Song Rig

Know Your Enemy

Tom Morello · Rage Against the Machine · 1992

Tone Overview

What Makes This Sound Unique

Showcases Tom's whammy bar technique at its most disruptive — the DigiTech Whammy is used to shift pitches by an octave up or down mid-phrase, creating interval jumps physically impossible on a standard guitar. Combined with the JCM800, the result is a tone that sounds alien and machine-like.

Signal Chain

1'Arm the Homeless' custom guitar
2DigiTech Whammy WH-1 (first generation, pitch shift)
3Marshall JCM800
4DOD FX40B EQ

Amp Settings

Gain / Volume9

Bass7

Mid7

Treble7

Presence7

Same Marshall setup as Bombtrack — it's the Whammy that creates the tonal variety. The pedal is used to jump octaves and create interval relationships that give the solo section its disorienting, inhuman quality.

Technique

How to Play It

DigiTech Whammy as melody instrument — Tom plays standard pentatonic phrases but uses the Whammy pedal to shift the pitch up or down by one or two octaves while the notes sustain, creating impossible-sounding interval leaps.

Budget Alternative

Achievable With

DigiTech Whammy WH-4 or WH-5 (reissue versions of the original) → any high-gain amp → practice the Whammy heel-to-toe motion until it's as fluid as a wah pedal sweep.

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