GuitarDistortedRiff
Honey Bucket Riff Guitar Tone Settings — Melvins
Melvins · 1990s · metal
studio
Original Recording
Guitar
Gibson Les Paul Custom (likely late 1970s or early 1980s, black, stock humbuckers)
Pickups
Gibson humbuckers (stock, likely T-Top or Dirty Fingers depending on exact year)
Amp
Sunn Model T (original, early 1970s version, as used by Buzz Osborne on Houdini album)
Pickup Position
Bridge pickup (confirmed by Osborne's use of selector for aggressive tone in riff)
Studio recording for 'Honey Bucket' (1993, Houdini album). Gear confirmed for this era and song by multiple interviews and video lessons. Pickup selector used as a 'three-stage gain switch' per Osborne. No evidence of pedals on the original studio recording; distortion comes from amp. No evidence of time-based or modulation effects in the riff section.
Amp Settings
Mids6
Bass7
Gain8.5
Reverb0
Treble7
Presence6.5
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Tone Character
- raw and aggressive
- sludgy and thick
- tight and percussive
- fuzzy high-gain saturation
- mid-heavy punch
- articulate attack
- dry, no ambience
- choked strumming
- atonal and noisy
- heavy, crushing riff