Riff Tone

Planet Telex

Radiohead

Guitarrock1990s

Original Gear

GuitarFender Telecaster (likely Johnny Greenwood's main Telecaster, mid-90s, maple neck, single coils)

AmpFender Eighty Five (solid-state combo, studio recording, 1994-1995 era)

PickupsFender single-coil (Telecaster stock pickups, likely bridge position for riff)

Amp Settings

gain5.5

bass6

mid6.5

treble7

reverb3

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

distortionMarshall Marshall Shredmaster

delayRoland Roland Space Echo (RE-201 or emulation)

tremoloUnknown Tremolo pedal (model unknown, possibly Boss TR-2 or amp tremolo)

Notes

Studio recording for 'The Bends' (1994-1995). Johnny Greenwood is credited with the main riff, using his Telecaster into a Fender Eighty Five amp. Effects are a critical part of the tone, especially tremolo and tape echo/delay. No evidence of live rig or alternate guitars for this section.

Tone Character(10)

swirling, modulated tremolo pulsebright and cutting attackambient, spacey delay trailstight, focused low endchimey upper midsslightly gritty edge-of-breakupdynamic, touch-sensitive responsepercussive, rhythmic strummingmodulated, wobbly clean tonedistinct tape echo repeats

Difficulty

The riff requires tight rhythmic accuracy to sync with the tremolo pulse, dynamic picking to control the edge-of-breakup tone, and careful timing to lock in with the delay repeats. While not technically advanced, the interplay of effects and groove makes it moderately challenging.