Surfing with the Alien

Joe Satriani's tone on Surfing with the Alien is a fluid, singing lead sound designed for legato playing and whammy bar acrobatics. The Ibanez JS guitar's high-output DiMarzio pickups drive a cranked Marshall into smooth saturation, while a wah pedal adds expression and a delay provides spacious depth. The tone has enough gain for effortless legato runs but enough clarity for each note to speak distinctly during rapid passages. This is the quintessential instrumental rock guitar tone.