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Gear Avail

Rap metal

Tom Morello

Rage Against the Machine, 1992 to 2000

A deliberately small board used in ways nobody intended. The Whammy set to two octaves up is a scratch effect and a siren rather than a pitch shifter, and the toggle-switch stutter needs no pedal at all.

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The chain

Shown in conventional signal order rather than the order the sources list them, so it reads the way it would be wired: guitar on the left, amp on the right.

  1. 1
    Wah / filterNo photo available

    Dunlop Cry Baby

    Wah / filter

    Usually parked in one position as a fixed filter, then swept hard for the solos.

    Not stocked by any store we track

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  2. 2
    Pitch / octaveNo photo available

    DigiTech Whammy

    Pitch / octave

    Set to two octaves up, and played as a turntable rather than as a harmoniser.

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  3. 3
    ModulationNo photo available

    MXR Phase 90

    Modulation

    Adding movement to the clean, dry rhythm parts.

    Not stocked by any store we track

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  4. 4
    ModulationNo photo available

    Ibanez DFL Flanger

    Modulation

    The jet-engine sweeps on the noisier breakdowns.

    Not stocked by any store we track

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  5. 5
    DelayNo photo available

    Boss DD-3 Digital Delay

    Delay

    Long repeats used as a rhythmic layer, most obviously on the Bulls on Parade intro.

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Documented on

  • Rage Against the Machine

    album · 1992

    • Killing in the Name
    • Bombtrack
    • Bullet in the Head

  • Evil Empire

    album · 1996

    • Bulls on Parade
    • People of the Sun

    The Bulls on Parade solo is the Whammy plus the pickup selector, and no conventional technique at all.

  • The Battle of Los Angeles

    album · 1999

    • Guerrilla Radio
    • Sleep Now in the Fire

Editorial gear history, assembled from interviews, rig rundowns, live photography and liner notes. Tom Morello is not affiliated with Gear Avail and nothing here is an endorsement. Rigs change between tours and between takes, so this one is scoped to 1992 to 2000 rather than presented as a career-long setup. In most cases what is documented is that a pedal was on the board during those sessions or that tour, not that it is audible on a specific bar of a specific take.