Tom Morello's Setup

NOTE: I (Orlando Barone) did not write this article, if you know who did let me know and I will give them credit.

Apologies for the poor-quality diagram, but it's only ascii art and I use it to keep download times as quick as possible. Thanks to Stephen Quinlan (c2squinl@CompApp.DCU.IE) for this information.

 Guitar
   |
   |
/----------\    _     _     _     _     _ 
| Marshall |-->|1|-->|2|-->|3|-->|4|-->|5|
| JCM 900  |   |_|   |_|   |_|   |_|   |_|
\----------/                            |
   |     ^                              |
   |     |______________________________|
   |
/----------\
| Peavey   |
|  4 x 12  |
| Speakers |
\----------/

The boxed numbers refer to the different effect pedals Tom uses:

1. Dunlop Crybaby
2. Digitech Whammy: Used primarily in double octave and fifth settings. For the solo in "Wake Up" and the fade in sounds in "Settle For Nothing," the Whammy is set on a 10th up from normal pitch. I'm not sure about the 'Whammy 1' pedal, but on the 'Whammy 2' you can achieve this pitch shift by selecting the octave harmoniser setting and carefully moving the pedal until the desired 10th pitch is achieved.
3. Boss DD-2: Effect level is set to max, whilst the feedback is set to 2 repeats and the medium delay is 400-450 milliseconds.
4. DOD EQ: This is used for a volume boost on the solos so it's set flat with teh level up just a tad.
5. Ibanez Flanger: The 'Green Super Old' flanger pedal is set for a wide slow flange.

The pedals are all put through the effects loop in a really untraditional order. Usually the Crybaby goes on front of the amp, not through the effects loop.

Amplifiers

Tom uses a stock 50-watt Marshall JCM 900 2205 Head. Old tubes are used to create more of a fuzzy sound. The reverb is turned off, and the master volume is adjusted to suit each venue he plays in and all the other settings are cranked to the max. The head goes into a 4 x 12 Peavey Cabinet with 30 Watt Celestions.

Guitars

Tom's main guitar is a Strat-style body modelled after a Kramer with an extra-wide rosewood Performance neck. The hardware is from all different guitars, and it has two EMG humbuckers. The wiring is kind of unique. The guitar has two volume controls, one for each pickup, so that Tom can get a toggle effect where he'll turn the neck pickup off and the other one all the way up. The intro of Know Your Enemy is a good example, although you'll hear it elsewhere too. The guitar is equipped with a Floyd Rose, and it has been routed out so that Tom can pull up on the bar. He strings his guitar with GHS Boomers Custom Lites, .009-0.46 use Dunlop M3 Jazz picks. Just to be safe, Tom also brings a stock Fender American Standard Telecaster strung with .009's along the road. He also uses a Gibson Double Neck SG.

For those who have seen him playing live, they may have noticed a small 'pad' at the bottom of his guitar that he taps during Bullet In The Head to generate an odd effect. The band's production manager explained - During the Rage/Quicksand tour in 1993 in the US, Tom started to experiment with the solo in BITH by flipping his guitar upside down, unplugging it and then touching the exposed plug to the metal surfaces of the guitar, thus creating a grounding loop for the amplifier, making it buzz. He could then add effects (Wah, delay, etc) but there were two problems:

1. It was extremely difficult for Tom to plug the guitar back in during the solo in a timely, flowing manner

2. When unplugging an instrument that deals with an electric current (even a very small one) and amplifiers with large currents, and then taking into account the amount of electricity that is required to put on the entire production, well, without going into too much detail, if for some reason the various legs of electricity were not done correctly it could create a scenario (although very remote) where the person holding the instrument electrocutes himself.

So, last summer (1994) Tom, myself, and Ibanez guitars sat down and designed a guitar that creates the same grounding situation internally, without unplugging the guitar. Hence, a small metal pad that uses your finger as the grounding mechanism, which allows Tom to switch from the buzz back to the pickups almost instantly, and is completely safe.

Information About Playing The Songs

Killing In The Name really requires a harmoniser (Tom uses Digitech's Whammy) set a couple of octaves up for the solo, and a flanger for the intro chords. Word is that Tom plays a really fast blues scale, trill-picking.

Bullet In The Head almost certainly requires a harmoniser, and any other pedal that makes a sound that goes with the feel of the song is a good bet for one to use. A tremolo arm, while toggle switching, is very useful for the daa-daa-da-da-da-daaaa sound that occurs quite a bit in the song, and makes lowering the last tone easy.

Know Your Enemy needs a tremolo arm for the weird effect after the solo, and getting the pickup switching technique learnt is a must. The WhammyPedal should be used on the 5th setting.

Township Rebellion - thanks to Tim Bellay for supplying this information: First, you need a Fender Telecaster because the neck is a certain length behind the nut and will (with the strings) produce a certain pitch. (Read your physics text book for a better explanation). Release your "fret-hand" and play the g-string behind the nut. The note is in the key of D, and Tim's friend told him that you can't produce the sound exactly unless you have Tom Morello's guitar. Stephen Quinlan can get the same effect on his '74 Fender Strat by removing the little clamps on the headstock, and so anyone should be able to get the same effect on any standard Strat.

Tablature Key

p = Pull off
h = Hammer on
b = Bend
\ = Slide
~ = Vibe