Creep's dynamic shift from delicate clean arpeggios to crushing distorted chords is one of the most dramatic in rock. Greenwood's Telecaster Plus runs through a Fender Eighty Five amp for the clean verses. Before each chorus, he smashes the strings with a Marshall Shredmaster engaged, creating that iconic crunching noise that signals the heavy section. The contrast between whisper-quiet cleans and massive distortion defines the song.