Song Rig

Jordan

Buckethead · Guitar Hero II · 2006

Tone Overview

What Makes This Sound Unique

The song that introduced a generation of gamers to extreme guitar technique — 'Jordan' in Guitar Hero II at maximum difficulty exposed a mass audience to Buckethead's picking speed. The tone is his characteristic Les Paul Custom through a Gibson amplifier: heavy distortion with high clarity at high speed, warm rather than cold despite the metal context.

Signal Chain

1Gibson Les Paul Custom (Robot, custom white finish)
2Gibson Lab Series amplifier (or Mesa Boogie)
3Dunlop Cry Baby Wah (not in Jordan specifically, but standard rig)

Amp Settings

Gain / Volume9

Bass7

Mid6

Treble7

Presence8

High gain with moderate mid content — unlike most shred guitarists who scoop mids aggressively, Buckethead retains enough mid presence to give his fast runs note definition and warmth rather than sounding ice-cold.

Technique

How to Play It

Extreme alternate picking at beyond-human tempo — Jordan features picking passages that approach the physical limit of alternate picking technique. Buckethead achieves these speeds through an extremely compact right-hand motion (millimetres) and absolute synchronisation with his left hand.

Budget Alternative

Achievable With

Les Paul → Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier or equivalent → practice alternate picking with a metronome at 40 BPM, gradually increasing 2 BPM per session. Jordan's full tempo takes years of dedicated practice — focus on synchronisation accuracy first, speed second.

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