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lead guitar from “r u mine?” by arctic monkeys | ToneDB

r u mine?

arctic monkeys

lead guitar

90% ai confidence

Tone Profile

A thick, saturated, and slightly compressed fuzz tone with a distinct vintage British amp character, delivering a powerful and driving rock sound with a gritty edge.

Signal Chain

Instrument: Fender Bronco (likely bridge pickup)

Amp: Selmer Zodiac Twin 30

Microphone: Shure SM57 & Royer R-121 (likely blended)

Processing: Cornell First Fuzz, Studio EQ (e.g., Neve 1073 or API 550 style plugin/hardware), Studio Compressor (e.g., Urei 1176 style plugin/hardware)

Other: Close miking technique. The Cornell First Fuzz pedal is essential for the core saturated fuzz. The Selmer amp contributes its distinctive vintage British character. For the guitar solo, an Electro-Harmonix POG2 was added to this chain.

Recording Notes

  • Recorded primarily at Rancho De La Luna and Vox Recording Studios, Los Angeles.
  • The main guitar riff features Alex Turner's Fender Bronco into a Cornell First Fuzz pedal and then into his Selmer Zodiac Twin 30 amplifier.
  • Microphone setup likely involved a dynamic microphone (e.g., Shure SM57) close to the speaker cone, possibly blended with a ribbon microphone (e.g., Royer R-121) for added warmth and body.
  • The fuzz tone is a dominant characteristic, providing significant sustain and harmonic richness, central to the track's heavy feel.
  • Minimal other effects on the main riff, focusing on the direct interaction of guitar, fuzz, and amp.

Recreation Tips

  • Use a Fender-style guitar with a bridge single-coil pickup for the necessary bite and clarity.
  • A vintage-style fuzz pedal, specifically a Tone Bender MkI or similar germanium fuzz (like the Cornell First Fuzz), is crucial. Dial it for high gain and sustain, achieving a thick, slightly gated, and articulate fuzz.
  • Pair with a vintage British-voiced amplifier (e.g., Selmer, Vox AC30, early Marshall like JTM45/Bluesbreaker). Set the amp to a clean or slightly edge-of-breakup tone to let the fuzz pedal do the heavy lifting.
  • If miking an amp, try blending a Shure SM57 (for attack) with a Royer R-121 (for warmth) on the speaker cabinet.
  • Apply subtle EQ post-fuzz to shape the tone in the mix, perhaps boosting mids slightly for presence or cutting extreme highs if the fuzz is too harsh.
  • Use light compression to even out the dynamics of the fuzz and add punch, but avoid squashing the tone too much.

Sources