Riff Tone
Too Fast for Love
Mötley Crüe
Guitarmetal1980s
Original Gear
GuitarGibson Les Paul Custom (black, late 1970s/early 1980s, as used by Mick Mars on the original recording)
AmpMarshall JMP 2203 (100W head, likely into Marshall 1960 4x12 cabinet)
PickupsStock Gibson humbuckers (likely T-Top or similar late 70s/early 80s PAF-style humbuckers)
Amp Settings
gain7.5
bass5
mid6.5
treble6.5
reverb0.5
presence6
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording, 1981. Guitar and amp confirmed for the album era; no evidence of BC Rich or Kramer for this song's riff section. No confirmed pedal use for the riff section; distortion is amp-based. Settings estimated from period-correct Marshall JMP usage and forum consensus.
Tone Character(10)
gritty and rawaggressive and punchytight palm-muted chugsmidrange-forward crunchpowerful and resonantslightly scooped but present midsarticulate attackhigh-output humbucker biteMarshall stack saturationminimal ambience (dry studio sound)
Difficulty
The riff is fast and requires tight palm muting and precise alternate picking, but uses straightforward power chords and rhythm patterns, making it accessible to intermediate players.
Sources
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Create Free AccountGuitarmetal1980s
Original Gear
GuitarGibson Les Paul Custom (black, late 1970s/early 1980s, as used by Mick Mars on the original recording)
AmpMarshall JMP 2203 (100W head, likely into Marshall 1960 4x12 cabinet)
PickupsStock Gibson humbuckers (likely T-Top or similar late 70s/early 80s PAF-style humbuckers)
Amp Settings
gain7.5
bass5
mid6.5
treble6.5
reverb0.5
presence6
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording, 1981. Guitar and amp confirmed for the album era; no evidence of BC Rich or Kramer for this song's riff section. No confirmed pedal use for the riff section; distortion is amp-based. Settings estimated from period-correct Marshall JMP usage and forum consensus.
Tone Character(10)
gritty and rawaggressive and punchytight palm-muted chugsmidrange-forward crunchpowerful and resonantslightly scooped but present midsarticulate attackhigh-output humbucker biteMarshall stack saturationminimal ambience (dry studio sound)
Difficulty
The riff is fast and requires tight palm muting and precise alternate picking, but uses straightforward power chords and rhythm patterns, making it accessible to intermediate players.
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