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, biting and slightly unhinged. It's a raw, mid-forward grind rather than a smooth distortion, and a lot of the sound is in the muted, funky right-hand attack.

The analogue recipe. Strat, a fuzz or a fat overdrive into a driven amp, gain up but dynamic. Play percussively and let the fuzz spit.

On a Boss GT-100 / GT-1000 / GX-100. A fuzz or hot OD block into a crunch amp model, mids up. Keep it raw.

On a Kemper. A driven profile with a fuzz stomp in front. Dynamic and bright.

Skip the guesswork. The Soulster Tonebook for fans of Red Hot Chili Peppers → has it ready for Boss GT and Kemper. Go deeper in our John Frusciante guitar tone guide →.

See all 32 Red Hot Chili Peppers prints →

Put it on the wall. The "Higher Ground" print → and "Higher Ground" Practice print → and the "Higher Ground" Studio print →.