GuitarDistortedRiff
Machine head Riff Guitar Tone Settings — Bush
Bush · 1990s · rock
studio
Original Recording
Guitar
Fender Jaguar (likely 1990s Japanese reissue, as used by Gavin Rossdale on Sixteen Stone)
Pickups
Fender Jaguar single-coil pickups
Amp
Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Trem-O-Verb head (used in studio for Sixteen Stone, including 'Machinehead')
Pickup Position
Bridge pickup
Studio recording, 1994-1995. Gavin Rossdale used a Fender Jaguar into a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Trem-O-Verb for the main riff tones on 'Machinehead'. No evidence of live/touring substitutions or alternate guitars/amps for the studio recording. Pedal use is debated, but the core riff tone is widely attributed to guitar → amp with minimal effects.
Amp Settings
Mids5.5
Bass6
Gain7.5
Reverb1.5
Treble6.5
Presence6
Effects Chain
- Noise gate (model unknown) · noise_gate
Fender Jaguar → (Noise gate, if used) → Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Trem-O-Verb (spring reverb low)
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Tone Character
- thick and crunchy
- tight and percussive
- mid-heavy punch
- articulate note separation
- bassy but not muddy
- dynamic and responsive
- aggressive pick attack
- British-voiced crunch
- full-bodied modern rock
- slightly compressed