GuitarDistortedRiff
4th of July Riff Guitar Tone Settings — Soundgarden
Soundgarden · 1990s · metal
studio
Original Recording
Guitar
Guild S-100 (likely S-300 variant, as used by Kim Thayil on Superunknown era recordings)
Pickups
DiMarzio Super Distortion (humbucker, bridge position)
Amp
Marshall JMP 50 half stack blended with Mesa-Boogie Dual Rectifier Solo head (studio recording, 1994)
Pickup Position
Bridge pickup
Studio recording for '4th of July' (Superunknown, 1994). Kim Thayil used a Guild S-100 with DiMarzio Super Distortion pickup into a Marshall JMP 50 and Mesa-Boogie Dual Rectifier, blended. No confirmed pedal use for the riff, but high-gain amp distortion is key. Effects are minimal or absent in the main riff.
Amp Settings
Mids6.5
Bass7.5
Gain7.5
Reverb1
Treble5.5
Presence5
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Tone Character
- thick and sludgy
- saturated high-gain
- dark, massive low end
- tight, percussive attack
- mid-heavy, not scooped
- aggressive, doomy
- minimal ambience
- bridge humbucker punch
- dry, amp-driven distortion
- no audible modulation or time-based effects