Song Rig

Altitudes

Jason Becker · Perpetual Burn · 1988

Tone Overview

What Makes This Sound Unique

The emotional heart of Perpetual Burn — a slow, melodic piece in the spirit of Beethoven or Bach applied to electric guitar. Becker abandons the shred technique entirely for sustained melodic lines with careful vibrato, demonstrating that the technical ability is in service of musical expression rather than being an end in itself.

Signal Chain

1Jackson Soloist (neck pickup, volume ~8)
2Mesa Boogie Mark IIC+ (clean channel for melodic sections)
3Boss DD-3 Delay

Amp Settings

Gain / Volume5

Bass6

Mid7

Treble6

Reverb5

Lower gain and more reverb than Perpetual Burn — Altitudes is Becker's most emotionally vulnerable performance. The neck pickup provides warmth, and the moderate gain allows dynamics to range from very quiet to moderately loud within a single phrase.

Technique

How to Play It

Classical melodic development on guitar — Becker writes melodic phrases that develop through classical theme-and-variation structure, with each phrase answering the previous one in a logical, compositionally coherent way.

Budget Alternative

Achievable With

Any guitar (neck pickup) → Mesa Boogie or Fender clean channel → delay and reverb → approach playing as if composing: each phrase should logically respond to the previous one and build toward a climax.

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