No. 1521992·desert-rock·4 blocks

Green Machine

The blueprint of desert/stoner rock: Josh Homme's molten riff from Kyuss's Blues for the Red Sun (1992). Produced by Chris Goss at Sound City, the tone is a down-tuned guitar (Ovation Ultra GP, DiMarzio Super 2s) driven hard through a Marshall JCM900 4100 into an Ampeg 8x10 BASS cabinet -- the famous 'guitar through a bass rig' move that gives the riff its woolly, earth-moving low end. The dirt is amp gain plus wah, not a fuzz pedal.

Blues for the Red Sun coverBlues for the Red Sun
Settings for
Signal path · input → output · 7 blocksLive values · Line 6 Helix
Guitar
Ovation Ultra GP (1984 solidbody)
Pickups
HH
Tuning
bridge
Strings
C standard (C-F-Bb-Eb-G-C)
Noise Gate
LA Studio Comp
Fassel
Brit 2204 Brt
8x10 Bass
Plate
Noise Gate
← Studio noise gate
Cab
Threshold
6dB
Decay
4s
LA Studio Comp
← Tracking compression
Dynamics
Threshold
-26dB
Ratio
3:1
Knee
4dB
Attack
30ms
Release
200ms
Mix
40
Level
0dB
Fassel
← Dunlop Cry Baby Wah
Wah
Mix
100
Level
0
Brit 2204 Brt
← Marshall JCM900 4100
Amp
Drive
8
Bass
7
Mid
6
Treble
6
Presence
5
ChVol
6
Master
6
Bias
5.5
BiasX
5
Sag
5
Hum
5
Ripple
5
8x10 Bass
← Ampeg 8x10 bass cabinet
Cab
LowCut55Hz
HighCut5500Hz
Resonance
0.6
Level
0dB
Pan
0.5
Delay
0
Plate
← Studio room / Goss ambience
Reverb
LowCut200Hz
HighCut6000Hz
Mix
9
Decay
1s
Predelay
18ms
Level
0

What we checked

Computed by a program, on this recipe, every time this page is built. How this works

Preset files — 0 of 3 complete
  • Helix 2 blocks missing from the file
    Which ones

    Not in the file: Brit 2204 Brt, 8x10 Bass. The recipe calls for these blocks, but we have no verified model ID for them on this platform, so the preset is written without them. Add them by hand using the settings above.

  • Quad Cortex 4 blocks replaced with a stand-in model
    Which ones

    Replaced with a stand-in: Studio Comp, Cry Baby Wah, Brit 2203, 8x10 Bass Cab. These load cleanly but are not the model named above — the file will sound wrong here until we map them. Set these blocks by hand.

  • Katana 2 blocks replaced with a stand-in model
    Which ones

    Replaced with a stand-in: Brown, Plate. These load cleanly but are not the model named above — the file will sound wrong here until we map them. Set these blocks by hand.

Helix DSP
20.6% of one chip — fits
Sources
2 cited, 1 from publications that do original gear reporting
Attribution
Not yet rated — This recipe predates the attribution-confidence field and hasn't been reviewed for it.
What we didn't check
  • Nobody played this through a real amp. There is no human listening test behind any number on this page.
  • The settings are reasoned from the sources below, not measured off the record.
  • No audio has been rendered for this recipe yet, so you cannot hear it before you load it.
  • 3 platforms on this page (TONEX, Kemper, Fractal) get a model pointer, not a preset file — nothing was built or checked for them.
The mic in this chain

Shure SM57

The source doesn't name the mic — this is the standard choice for this sound, and what the chain above assumes.

Affiliate links — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. The mic is listed because the chain uses it, not because anyone paid for the placement.

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