Riff Tone

Poison

Alice Cooper

Guitarrock1980s

Original Gear

GuitarKramer Baretta (likely, as used by John McCurry on 'Poison' studio recording)

AmpMarshall JCM800 2203 (likely, as used for 80s hard rock studio tones and by session players on 'Trash')

PickupsSeymour Duncan JB humbucker (bridge position, high output, as typical for Kramer Baretta of the era)

Amp Settings

gain7.5

bass6

mid3

treble7

reverb2

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1989. John McCurry played the main riff. Gear specifics for the riff are not directly confirmed in sources, but Kramer Baretta with JB humbucker and Marshall JCM800 are strongly supported by era, genre, and session player interviews. No evidence of pedal use for the riff; drive channel of amp only.

Tone Character(10)

tight palm-muted chugsaggressive and saturatedscooped midscrisp and biting top endchunky rhythmarticulate pick attackcompressed and focusedminimal ambiencestudio-polished claritypunchy, percussive riffing

Difficulty

The riff requires solid palm muting, precise timing, and moderately fast alternate picking, but does not involve advanced techniques or extreme speed.

Sources

John McCurry shares the stories behind his biggest hits | Guitar World [QUESTION] Amp settings for Poison by Alice Cooper? - Reddit [QUESTION] Good tone for Alice Cooper's album Trash - Reddit

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