Riff Tone

Transdermal Celebration

Ween

Guitarrock2000s

Original Gear

GuitarPRS Santana Signature (Carlos Santana's guitar, used for solo only; riff section likely Dean Ween's main guitar, but not confirmed for studio recording)

AmpMesa/Boogie Mark I (Carlos Santana's amp, used for solo only); riff section amp not confirmed, but Dean Ween is known to use Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier live

PickupsPRS Santana Signature humbuckers (for solo); riff section pickups not confirmed, likely humbuckers

Amp Settings

gain6

bass6

mid7

treble6.5

reverb3

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 2003 (Quebec album). The solo was famously recorded using Carlos Santana's PRS guitar and Mesa/Boogie Mark I amp, but there is no direct evidence the riff section used this setup. No studio photos or interviews confirm the exact guitar/amp for the riff. Live, Dean Ween often uses a Fender Stratocaster with Seymour Duncan Hot Rails in the bridge and a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier, but this is not confirmed for the studio recording.

Tone Character(10)

thick and saturatedmid-forward crunchtight and articulateslightly compressed attackwarm low endpresent upper midsnot overly brightmodest reverb for spaceno modulation swirlclassic alternative rock drive

Difficulty

The riff requires tight, consistent strumming and syncopated chord changes, but does not involve advanced techniques or high speed, making it accessible to intermediate players.

Sources

When Dean Ween secretly cut a solo with Carlos Santana's rig | Guitar World Ween – All Request Live - Gear & Equipment Used on the Album | Equipboard Transdermal celebration has a very faint guitar on the right side ...

This tone has been researched 2 times by the community

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