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 · 7 blocksLive values · Neural DSP Quad Cortex
Guitar
Rickenbacker 330
Pickups
SS
Tuning
bridge
Strings
standard
Studio Comp
US DLX 64
Tremolo
2x12 Twin
Spring Reverb
Tilt EQ
Studio Comp
← Studio compressor
Threshold
-36dB
Ratio
2:1
Attack
38s
Release
200s
Mix
70
Level
0dB
US DLX 64
← Fender Twin Reverb
Gain
3
Bass
4
Mid
5
Treble
7
Presence
6
Master
5
Tremolo
← Fender Vibrato
Speed
6Hz
Depth
8
2x12 Twin
← Twin Reverb 2x12
LowCut80Hz
HighCut9000Hz
Level
0dB
Spring Reverb
← Twin Reverb spring tank
Decay
0.6s
Predelay
20ms
Mix
20
Level
0
Tilt EQ
← Tilt EQ (global brightness)
Tilt
5
CenterFreq
1000Hz
Level
0
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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