Song Rig

Arachnophobia

Paul Gilbert · Second Heat · 1991

Tone Overview

What Makes This Sound Unique

Paul Gilbert's Racer X at full technical aggression — a fast instrumental that showcases his picking technique at maximum speed. The ESP guitar through a Marshall produces a bright, aggressive tone where every individual note of the rapid alternate picking passages can be heard distinctly. This is the tone that made him famous as a technique guitarist.

Signal Chain

1ESP Custom Guitar (Paul Gilbert model, humbucker)
2Marshall JCM800 (high gain)
3Marshall 4×12
4TC Electronic 2290 (subtle delay)

Amp Settings

Gain / Volume8

Bass6

Mid7

Treble7

Presence8

High gain but with excellent note separation — the JCM800's natural compression allows fast picking runs to retain individual note definition rather than melding into a single distorted wash.

Technique

How to Play It

Alternate picking at extreme speed with drill-bit precision — Paul's technique relies on an extremely small picking motion (millimetres) combined with perfect right-hand/left-hand synchronisation. The pick barely moves but strikes with consistent force.

Budget Alternative

Achievable With

HSS superstrat → Marshall JCM800 → practice alternate picking with a tuner in monitor mode: at high speed, imprecise finger synchronisation creates pitch instability. Use the tuner as feedback for synchronisation quality.

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