Tom Morello's Setup

"Come with me and explore the medieval hinterlands, courtesy of my guitar." - Tom Morello

Amplification:
Marshall JCM-800 50-watt head circa 1987, which connects to a Peavey 4x12 cabinet with labels taken off and painted with Che Guevara.

Through the back of the head runs his effects loop which is (from guitar to amp):

• 1. Jim Dunlop Crybaby Wah-Wah
  (Used in Vietnow, Bulls On Parade, Guerrila Radio, and No Shelter)
• 2. Digitech Whammy 1 pedal
  (Uses to jump a fifth, seventh, or all the way up to 2 octaves - used in Know Your Enemy, Bullet In The Head, and Ashes In The Fall)
• 3. Boss RV-3 Reverb Delay
  (Set for a reverb feel, used in Guerrilla radio, Testify, No Shelter, and Mic Check)
• 4. Boss DD-2 (or 3)
• 5. DOD EQ
  (Set flat so he can jump to 11)
• 6. Electro-Harmonix Small Stone Phaser
  (He uses it on Guerilla Radio to flow with the flanger)
• 7. Ibanez 80's Green Flanger
  (Set for wide and slow, used in songs like Guerrila Radio, Wake Up, and Freedom)

Guitars:

• 1. He uses a blue, Strat-body "Arm The Homeless" guitar. It features a Kramer headstock, performance neck, two volume, one tone control knobs. It also features two EMG pickups, and he recently changed to a black tremelo unit instead of his old chrome one. He has a white toggle switch on it, and he keeps this guitar tuned standard (EADGBE) at all times, unless there is an emergency. Some Songs he uses it for: Bombtrack, Bullet In The Head, Know Your Enemy, Fistful Of Steel, Bulls On Parade, People Of The Sun, and Vietnow.
• 2. A black american-standard telecaster with white pickguard, and a picture of Mumia-Abu Jamal under "Sendero Luminoso". The guitar has one volume, one tone control, and he always keeps this guitar tuned at Drop D (DADGBE). One other thing: He has removed the metal bender thing that on the headstock over the G and B strings. Some songs: Killing In The Name, Freedom, Wake Up, No Shelter, Testify, and Born of a Broken Man
• 3. The famous Yellow Canadian "Creamy" guitar. It has a Jaguar body, and has a strange shaped headstock, and two volume and one tone control, with two pickups. This guitar is always kept at drop-D tuning also. Songs used: Tire Me, War Within A Breath
• 4. Ibanez specialty guitar with three pick ups (two outside, one inside). The middle pickup has the ability to make an odd chirping noise which can be manipulated by the tone knobs. Shaped like an Ibanez Talman. Songs used: Revolver
• 5. Ibanez specialty hollow body, with two volume and two tone knobs, and six specialty knobs. When pulled these knobs can make a treble bass change, distortion, wah-wah, and other effects. It is red and black in color. Song used: Guerrila Radio
• 6. An Ovation electric, called a breadmaker. This guitar is his ugliest one and is shaped like a sickle. The guitar can make some very weird sounds, but looks ugly as hell according to Tom. Songs used: Ashes In The Fall
• 7. An Epiphone or Gibson double-knecked EDS-1275. This guitar is tuned drop- D and has both the 12 and 6 string parts used in "The Ghost Of Tom Joad". Gibson provided the official info on their site: Body: Mahogany; Neck/Profile: Maple/1960 slim-taper; Fingerboard/Inlay: Rosewood/Trapezoid; Scale/Nut Width: 24 3/4"/ 111/16"; Binding: Single-ply fingerboards; Bridge/Tailpiece: Tune-o-matic/Stop plate; Hardware: Chrome with Heritage Cherry finish / Gold with Alpine White finish; Pickups: Two 490R Alnico magnet humbuckers, Two 490T Alnico magnet humbuckers; Controls: Two volume, two tone, three-way switch; Finish: Heritage Cherry, Alpine White.

Other accessories:
Tom has several tools that he uses on stage sitting on top of his amp.

• Purple Dunlop Tortex Jazz Picks with a 1.14 Gauge
• Allen Wrench (People of the sun)
• Ball Point pen (Revolver)
• Slide pick (Darkness of greed)

Testify:
Tom Morello himself explains how to play this song in his first column, "Battle Cry", for Guitar World magazine. Access it by clicking here.

Guerrilla Radio:
Turn one pickup's volume to 10, the other to 0.� Use your picking hand to toggle the switch back and forth between the pickups.� I won't give them the rhythm, but most of the time, you're on the "10" pickup on the "D", "G", and "B". strings, using the 12, 14, and 16th frets.� You can figure it out using the tablature, most parts are just raised up an octave from what it says.� Also use a wah pedal during the solo.

Calm Like a Bomb:
Guitar One magazine transcribed this song in it's entirety in their February 2000 issue. Access the article here.

Mic Check:
Tom describes how he plays this song in the 2nd installment of his Guitar World column, "Radikal Shriek". Read it here.

Sleep Now In the Fire:
Here, Tom Morello is manipulating feedback.� Using the "Pickup Setup" (10 / 0 and toggle between the two).� Stand next to the amp so close that you get feedback (the more the better.) Just manipulate the whammy bar to create similiar rhythmic note patterns.� Always keep the feedback going at all times - it's the only way to get that sound. Read Radikal Shriek: Tom's Guitar World column on this song.

Bulls on Parade:
There's not one tab I can find that has the CORRECT way to do this.�I found out by accident just messing around.� Using the "Pickup Setup" thing, slide your hand (your hold hand) slightly over the strings so that you're touching, but not pressing down, over the strings back and forth.� You'll get use to it after awhile at it.

Bullet in the Head:
Tom removes the plug from the guitar and taps it against the strings to create a "buzzing" sound. Combine with effects (wah, delah, whammy) During the verse of the song, use the whammy pedal to write the "screech" sound, combined with a tremolo arm to lower the last tone more easily.

Killing In The Name:
Requires the whammy set a couple of octaves up for the solo, and a flanger for the intro chords. Word is that during the solo, Tom plays a really fast blues scale, trill-picking.

Know Your Enemy:
A tremolo arm is used for the weird effect after the solo, and mastering the toggle switch technique is a must. The whammy pedal should be used on the 5th setting.

Township Rebellion:
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.

Tackling the Toggle
By jamarkus.

Toms guitar has a toggle switch and two pickups. Each Pickup has a volume control. Pickup 1's volume (rhythm) is set to "0". Pickup 2's volume (treble) is set to "10" (or max.) When toggle is on rhythm, there is no sound coming from the guitar. When the toggle is on treble, it is at maximum volume. The toggle works as a kill switch, creating short pauses in the music. Notes come from the left hand, by pressing down lightly on thr fretboard to register a note through the pickups. Normally, Tom uses a whammy pedal to create most of the sounds when using the toggle.

The kill switch works the way it does becuase their are 2 different volume controls for each pickup. The switch toggles between using each pickup by the manual movement (by you) of a lever through 3 different positions. One pickup (normally the rhythm, or "up" position) is set on 0, and the other is on 10 (treble). When you play a single, continuous note, and move the toggle, it will switch back and forth between pickup 1, and pickup 10. When it is on pickup 1, no sound. pickup 2, as lous as the amp will go.

Tim Commerford's setup:

Instruments:
Black + white Fender Bass
Modified Fender Jazz Bass
Rickenbacker 4 string

Amplification:
Ampeg 100 watt head amps
Ampeg 8X10 cabinets

Effects:
2 distortions: One distortion, one overdrive
Bass wah
Delay
Octaver

Brad Wilk's setup

(image pulled from "DRUM!" magazine's feature on Brad)

22"x16" Bass
14"x5.5" Snare (Premier or Pork Pie Custom)
12"x9" Side Tom
16"x16" Floor Tom

14" New Beat HiHats
18" Z Custom or K Crash/Ride
19" Z Custom Medium Crash
20" A Medium Ride

Vic Firth sticks, Remo heads, LP Percussion (two cowbells, bongo set), DW hardware & pedals