Player No. 054grunge
Kim Thayil
Soundgarden's lead guitarist and a cornerstone of the Seattle sound. Thayil built 'Superunknown''s heavy, droning lead voice on a Guild S-100 through blended Marshall and Mesa/Boogie amps, favoring drop tunings and a dark, modal sensibility that set Soundgarden apart from their grunge peers. On 'Black Hole Sun' he handled the leads while Chris Cornell tracked the watery rotary-speaker rhythm.
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ThayilFILE 054
The Thayil catalogue
Field notes on Thayil
All field notes →The Edge's Delay Settings Decoded: How U2 Gets That Sound
Dotted eighth notes, analog repeats, and the delay settings that define U2's guitar sound. Plus how to set it up on your modeler.
How to Get Stevie Ray Vaughan's Tone on Line 6 Helix
The complete SRV Helix preset guide. Amp model, drive settings, and the secret sauce that makes it sound like Texas.
Hybrid Picking for Rock and Blues: Ghost Notes Without the Country Context
Hybrid picking isn't a country-only technique. Mark Knopfler, Albert Collins, and Scotty Moore built careers on it in rock and blues. Here's the technique, where it applies, and the specific moments where using your middle finger changes a phrase from good to right.