Rooster Amp Settings
Rooster features Jerry Cantrell's masterful balance of heavy and melodic. His tone — a Bogner Ecstasy and Marshall JCM800 — shifts from clean arpeggios to thick, wah-filtered leads that define Alice in Chains' dark, emotional sound.
What Makes This Tone Iconic
Cantrell's tone bridges grunge and metal in a way nobody else quite achieved. The Bogner Ecstasy provides smooth, vocal-quality overdrive for leads, while the Marshall delivers crunch for rhythms. His use of a wah pedal as a tone filter (similar to Hendrix) adds a crying, human quality to his solos. It's heavy music that makes you feel something.
Key Tone Elements
- Bogner Ecstasy for smooth, vocal lead overdrive
- Marshall JCM800 for tighter rhythm crunch
- Wah pedal used as tone filter on lead passages
- G&L Rampage guitar with humbucker
- Dynamic range from clean arpeggios to heavy power chords
Original Recording Settings
Original Gear
- Guitar
- Gibson Les Paul Custom / G&L Rampage
- Pickups
- Gibson/G&L humbuckers (bridge)
- Amplifier
- Bogner Ecstasy / Marshall JCM800
- Channel
- Overdrive
- Tuning
- Eb standard
- Pickup Selector
- bridge
- Strings
- 0.010-0.052
Bogner provides smooth, rich overdrive.
Amp Settings
Effects Chain
Playing Technique
Wah used expressively. Haunting repetitive riff. Precise, deliberate with space. Builds from atmospheric intro to heavier sections.
Sources+
- Premier Guitar: Jerry Cantrell Rig Rundown
- Equipboard.com - Jerry Cantrell
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