Riff Tone

Sleeping Beauty

A Perfect Circle

Guitarrock2000s

Original Gear

Guitar1960 Gibson Les Paul Classic Reissue (custom build, 'cinnaburst' finish, as used by Billy Howerdel)

AmpFractal Audio Axe-Fx II (modeling Billy's modded Marshall/Friedman Naked amp tone)

PickupsTom Anderson H3 (bridge), H1 (neck) humbuckers

Amp Settings

gain7.5

bass6

mid6

treble6.5

reverb2

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

delayUnknown Delay pedal (model unknown)

modulationEventide or Fractal Audio Pitch shifter (Eventide or Axe-Fx II algorithm, -9/+9 cents)

Notes

Studio recording, circa 2000 (Mer de Noms era). Billy Howerdel used a custom Les Paul with Tom Anderson humbuckers and a Fractal Axe-Fx II for amp and effects modeling, replicating his modded Marshall/Friedman Naked amp. Settings and effects are based on studio use, not live.

Tone Character(10)

tight and saturatedmodern high-gain clarityarticulate palm-muted chugsfull-bodied low endcutting upper midsaggressive attackcontrolled feedbackstudio-polished distortiondynamic pick responsecompressed, focused sustain

Difficulty

The riff requires tight palm muting, precise timing, and dynamic control to maintain clarity under high-gain settings. The use of subtle effects and syncopated rhythms adds to the technical challenge.