Riff Tone

To Carry the Load

Crowbar

Guitarmetal1990s

Original Gear

GuitarGibson Les Paul Custom (early 1980s, likely Norlin era, as used by Kirk Windstein on early Crowbar records)

AmpMesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier (most likely, as used by Kirk Windstein on early Crowbar albums, including 'Time Heals Nothing' era)

PickupsEMG 81/85 active humbuckers (most likely, based on era and genre, but not 100% confirmed for this exact track)

Amp Settings

gain8.5

bass7.5

mid5

treble5.5

reverb0

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1995. No direct source confirms exact pickups or amp for this song, but all available interviews and genre/era context point to Les Paul Custom with EMGs into a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier. No evidence of pedal use for the main riff section; distortion is amp-based. No modulation or time-based effects audible on the riff.

Tone Character(10)

massive and sludgythick, saturated distortiontight palm-muted chugsmid-scooped, aggressive attackcompressed and percussivehuge low endgrainy, heavy rhythmno modulation or ambienceraw and crushingfocused, punchy riff sound

Difficulty

The riff is slow and not technically complex, but demands tight palm muting, heavy pick attack, and precise rhythm to achieve the crushing, percussive sound characteristic of Crowbar's style.

Sources

How to Record Crushing Tones - Premier Guitar How to make tone like a Crowbar? : r/guitarpedals - Reddit

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