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 scooped, high-gain Marshall (mids down, tight low end), a wah for the solo, and Morello's toggle-switch kill-switch stutter. Aggressive and percussive, but tight rather than mushy.
The analogue recipe. Tune to drop D, humbucker bridge into a high-gain Marshall-style amp — scoop the mids a touch, keep the low end tight, add a wah for leads. Palm-mute hard.
On a Boss GT-100 / GT-1000 / GX-100. A high-gain Marshall model, tight low end, a wah block, a noise gate to keep it punchy.
On a Kemper. A high-gain profile, drop-D, gate on, wah for the solo.
Skip the guesswork. The Soulster Tonebook for fans of Rage Against the Machine → has it dialled for Boss GT and Kemper.
Put it on the wall. The "Killing in the Name" print → and LA poster →.
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