone for Weezer's Blue Album | MusicRadar

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