Song Rig

Valley of Fire

Jason Becker · Perpetual Burn · 1988

Tone Overview

What Makes This Sound Unique

A slower, more atmospheric track than the title piece — Valley of Fire uses a clean to crunch tone approach with significant use of the Floyd Rose tremolo for pitch dives. The clean sections have a glassy Fender-esque quality unusual for neoclassical shred albums of the era.

Signal Chain

1Kramer Pacer (clean channel or clean amp setting)
2Marshall JCM800 (clean/edge-of-breakup for intro)
3Floyd Rose tremolo (used for dive bombs and subtle vibrato)

Amp Settings

Gain / Volume3

Bass6

Mid6

Treble7

Reverb4

Clean to edge-of-breakup for the atmospheric intro sections — Valley of Fire demonstrates that Becker's musical imagination extended far beyond what was expected of a 16-year-old shred guitarist. The reverb adds depth to the clean passages without washing out the detail in fast legato runs.

Technique

How to Play It

Floyd Rose dive bombs used as compositional elements rather than party tricks — Becker controlled the tremolo with extraordinary precision, using it for specific pitch targets rather than random whammy dips. Combined with his neoclassical sense of melody, the tremolo becomes another voice in the arrangement.

Budget Alternative

Achievable With

Guitar with Floyd Rose or Kahler tremolo → clean amp with reverb → practice tremolo arm placement so dives land on specific pitches (D, C# etc) rather than just random drops.

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