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Sick, Sick, Sick Guitar Tone Settings — Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age · 2000s · rock
studio
Original Recording
Guitar
Maton BB1200
Pickups
Maton humbuckers (custom wound, likely Alnico V, stock on BB1200)
Amp
Ampeg V-4 (1970s, modded) and/or Peavey Decade (solid state combo, likely used for layering)
Pickup Position
Bridge pickup
Studio recording, 2007 (Era Vulgaris). Josh Homme is known for using the Maton BB1200 and Ampeg V-4 for the main riff tones on Era Vulgaris, including 'Sick, Sick, Sick'. Peavey Decade is also rumored to be used for additional layering. No official pedalboard or amp settings for this song's studio recording are published; settings below are based on the closest available user recreation and typical QOTSA studio practices.
Amp Settings
Mids8.5
Bass6
Gain6.5
Reverb0
Treble6
Presence5.5
Effects Chain
- TSE808 Tube Screamer (plugin recreation, likely analog overdrive in studio) · overdrive
Maton BB1200 → Overdrive pedal (Tube Screamer or similar) → Ampeg V-4 (modded, no reverb)
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Tone Character
- tight and percussive
- fuzzy and saturated
- mid-forward EQ
- dry and direct
- compressed and punchy
- minimal ambience
- articulate pick attack
- slightly lo-fi texture
- aggressive and modern
- focused low end
Notes & Caveats
- No official studio pedalboard or amp settings for 'Sick, Sick, Sick' are published; amp settings are based on a user recreation (Garageband sim) and typical QOTSA practices.
- Guitar and amp models are inferred from multiple interviews and rig rundowns for the Era Vulgaris period; Josh Homme is known for using the Maton BB1200 and Ampeg V-4 in studio.
- No explicit evidence of modulation, delay, or reverb effects in the riff section; tone is dry and direct.
- Pedal use is speculative; no confirmed pedal models for this specific recording.
- Pickup choice is inferred from tone and typical Homme practice for riff sections.
- Settings are estimated based on user recreation and genre/era norms.
- Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. Josh Homme's 'Sick, Sick, Sick' tone is thick, mid-forward, and aggressive with a fuzzy, saturated crunch, typical of his Matamp/Ampeg/Orange setups. The bass is solid but not boomy, mids are prominent for punch, treble is tamed to avoid harshness, presence adds clarity, and the tone is bone-dry with no reverb, matching the tight, in-your-face QOTSA production style.