Guitar Legends

Latest & Greatest...

I Am The Resurrection Guitar Tone: Squire's Jam

The closing track of the debut album is two songs in one: a jangly, funky pop verse and a sprawling instrumental jam that lets John Squire cut loose with wah and fuzz. It's the fullest showcase of his range on...

Read more

This Is The One Guitar Tone: Squire's Build

A live favourite and Ferguson's walk-out song, This Is The One is a slow-building anthem — John Squire starting with chiming clean arpeggios and swelling into a wall of jangly drive by the finish. The tone journey is the whole...

Read more

In Bloom Guitar Tone: Nirvana's Thick Distortion

In Bloom is peak Nevermind — a monster chorus riff built on thick, slightly gritty distortion with a wash of chorus underneath that gives it a queasy, detuned shimmer. It's loud, it's catchy, and the tone is deceptively specific. What...

Read more

Hey Joe Guitar Tone: Hendrix's Warm Strat Sound

Hendrix's debut single is a slower burn than the pyrotechnics that followed. Hey Joe is about feel — a warm, rounded Strat tone that sits back in the verses and opens up for the solo, all taste and restraint. What...

Read more

Voodoo Child Guitar Tone: Hendrix Wah & Fuzz

That opening flurry of wah is arguably the most famous use of the pedal in rock history. Voodoo Child (Slight Return) is Hendrix's signature statement — Strat, wah and a cranked Marshall, played with a swagger nobody has matched. What...

Read more

The Queen Is Dead Guitar Tone: Marr Goes Raw

People who think The Smiths were all delicate jangle haven't cranked The Queen Is Dead. This is Marr at his most feral — a relentless, wah-soaked rave-up he's openly compared to the MC5 and the Velvet Underground. What makes the...

Read more

There Is A Light Guitar Tone: Marr's Jangle

The Smiths' most beloved song rides on a bright, chiming guitar figure that never lets up — a masterclass in Johnny Marr's layered clean approach, where several simple parts stack into something orchestral. What makes the tone. This is clean...

Read more

How Soon Is Now Guitar Tone: Marr's Tremolo Wall

Few intros are as instantly recognisable as the seasick swell that opens How Soon Is Now. It's one of the most misunderstood tones in indie guitar, because the pulsing rhythm isn't a chorus pedal or a synth — it's hard...

Read more

Bigmouth Strikes Again Guitar Tone: Johnny Marr

A relentless, capo-high jangle with a famous secret layer, "Bigmouth Strikes Again" is Marr firing on all cylinders. Here's the tone. What makes the tone. A bright, clean amp and a capo high on the neck for that fast, chiming...

Read more

The Killing Moon Guitar Tone: Will Sergeant's Sound

Dark, fatalistic and cinematic, "The Killing Moon" is one of the great atmospheric guitar records. Here's Will Sergeant's tone. What makes the tone. A clean guitar drenched in reverb and delay, with a cold, slightly modulated shimmer — spacious and...

Read more

Fools Gold Guitar Tone: John Squire's Wah Funk

"Fools Gold" is where the Roses went full groove — a hypnotic, wah-soaked funk workout over that unshakeable beat. Here's Squire's tone. What makes the tone. A wah is the whole personality — swept and parked, funky and vocal. Under...

Read more

She Bangs the Drums Guitar Tone: John Squire

Pure sunshine in guitar form — "She Bangs the Drums" is bright, bouncing Madchester jangle with a gorgeous melodic solo. Here's Squire's tone. What makes the tone. A bright, clean-to-lightly-driven guitar with chorus and reverb, played as ringing arpeggios and...

Read more

Killing in the Name Guitar Tone: Tom Morello

Few riffs hit as hard as "Killing in the Name" — and the tuning is half the battle. Here's Tom Morello's tone. What makes the tone. Drop-D tuning is essential — the riff doesn't work without it. Into that, a...

Read more

Shine On You Crazy Diamond Guitar Tone: Gilmour

Four notes. That's all it takes to recognise "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" — a lament for Syd Barrett with some of the most emotive, sustaining lead tone Gilmour ever recorded. Here's how. What makes the tone. A Strat into...

Read more

Higher Ground Guitar Tone: Frusciante's Funk Fuzz

The Chili Peppers took Stevie Wonder's clav line and turned it into a fuzzed-up funk-rock juggernaut. Here's Frusciante's "Higher Ground" tone. What makes the tone. A single-coil (Strat) into a fuzz or aggressive overdrive, played hard and percussive — bright,...

Read more

Immigrant Song Guitar Tone: Jimmy Page's Riff

Two seconds of that galloping riff and you're somewhere cold and Viking. "Immigrant Song" is relentless, tight and aggressive — here's how Page built it. What makes the tone. A Les Paul on the bridge pickup into a cranked, mid-forward...

Read more

Come As You Are Guitar Tone: Cobain's Chorus Riff

That watery, descending riff is one of the most recognisable sounds of the '90s — and it's all about one pedal. Here's Cobain's "Come As You Are" tone. What makes the tone. The signature is a chorus pedal (a Small...

Read more

Comfortably Numb Guitar Tone: Gilmour's Solo Sound

The "Comfortably Numb" solo is, for many, the greatest guitar tone ever recorded — vocal, soaring, with sustain that seems to last forever. Here's how David Gilmour built it. What makes the tone. A Strat into a Big Muff-style fuzz,...

Read more

Waterfall Guitar Tone: John Squire's Jangle

"Waterfall" lives up to its name — cascading, bright, chorus-soaked arpeggios that shimmer and tumble. Here's the tone. What makes the tone. A clean, bright guitar (Squire's sparkle) with chorus and reverb, played as cascading picked arpeggios rather than strums....

Read more

I Wanna Be Adored Guitar Tone: John Squire's Sound

"I Wanna Be Adored" is a slow-burn masterpiece — a shimmering, reverb-soaked build that erupts into swagger. Here's Squire's sound. What makes the tone. The intro is a clean, chorus-and-reverb-drenched guitar, spacious and hypnotic. As it builds, a warm overdrive...

Read more

Give It Away Guitar Tone: Frusciante's Funk-Rock Bite

"Give It Away" is Frusciante at his most percussive and raw — scratchy, funky, aggressive. Here's the sound. What makes the tone. A single-coil bite (Strat) into an amp on the edge of breakup, with a wah for the vocal,...

Read more

Under the Bridge Guitar Tone: Frusciante's Clean Sound

"Under the Bridge" opens with one of the most beautiful clean intros in rock — all warmth and voicing, no bombast. Here's Frusciante's sound. What makes the tone. A Strat on the neck (or neck+middle) pickup into a clean, slightly...

Read more

Whole Lotta Love Guitar Tone: Jimmy Page's Riff

The "Whole Lotta Love" riff is one of the rawest, most swaggering sounds in rock — and it's simpler than people think. Here's how Page did it. What makes the tone. A Les Paul (bridge pickup) into a small, driven...

Read more

Kashmir Guitar Tone: Jimmy Page's Riff & Tuning

"Kashmir" isn't a solo showcase — it's a slab of hypnotic, orchestral menace, and its power comes as much from the tuning as the amp. Here's how Page built it. What makes the tone. The first secret is the tuning:...

Read more

This Charming Man Guitar Tone: Johnny Marr's Jangle

"This Charming Man" is arguably the finest jangle ever committed to tape — a cascade of bright, interlocking arpeggios that sounds like several guitars at once, because it is. Here's how Johnny Marr built it. What makes the tone. Layering...

Read more

Smells Like Teen Spirit Guitar Tone: Kurt Cobain's Sound

Few riffs flipped a switch in music like "Smells Like Teen Spirit." The secret to Kurt Cobain's tone is a contrast most people miss: it's clean-ish in the verses and a wall of fuzz in the chorus. Here's how to...

Read more

Made of Stone Guitar Tone: John Squire's Sound

"Made of Stone" is John Squire at his most soaring — part jangle, part psychedelic wah-soaked lead, dripping with reverb and swagger. Here's how to get that Stone Roses sound. What makes the tone. A wah, often held in a...

Read more

Stairway to Heaven Guitar Tone: Jimmy Page's Sound, Step by Step

"Stairway to Heaven" travels further than almost any track in rock — from fingerpicked folk to a full Les Paul-through-Marshall climax. Getting it right means getting three tones right. Here's how Jimmy Page built each stage. What makes the tone....

Read more

Purple Haze Guitar Tone: How to Get Jimi Hendrix's Fuzz

"Purple Haze" is the moment electric guitar stopped being polite. Jimi Hendrix's tone is thick, saturated and gloriously unhinged — and four decades of players have tried to bottle it. Here's what actually built that sound, and how to get...

Read more

Chasing the Jangle: Johnny Marr

Discover the gear and studio techniques behind Johnny Marr’s iconic indie jangle, and how to recreate his lush, chorus-driven layers for your own rig.

Read more

Manchester Swagger: John Squire

Explore the psychedelic, fuzz-driven genius of John Squire. Learn how he blended classic 60s gear with 90s Manchester attitude to create a legendary guitar tone.

Read more

Post-Punk Textures: Will Sergeant

Dive into the atmospheric, post-punk guitar textures of Will Sergeant, and learn how delay and modulation shaped the cinematic sound of Echo & the Bunnymen.

Read more

The Wall of Sound: Andy Bell

Uncover the secrets of the shoegaze wall of sound. How Andy Bell utilized 12-string guitars, reverse reverb, and heavy saturation to define the tone of Ride.

Read more

The Heavy Blueprint: Jimmy Page

Jimmy Page authored the book on massive guitar tone. Explore the studio alchemy, vintage fuzz, and small-amp secrets behind his most legendary recordings.

Read more

Raw Energy: John Frusciante

Strip back the effects and embrace the raw energy. Discover the specific vintage gear, distortion, and amps behind John Frusciante’s iconic funk-rock tone.

Read more