Out of the Black Riff Guitar Tone Settings — Royal Blood
Royal Blood · 2010s+ · rock
studio
Original Recording
Studio recording, 2013-2014. Mike Kerr used a short-scale Gretsch Junior Jet II bass split into both a Fender Super-Sonic guitar amp and a Fender Bassman bass amp. The guitar amp provides the distorted, guitar-like tone for the riff. The octave effect is crucial to achieve the 'guitar' sound from the bass. No evidence of a traditional guitar used on the studio recording for the riff section.
Amp Settings
Effects Chain
- Electro-Harmonix POG2 Polyphonic Octave Generator · octave
- Electro-Harmonix Germanium 4 Big Muff Pi · fuzz
Gretsch Junior Jet II Bass → Electro-Harmonix POG2 → Electro-Harmonix Germanium 4 Big Muff Pi → ABY splitter → Fender Super-Sonic (guitar amp, for octave/fuzz) + Fender Bassman (bass amp, for low end)
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Tone Character
- aggressive and saturated
- tight and percussive
- articulate upper mids
- punchy low end
- compressed wall-of-sound
- harmonically rich
- octave-doubled guitar/bass illusion
- minimal ambience
- dry and direct
- crunchy riff texture
Notes & Caveats
- No direct amp knob settings for 'Out of the Black' studio recording found; values estimated based on typical Fender Super-Sonic settings for modern rock and genre/era conventions.
- No evidence of a traditional guitar used for the riff; all sources confirm bass with octave and fuzz effects into guitar and bass amps.
- Pedal order and exact settings are not disclosed by the artist; pedal models inferred from multiple interviews and gear breakdowns.
- No explicit mention of amp reverb or other amp-based effects; reverb setting estimated low due to dry, direct sound on recording.
- Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. Royal Blood's 'Out of the Black' riff is achieved with a heavily distorted, mid-forward tone (often using bass with octave/fuzz pedals into guitar amps), tight but not boomy lows, and aggressive presence for cut. The production is dry with no audible reverb, matching their raw, punchy modern rock sound.