GuitarCleanRiff
Black Hole Sun Riff Guitar Tone Settings — Soundgarden
Soundgarden · 1990s · rock
studio
Original Recording
Guitar
Guild S-100
Pickups
Guild HB-1 humbuckers (microphonic, vintage spec)
Amp
Late-Seventies Marshall Model 1987 JMP 50-watt Lead head + Marshall Model 1960 4x12 angled cabinet with Celestion G12H 30-watt Greenbacks
Pickup Position
Bridge pickup
Studio recording, 1993-1994. Clean riff section. Guitar confirmed by Kim Thayil interview for the riff. Amp confirmed by Guitar World and Premier Guitar. Effects include Leslie rotary speaker emulation (Leslie Model 16 or Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere).
Amp Settings
Mids7.5
Bass5.5
Gain0
Reverb1
Treble6
Presence4.5
Effects Chain
- Leslie Model 16 rotating speaker cabinet (or Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere, or Boss CE-2W in vibrato mode as substitute) · modulation
Guild S-100 (bridge pickup) → Leslie Model 16 (or Rotosphere/CE-2W vibrato) → Marshall JMP 50 head → Marshall 4x12 cab
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Tone Character
- bright and chimey
- distinctive rotary/Leslie modulation
- clear note separation
- ambient, swirling movement
- open-string resonance
- dynamic and expressive
- not compressed or fuzzy
- slightly glassy top end
- organic, microphonic pickup response
- no audible reverb