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Miracle Man Riff Guitar Tone Settings — Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne · 1980s · metal
studio
Original Recording
Guitar
1981 Gibson Les Paul Custom (bullseye finish)
Pickups
EMG 81 (bridge, active humbucker)
Amp
Marshall JCM800 2203 100-watt head (6550 tubes) into Marshall 1960B 4x12 cab with Celestion G12T-75 speakers
Pickup Position
Bridge pickup
Studio recording, 1988 (No Rest for the Wicked album). Zakk Wylde used only the bridge pickup per Ozzy's instructions. Settings and pedals are for the studio recording, not live.
Amp Settings
Mids4.5
Bass7.5
Gain9
Reverb0
Treble8
Presence4.5
Effects Chain
- Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive · overdrive
Guitar (Les Paul Custom, bridge EMG 81) → Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive → Marshall JCM800 2203 head → Marshall 1960B 4x12 cab
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Tone Character
- tight palm-muted chugs
- aggressive bridge pickup attack
- high-output active pickup clarity
- percussive and articulate
- wide vibrato
- molten, saturated distortion
- slammin’ and loud
- bone-crushing crunch
- pinch harmonics jump out
- thick, heavy low end
Notes & Caveats
- Amp settings are taken directly from Guitar World for Zakk Wylde's Ozzy era and match the JCM800/EMG setup described for 'Miracle Man'.
- No evidence of time-based or modulation effects (delay, reverb, chorus, etc.) on the riff section; chorus pedal was used in later eras but not confirmed for this riff.
- Pedal settings are from Zakk's Ozzy rig but chorus was not used on the riff section of 'Miracle Man'.
- No amp reverb or delay used; JCM800 does not have built-in reverb.
- All sources confirm bridge pickup only for this album per Ozzy's instructions.
- Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. Zakk Wylde's 'Miracle Man' riff tone is a classic late-80s high-gain sound: tight, aggressive, and slightly scooped, likely using a JCM800 or similar with an overdrive in front. The bass is kept tight, mids are scooped for that era's metal punch, treble and presence are high for cut, and the tone is very dry with no audible reverb.