Riff Tone

Yellow Ledbetter

Pearl Jam

Guitarblues1990s

Original Gear

GuitarFender Stratocaster '62 Reissue (Sunburst, Rosewood fretboard)

AmpFender Twin Reverb (Blackface, early 1990s studio recording era)

PickupsFender single-coil Stratocaster pickups (vintage style, stock or era-correct replacements)

Amp Settings

gain3

bass6

mid6.5

treble6.5

reverb4

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

modulationDunlop Dunlop JD-4S Rotovibe

otherErnie Ball Ernie Ball 6166 Volume Pedal

Notes

Studio recording, 1991 (Ten sessions). All evidence points to McCready using his '62 Stratocaster for the clean riff, plugged into a Fender Twin Reverb for the classic clean tone. No evidence of Marshall or Satellite amps for the original studio clean tone. Effects are minimal, with Uni-Vibe style modulation likely present. Pickup selector in position 4 (neck + middle) for the intro/riff clean sound.

Tone Character(10)

warm and glassyslightly scooped midstouch-sensitivesubtle modulation shimmerclear note separationopen and airymild spring reverb ambiencedynamic picking responseblues-inspired phrasingclean Stratocaster sparkle

Difficulty

The riff requires intermediate to advanced control of clean Stratocaster voicings, dynamic picking, and subtle modulation/volume pedal use for expressive phrasing. Thumb-over chords and expressive bends add to the challenge.

Sources

Mike McCready's Guitar Gear, Pedalboard & Amps | Equipboard Pearl Jam – Even Flow - Gear & Equipment Used on the Single | Equipboard Mike McCready | Wiki @ Ultimate-Guitar.com Mike McCready's Effects Pedals | Equipboard

This tone has been researched 5 times by the community

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