Riff Tone

Sickman

Alice In Chains

Guitarmetal1990s

Original Gear

GuitarG&L Rampage (Jerry Cantrell's main guitar on Dirt album)

AmpBogner-modified Marshall JCM800 (primary amp for Dirt album heavy tones)

PickupsSeymour Duncan JB humbucker (bridge position, stock on Cantrell's Rampage)

Amp Settings

gain8

bass6

mid6

treble6.5

reverb1

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1991-1992. Jerry Cantrell used his G&L Rampage with a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge into a Bogner-modded Marshall JCM800 for the heavy riff sections on 'Sickman'. Some sources mention a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier blended in, but the JCM800 is the main amp for the core rhythm tone. No evidence of live rig or alternate guitars/amps for this specific studio recording.

Tone Character(9)

tight, saturated rhythm crunchaggressive, percussive palm mutingmid-heavy but not scoopedarticulate pick attackchunky, metallic low endslightly compressed, focused sustaingritty, snarling upper midscontrolled feedback on sustained notesminimal ambience, dry studio sound

Difficulty

The riff requires fast, aggressive alternate picking with tight palm muting and precise rhythm changes, making it challenging for most intermediate players.

Sources

[Discussion] Anyone had any luck recreating the Jerry Cantrell Dirt ...Funny Little Boxes Dirt pedal review - Guitar World

This tone has been researched 2 times by the community

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