No. 0271985·indie-rock·3 blocks
How Soon Is Now?
One of the most iconic guitar tones in alternative rock. Johnny Marr's tone on How Soon Is Now? is built on a Rickenbacker 330 through a Fender Twin Reverb with extreme tremolo effect. The tremolo is the defining feature: a pulsating, rhythmic wobble that gives the song its hypnotic, driving feel. Marr used four separate amp channels processed with tremolo at different speeds, then blended them to create a massive, swirling stereo effect. The result is a guitar tone that sounds like it is breathing.
Meat Is MurderSignal path · input → output · 5 blocksLive values · Boss Katana
Guitar
Rickenbacker 330
Pickups
SS
Tuning
bridge
Strings
standard
Compressor
Clean
Tremolo
Spring
Compressor
← Studio compressor
Drive
0
Bottom
5
Tone
6
Level
5
Clean
← Fender Twin Reverb
Gain
3
Volume
5
Bass
4
Middle
5
Treble
7
Presence
6
Tremolo
← Fender Vibrato
Rate
6Hz
Depth
80
Level
7
Spring
← Twin Reverb spring tank
Time
3ms
PreDelay
20ms
Tone
6
EffectLevel
22
Engineer's note
File 027
One of the most iconic guitar tones in alternative rock. Johnny Marr's tone on How Soon Is Now? is built on a Rickenbacker 330 through a Fender Twin Reverb with extreme tremolo effect. The tremolo is the defining feature: a pulsating, rhythmic wobble that gives the song its hypnotic, driving feel. Marr used four separate amp channels processed with tremolo at different speeds, then blended them to create a massive, swirling stereo effect. The result is a guitar tone that sounds like it is breathing.
— Johnny Marr
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