Song Rig

Creep

Jonny Greenwood · Pablo Honey · 1992

Tone Overview

What Makes This Sound Unique

The chord stab that launched Radiohead — Greenwood's violent, scratchy guitar hit before each chorus was a deliberate attempt to ruin the song (he thought it was too pretty). The chord hit is produced by strumming over the top of the strings above the nut, creating a sharp, dissonant scratch that cuts through the clean verse.

Signal Chain

1Fender Telecaster Plus (Greenwood's early guitar)
2Marshall amplification
3Mesa Boogie (for the heavy sections)

Amp Settings

Gain / Volume7

Bass6

Mid7

Treble8

The famous chord scratch: Greenwood plays a full chord strum but simultaneously applies heavy finger pressure above the nut, choking the strings into a dissonant, percussive scratch rather than clean chord tones.

Technique

How to Play It

Above-nut string scratch — to create the 'BWEEER' sound, Greenwood frets a chord normally but simultaneously presses the strings between the nut and headstock with his strumming hand, creating a choked, dissonant scratch that resolves the chord's full sound.

Budget Alternative

Achievable With

Any electric guitar → Marshall or Mesa → for the chord scratch: fret a G major chord, then with your pick-hand fingers, press the strings between the nut and tuning pegs firmly while strumming → the choked string produces the signature dissonant hit.

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