Riff Tone

Show Me How to Live

Audioslave

Guitarrock2000s

Original Gear

GuitarFender American Telecaster (black, stock, made in USA, drop D tuning)

AmpMarshall JCM800 2205 head with Peavey 4x12 cabinet (studio recording, 2001/2002)

PickupsFender single-coil (stock Telecaster pickups)

Amp Settings

gain7

bass6

mid6.5

treble7

reverb1.5

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording for Audioslave's debut album (2002). Tom Morello is known for using his black American Telecaster with stock single-coil pickups for all drop D songs, including 'Show Me How to Live.' The amp is a Marshall JCM800 2205 head through a Peavey 4x12 cabinet, as confirmed by multiple interviews and rig rundowns. No evidence of alternate guitars or amps for this riff section.

Tone Character(10)

tight and percussiveaggressive and saturatedarticulate attackstrong midrange presencepunchy low endclear, biting highsminimal ambiencesingle-coil clarity in heavy contextdynamic pick responseclassic Marshall crunch with modern edge

Difficulty

The riff requires solid palm muting technique, precise timing, and dynamic picking to achieve the percussive, aggressive sound. While not technically advanced, it demands control and consistency.

Sources

Tom Morello's Guitar Gear, Pedalboard & Amps Tom Morello's 'The Atlas Underground'

This tone has been researched 10 times by the community

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