Riff Tone

Painkiller

Judas Priest

Guitarmetal1990s

Original Gear

GuitarHamer KK Downing Custom V or Hamer Glenn Tipton Custom (Painkiller era, studio recording)

AmpMarshall JMP-1 Preamp into Marshall 9100 Monobloc Power Amp (studio, 1990)

PickupsEMG 81 active humbucker (Tipton), EMG 85 or EMG 81 (Downing, likely bridge position)

Amp Settings

gain8

bass4.5

mid4

treble7.5

reverb0.5

presence6.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1990. Both Tipton and Downing used Hamer signature guitars with EMG active pickups. Main amp was Marshall JMP-1 preamp into Marshall 9100 power amp, into Marshall 4x12 cabinets. No evidence of additional pedals for the riff section; most effects added in mixing. Settings are for studio, not live.

Tone Character(10)

thin and brighttight and percussivescooped midsaggressive palm mutinghigh-gain saturationarticulate attackminimal reverbrazor-sharp claritycrunchy and searingfocused low end

Difficulty

The Painkiller riff is considered expert-level due to its relentless tempo, demanding right-hand stamina, and the need for precise, tight palm muting and alternate picking at high speed.

Sources

Judas Priest Tone - forum topic Judas Priest Members, Gear & Sound K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton brought British steel to the ...

This tone has been researched 6 times by the community

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