Nail the ToneArctic Monkeys

505

Arctic Monkeys · Favourite Worst Nightmare · 2007

The rhythm guitar on "505" is basically a clean, dark two-chord vamp that sits under the organ sample until the band opens up, and then the same chords get slammed through pedal distortion. Set your amp almost clean with mids up and a little spring reverb, play the verses on the neck pickup with a light muted strum, and step on a RAT- or Distortion+-style pedal for the outro. Track-specific gear was never documented, so the models here are the band's Favourite Worst Nightmare-era rig and the knob positions are read off the record.

Where these numbers come from: worked out from the documented rig and the sound of the record

Tuning

Standard tuning, no capo

The rhythm part is a two-chord Dm–Em vamp at standard pitch, with Dsus4/Esus4 lifts in the pre-chorus; Miles Kane's overdriven guitar layer and the Morricone organ sample are separate parts, not the rhythm guitar.

Part: Rhythm

Guitar

  • Fender Telecaster '62 Reissue · Fender single-coils · neck pickup for the quiet verses, bridge added in the loud outro
  • Gibson ES-335 · humbuckers · neck pickup
  • Fender Bronco · single-coil · single pickup (no selector)

Amp

Hiwatt Custom Studio/Stage 2x12

BASS
5.0
MID
6.0
TREBLE
6.0
PRESENCE
4.0
REVERB
3.0

Jamie Cook's long-running rhythm combo; it has volume rather than a gain control, so dirt comes from a pedal in front. Some gear lists put a Bad Cat Hot Cat 30R in his rig around 2008, so the Hiwatt is the best-supported reading, not the only one.

Amp

Selmer Zodiac Twin 30

BASS
5.0
TREBLE
6.5

Alex Turner's Selmer appears in Favourite Worst Nightmare session footage (the 'Teddy Picker' video); it has no mid, presence or gain knob, and the spring wash of that era came from a second Selmer 30SS 'Super Reverb' sitting alongside it.

Amp

Clean tube combo, Fender Twin Reverb voicing (modern substitute)

GAIN
3.0
BASS
6.0
MID
5.0
TREBLE
6.5
REVERB
4.0

Use this if you don't own vintage British combos: keep the amp nearly clean, let the reverb carry the verse, and hit a distortion pedal for the outro.

Pedals

  • ProCo RAT 2 · distortion · Distortion around 9–10 o'clock, Filter rolled back about a third, Volume unity — kicked in for the loud outro
  • MXR M-104 Distortion+ · distortion · Output around 11 o'clock, Distortion low for edge-of-breakup crunch
  • Electro-Harmonix Big Muff · fuzz · Sustain low, Tone around noon — thickens the final chorus wall
  • Danelectro Reel Echo · tape-style delay · Short slap, mix low, one or two repeats

Tone character

warm clean verses · rolled-off top end · spring reverb wash · gritty outro distortion · forward mids · loose slapback echo

easy

Two easy shapes (Dm and Em with sus4 lifts) held for the whole song, so the work is in the dynamics — a light muted strum in the verses that opens into full-force eighths in the outro without speeding up.

Want this on your own amp?

These are the record's settings. Tell us what you play through and we'll translate every knob to the amp you actually own — free.

Adapt it to my gear

Sources