Zakk Wylde

Why Zakk Wylde's Rig Works

Wylde's pinch harmonics — the high-pitched squeal that's become one of his signature techniques — depend directly on the EMG-81's active circuit and high output. The technique works by the pick and thumb briefly touching the string together at the point of attack, triggering an upper harmonic; a lower-output passive pickup produces a much quieter, less pronounced harmonic that's harder to control consistently, while the EMG's active preamp boosts that harmonic enough to make it a reliable, repeatable part of his vocabulary rather than an occasional accident.

Stacking multiple Marshall JCM800/JMP heads into a wall of cabinets, rather than running one amp through a larger cabinet, changes the character of the tone in the room as much as the sheer volume — each amp head has its own slightly different breakup character and phase relationship with the others, which creates a wider, more three-dimensional wall of sound on a large stage than a single amp at the same total output could produce.

The moderately scooped mid setting alongside boosted treble serves the same function it does in Hetfield or Hammett's rigs — it keeps palm-muted rhythm riffing tight and percussive — but Wylde's higher relative bass setting (6, compared to more extreme scoops used elsewhere in metal) preserves more low-end weight, which suits his blues-rock-rooted, less percussive rhythm style better than the maximally tight, scooped tone thrash metal typically favors.