Barely two minutes long and as cheerful as a picnic, at least until you hear the words. The single came out in August 1987 ahead of Strangeways, Here We Come, recorded at the Wool Hall in Bath with Stephen Street, and reached No. 13. The joke is in the guitar: Marr plays it sweet and bouncy against one of Morrissey's grimmest subjects.
What makes the tone. A Telecaster into a Roland JC-120 gives the bright, glassy base, and a CE-2 adds a gentle swirl on top. Light studio compression evens out the picking so the figure trips along without spikes. Nothing heavier ever comes in; the restraint is the sound.
The analogue recipe. Telecaster on a bright pickup, a light compressor, a CE-2 chorus, then a clean solid-state amp in the Jazz Chorus mould, and a short room reverb. If your amp has its own chorus, use that or the pedal, not both. Keep the room small so the part stays crisp and close.
How to play it. Played open in G major at 100 BPM, it is a four-chord beginner song. Strum lightly and let it lilt rather than pushing it, and practise the move into E minor and back so the changes stay unhurried. The song is so short that any stumble stands out, which makes it good discipline.
On a Boss GT-1000 / GX-100 / GT-100. The Twin Combo preamp stands in for the JC-120 here, kept clean with the treble lifted. Run compressor, then CE-1 chorus, no drive or delay, then a room reverb. Set the chorus lighter than feels natural at first, because Marr's figure needs its edges.
On a Kemper. Find a bright, airy JC-120 clean profile with next to no tube shape. Compressor in Stomp A, Vintage Chorus in Stomp B, room reverb in the effects section, everything else off. Pick nearer the bridge if it sounds soft; the sparkle should come from the hands as much as the profile.
Skip the guesswork. Every block and every value for “Girlfriend in a Coma” is laid out in the Soulster Tonebook for fans of The Smiths, Vol. II →, along with the key, the capo and the chord shapes. Go deeper in our Johnny Marr guitar tone guide →
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