After decades as everybody's favourite collaborator, from the Smiths to the Cribs by way of Electronic and Modest Mouse, Johnny Marr finally made a record under his own name in 2013. The Messenger took the album to No. 10 in the UK, and its title track sets out the new stall: harder, faster and less chiming than the Smiths records people expected.
What makes the tone. Marr's signature Fender Jaguar goes into a Fender amp with moderate drive, tightly muted and rhythmic rather than spread across wide arpeggios. A short harmonised lead line in the chorus is lifted by a digital delay. There is chorus in the chain, but only a thin coat, so the edge survives.
The analogue recipe. Jaguar or another bright offset, a compressor, a light overdrive, a CE-2-type chorus kept subtle, then a Fender amp past clean, a digital delay and a small room reverb. Marr reportedly used Nashville tuning for the shimmer, so a high-strung second guitar gets you closer than any pedal.
How to play it. A minor, open position, 138 BPM, intermediate. The verse simply alternates A minor and F, so the challenge is keeping it light and ringing on a guitar in standard tuning. Mute with the heel of your picking hand through the verses and lift it off for the chorus.
On a Boss GT-1000 / GX-100 / GT-100. The amp is a blend of Twin Combo and Brit Stack into Jensen and Greenback cabs, fed by a Natural OD booster. After it come compression, a thin CE-1 chorus, a digital delay and a small room. Assign CTL1 to the booster for the lead line, and keep the repeats tucked just behind it.
On a Kemper. A modern driven Fender profile is the base. Stomp A compresses, B is a Soft Drive and C a Vintage Chorus, with a digital delay parked in the X slot and room reverb at the end. Morph the Soft Drive in for the lead, and keep the chorus shallow enough that the mutes stay percussive.
Skip the guesswork. The full patch for “The Messenger” — every setting for Boss GT and Kemper — lives in the Soulster Tonebook for fans of Johnny Marr (Solo Years) →. Go deeper in our Johnny Marr guitar tone guide →
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