How to Get a Guitar Sound Like Tom Morello

For anyone who doesn't know, Tom Morello was the lead guitarist in two of the most awesome bands of the last 20 years, Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave and he was responsible for single handedly creating some of the most unique and innovative guitar sounds ever heard, using only the instrument and a handful of guitar effects pedals. He also had a shed-load of talent of course, and while I can't help you out much in that department, I can offer some advice on the effects pedals he favours. So if you want to sound like to the man himself, here are the top three pedals that Mr. Morello actually uses, to get you halfway there:

1. Digitech Whammy

The Digitech Whammy pedal is a pitch shifter that Tom uses to throw the sound of his guitar up or down an octave or two just by pressing down on the in-built expression pedal. This pedal is really versatile and it can also do harmonizing and detuning effects. So if you only buy one pedal to make you sound like Morello, this is the one you should go for.

2. Boss DD-2 Delay

The Boss DD-2 Delay was launched way, way back in 1983 believe it or not. In my opinion, a delay pedal is an essential piece of equipment in anyone's set up, whether it's this one or another more modern delay box. Tom Morello uses the Boss DD-2 with a short slapback delay to make it sound like he's playing twice as fast as he actually is - particularly with the scratching and muted tapping techniques that he uses.

3. Jim Dunlop Crybaby Wah

It doesn't necessarily have to be the Crybaby Wah, you could use any wah-wah pedal really, but the Jim Dunlop Crybaby is the pedal Morello uses and probably the industry standard. Wah-wah effects have been used throughout the years by pretty much everyone, probably most famously by Jimmi Hendrix, but Morello often uses the wah in the forward position (without rocking the expression pedal at all) purely just to get a nice 'trebly' tone.

So there you have it. Whack these three in between your guitar and amp and you'll be halfway there to sounding like Tom Morello and rocking out the solo from 'Killing in the Name' in no time.

Peter Eades is a writer living an working in the UK. He is writing here on behalf of Boss-pedals.co.uk, a website providing reviews and demos of Boss effects pedals including Boss Delay pedals.