Riff Tone
Raining Blood
Slayer
Guitarmetal1980s
Original Gear
GuitarB.C. Rich Bich (circa 1986, as seen in live footage and consistent with studio era)
AmpMarshall JCM800 2203
PickupsDiMarzio Super Distortion (passive humbucker, both Hanneman and King used these on Reign in Blood)
Amp Settings
gain8.5
bass5
mid5.5
treble7
reverb0
presence7
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording, 1986. No evidence of pedals or effects used for the riff section; signal is guitar straight into amp. Settings are for studio, not live. Pickup and amp confirmed by multiple sources for this album/session.
Tone Character(10)
tight and percussiverazor-sharp articulationaggressive palm mutinghigh-gain saturationscooped but present midsdry and immediateno ambience or reverbfast attackslightly compressed from amp gainfocused low end
Difficulty
The main riff requires fast, consistent alternate picking with aggressive palm muting and tight timing, making it challenging for most players.
Sources
This tone has been researched 36 times by the community
Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear
Create Free AccountGuitarmetal1980s
Original Gear
GuitarB.C. Rich Bich (circa 1986, as seen in live footage and consistent with studio era)
AmpMarshall JCM800 2203
PickupsDiMarzio Super Distortion (passive humbucker, both Hanneman and King used these on Reign in Blood)
Amp Settings
gain8.5
bass5
mid5.5
treble7
reverb0
presence7
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
This tone has been researched 36 times by the community
Notes
Studio recording, 1986. No evidence of pedals or effects used for the riff section; signal is guitar straight into amp. Settings are for studio, not live. Pickup and amp confirmed by multiple sources for this album/session.
Tone Character(10)
tight and percussiverazor-sharp articulationaggressive palm mutinghigh-gain saturationscooped but present midsdry and immediateno ambience or reverbfast attackslightly compressed from amp gainfocused low end
Difficulty
The main riff requires fast, consistent alternate picking with aggressive palm muting and tight timing, making it challenging for most players.
Raining Blood settings for your amp
Exact settings ToneAdapt players use on these amps.
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