Song Rig

Tore Down House

Scott Henderson · Tore Down House · 1997

Tone Overview

What Makes This Sound Unique

Scott Henderson's most blues-forward solo album — Tore Down House presents pure blues without the jazz-fusion complexity of Tribal Tech. The Suhr guitar through a pushed Fender amp (rather than the Mesa Boogie) produces a warmer, more organic tone appropriate to the more traditional blues material.

Signal Chain

1Suhr Standard (neck pickup for blues feel)
2Fender Bassman or Super Reverb (pushed natural breakup)
3Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9 (light boost)

Amp Settings

Gain / Volume6

Bass7

Mid7

Treble7

Reverb3

Fender amp natural breakup rather than Mesa high gain — Tore Down House uses a warmer, more organic amplification approach. The TS9 provides a light boost that pushes the Fender into breakup without the clinical compression of the Mesa preamp.

Technique

How to Play It

Blues vocabulary fully expressed — without the jazz-fusion complexity imposed on Tribal Tech material, Henderson can play pure blues: wide bends, double-stops, and the rhythmic breathing space that blues requires but fusion often doesn't allow.

Budget Alternative

Achievable With

Suhr or Strat → Fender Blues Deluxe → Ibanez TS9 (low gain, high volume setting) → the contrast with Henderson's fusion work is instructive: the same hands playing in a different context produce completely different musical results.

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