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rhythm guitar from “bullet with butterfly wings” by smashing pumpkins | ToneDB

bullet with butterfly wings

smashing pumpkins

rhythm guitar

AI generatedv1.0

Tone Profile

A distorted and slightly scooped rhythm guitar tone, with a wall-of-sound character created by layering multiple guitar tracks. It's both aggressive and thick, providing a strong foundation for the song.

Gear

Fender Stratocasterinstrument
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Marshall JCM800amp
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Shure SM57microphone
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ProCo Ratprocessing
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Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Piprocessing
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The Story

The rhythm guitar sound on "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" was created using multiple layered Fender Stratocasters run through Marshall JCM800 amps. Billy Corgan used a combination of ProCo Rat and Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi pedals to achieve the thick, saturated distortion. The track was recorded at Pumpkinland studio in Chicago with producers Flood and Alan Moulder, who were known for their dense layering techniques. Multiple guitar tracks were recorded and stacked to create the signature wall-of-sound character.

Production Credits

Producer: Flood, Alan Moulder

Engineer: Unknown

Recorded at: Pumpkinland (Chicago, IL)

Signal Chain

Instrument: Fender Stratocaster

Amp: Marshall JCM800

Microphone: Shure SM57

Processing: ProCo Rat, Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi

Recreation Tips

  • Use a Stratocaster-style guitar with a hot bridge pickup.
  • Combine a Rat and Big Muff style distortion, experimenting with the order.
  • Layer multiple guitar tracks, each with slightly different settings, to create a wide stereo image.
  • Use a dynamic microphone like an SM57 close to the speaker cabinet.
  • Consider adding a touch of room reverb to thicken the sound.

Original Gear

  • Fender Stratocaster(guitar)
  • Marshall JCM800(amp)
  • Shure SM57(mic)
  • ProCo Rat(pedal)
  • Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi(pedal)

Substitutions & Recommendations

Wampler Sovereign Distortion$170-$200

Alternative to: ProCo Rat

Captures the aggressive midrange bite of the Rat with more clarity for layering multiple tracks

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Electro-Harmonix Op-Amp Big Muff Pi$75-$95

Alternative to: Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi

Modern reissue of the specific Big Muff variant used during the Siamese Dream era with the characteristic scooped mids

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Marshall Studio Classic SC20H$600-$750

Alternative to: Marshall JCM800

20-watt version of the JCM800 circuit that can be cranked for natural tube saturation at reasonable volumes

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Fender Player Stratocaster$650-$800

Alternative to: Fender Stratocaster

Modern Stratocaster with hot Alnico V pickups that provides the single-coil brightness needed to cut through heavy layering

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Neural DSP Archetype Plini$99-$119

Alternative to: Marshall JCM800 + pedal stack

Includes accurate Marshall amp models and multiple distortion pedals that can be easily layered and panned for the wall-of-sound effect

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Joyo Splinter$30-$40

Alternative to: ProCo Rat (budget option)

Budget Rat clone that delivers the essential LM308 chip saturation and filtering for aggressive rhythm tones

ReverbSweetwater

Sources

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