Riff Tone

Peace Dog

The Cult

Guitarrock1980s

Original Gear

GuitarGibson Les Paul Standard (likely late 1970s or early 1980s, rented for Electric sessions)

AmpMarshall JCM800 2203 head with 4x12 cabinet (rented for Electric sessions)

PickupsGibson humbuckers (stock, likely T-Top or Tim Shaw era)

Amp Settings

gain7

bass6

mid7

treble6.5

reverb1

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1986-1987 at Electric Ladyland for the 'Electric' album. Billy Duffy was directed by Rick Rubin to ditch his usual Gretsch and effects for a Les Paul and Marshall setup with minimal pedals. Effects pedals were almost entirely removed for the riff sections. Settings estimated based on era, genre, and typical JCM800 usage for this album.

Tone Character(10)

big and raw British crunchtight and percussive rhythmdry, in-your-face attackmidrange-forward punchaggressive pick dynamicsunprocessed, organic soundclassic Marshall Les Paul biteno ambient effectsfocused and directhard rock authority

Difficulty

The riff requires solid right-hand technique for tight palm muting and aggressive attack, but is otherwise straightforward with no advanced techniques.

Sources

“Rick's not musical... at all”: Billy Duffy on how Rick Rubin ‘deconstructed’ The Cult

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