Riff Tone

Ring of Fire

Social Distortion

Guitarrock1990s

Original Gear

GuitarGibson Les Paul Standard (likely late 1970s/early 1980s, as used by Mike Ness on Social Distortion's 'White Light, White Heat, White Trash' and era live shows)

AmpMarshall JCM800 2203 head into Marshall 4x12 cabinet (studio recording, 1996)

PickupsP-90 single coil (stock on Mike Ness's Les Pauls of this era, confirmed by multiple interviews and visual evidence from the 1990s)

Amp Settings

gain6

bass6

mid7

treble6.5

reverb2.5

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1996. Mike Ness is known for using a Les Paul with P-90s into a cranked Marshall JCM800 for this era and album. No evidence of alternate guitars or amps for this song's riff section. No pedalboard evidence for this specific track; Ness is known for minimal pedal use in the studio for rhythm parts.

Tone Character(10)

compressed and tightmid-forward punchaggressive attackslightly saturated cruncharticulate pick attackwarm but bitingclear note separationBritish amp characterno excessive gaindry, upfront sound

Difficulty

The riff is straightforward, relying on tight rhythm and palm muting, with no advanced techniques or fast passages. The main challenge is maintaining consistent attack and timing.

Sources

Marshall 1959, JCM800, JCM900, DSL, and JVM overdrive pedal ...

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