The first thing most people heard from John Squire after the Stone Roses was this riff, and it told them plenty. Released in April 1997 ahead of Do It Yourself, it went to No. 3 in the UK. Tony Visconti produced the sessions at Ridge Farm in Surrey.
What makes the tone. Gone is the swirling jangle; in its place stands a Strat into a Marshall stack turned up to a natural crunch. Verses ride a bright, moderately driven sound tightened by studio compression, and the chorus drives the amp on into thicker saturation. A CE-2 is in the chain, but only as a faint shimmer, and the lead break favours bends over layers.
The analogue recipe. Stratocaster, compressor, a CE-2-style chorus used sparingly, then a Marshall pushed to crunch, finished with a little room ambience. A boost or overdrive kicking in for the chorus gives the lift. For a bigger jump in the loud sections, switch the chorus off as the boost goes on.
How to play it. F sharp major. Capo off, 128 BPM, intermediate. The verse lives around F sharp and B, which means barre chords, so build stamina in the fretting hand first. On the album the song stretches into a solo that runs for minutes, so once the riff feels natural there is plenty of room to improvise.
On a Boss GT-1000 / GX-100 / GT-100. Everything starts with the Brit Stack model feeding a Greenback 4x12. A Natural OD booster waits in the drive slot, a compressor follows, then a shallow CE-1 chorus and a small room, while the delay stays unused. Assign CTL1 to the booster for the choruses; the modulation should be felt more than heard.
On a Kemper. A natural-crunch Marshall profile is right. Compressor in Stomp A, Soft Drive in B for the chorus push, Vintage Chorus in C, and a room reverb behind the amp. Morph the drive on for the louder sections, and ease the guitar volume down slightly in the verses so the jump feels bigger.
Skip the guesswork. Every block and every value for “Love Is the Law” is laid out in the Soulster Tonebook for fans of The Seahorses →, along with the key, the capo and the chord shapes. Go deeper in our John Squire guitar tone guide →
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