Song Rig

Bombtrack

Tom Morello · Rage Against the Machine · 1992

Tone Overview

What Makes This Sound Unique

The debut album opener — Tom's earliest major recorded tone, using the Arm the Homeless guitar (a homemade instrument) into the JCM800. It's rawer and more chaotic than the more controlled tones of later RATM records, with the kill switch technique not yet as prominently featured.

Signal Chain

1'Arm the Homeless' custom guitar (single humbucker)
2Marshall JCM800 2205 (high gain)
3Marshall 1960 4×12
4DOD FX40B Equalizer (mid boost)

Amp Settings

Gain / Volume9

Bass7

Mid7

Treble7

Presence7

High-gain Marshall with the DOD EQ boosting mids — the debut album has a more aggressive, less polished tone than later RATM records, reflecting both the rawer production and the slightly less refined approach to effects manipulation.

Technique

How to Play It

Pick scrapes and toggle-switch noise production alongside conventional riff playing — even on the debut, Tom uses the guitar's hardware as a percussive instrument, creating sounds through pick-on-string body scrapes and switch manipulation.

Budget Alternative

Achievable With

Single-humbucker guitar → Boss MT-2 Metal Zone (Tom has used this) or Marshall JCM800 → DOD or MXR EQ for mid boost → kill switch mod (toggle switch wired to cut signal for stutter effects).

Your Gear