🎸 Rock · 1990s

Bulls On Parade (Live In Mexico City, MX, 10/28/99) by Rage Against the Machine (Riff · Distorted) — Guitar Tone

by Rage Against the Machine · riff

The Bulls On Parade (Live In Mexico City, MX, 10/28/99) by Rage Against the Machine guitar tone is built on a Marshall JCM800 2205 50-Watt Head into Peavey 4x12 cabinet, dialed in at gain 8/10, bass 6, mid 7, treble 7, presence 6.5 (community-researched baseline). Full breakdown below — then adapt every knob to your exact guitar and amp, free.

🎛️ These settings are for the original rig — re-dial them for YOUR amp in 10 seconds. Free, no signup →

Amp settings (0–10)

GAIN

BASS

MID

TREBLE

6.5

PRESENCE

REVERB

Community-researched baseline. Your rig is different — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials every knob for your specific guitar, amp and pickups.

How these settings compare

Measured against the 540 rock tones in our researched catalog: Gain 8 sits well above the rock average (4.8) — a hotter, more saturated take than most rock tones; mids at 7 are right around average (6.2).

Guitar controls

VOLUME

TONE

Original gear

Guitar: Custom 'Arm The Homeless' Electric Guitar · Amp: Marshall JCM800 2205 50-Watt Head into Peavey 4x12 cabinet

Live performance, Mexico City, 10/28/99. Tom Morello's main guitar and amp setup for all Rage Against the Machine live shows in the 1990s. No evidence of alternate guitars or amps for this song/section.

Gear used on this tone

🎚️ Marshall JCM800 songs & tones →🎚️ Marshall songs & tones →🎚️ humbucker guitars songs & tones →🎚️ wah songs & tones →🎚️ EMG active pickups songs & tones →🎚️ DigiTech Whammy songs & tones →

Don’t own this gear? GuitarToneAdapt re-creates the sound on the rig you actually have.

Pickups

Bridge pickup

Signal chain

Custom 'Arm The Homeless' Electric Guitar → Dunlop Cry Baby Wah → Boss DD-2 Digital Delay → DigiTech Whammy WH-1 → Marshall JCM800 2205 50-Watt Head into Peavey 4x12 cabinet

Effects

wah, delay

Tone character

tight and percussive, aggressive attack, dry, minimal ambience, crisp, biting highs, punchy midrange, chunky, palm-muted power chords, clear note separation, raw, uncompressed dynamics, articulate pick attack, focused, in-your-face sound

Recording context

live

How it’s played

straight, medium tempo, loud dynamics · high-gain distortion. This shapes how hard the amp is pushed and where the EQ sits for the Bulls On Parade (Live In Mexico City, MX, 10/28/99) sound.

Difficulty

3.5/5 · Riff

The riff requires tight, percussive muting, aggressive picking, and dynamic wah pedal use, demanding good rhythmic control and coordination with the band.

Worth knowing

No direct numeric amp settings found for this specific live performance; amp settings estimated based on typical Marshall JCM800 usage for Morello in the 1990s and genre conventions.
No evidence of any guitar other than the 'Arm The Homeless' used for this riff section in live performances.
No evidence of reverb or time-based effects in the riff section; amp reverb presumed off.
Pedal settings not specified in sources; pedal order and usage inferred from multiple live rig rundowns and audio.
All effects included are confirmed by multiple sources or clearly audible in the riff section.
Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. Tom Morello's tone on 'Bulls On Parade' live is high-gain but not overly saturated, with pronounced mids for punch and clarity, tight but not boomy bass, and moderate treble/presence for cut. He typically runs his Marshall JCM800 with mids high, bass/treble around noon, and no reverb for a dry, aggressive attack.

⚡ Same tone, YOUR gear — re-dials the gain & EQ for your amp and pickups, free →

🎧 Can you guess the tone?

Recognise famous songs from just the amp dials — a quick 10-round game. Beat your friends. Play free →

🎸 Which guitar legend is your tone twin? Take the quiz & share your result →

Bulls On Parade (Live In Mexico City, MX, 10/28/99) guitar tone — FAQ

What amp settings do I need for the Bulls On Parade (Live In Mexico City, MX, 10/28/99) guitar tone?

Set your amp to roughly: gain 8, bass 6, mid 7, treble 7, presence 6.5, reverb 0. These are community-researched baselines — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials them for your exact guitar and amp.

What gear was used for the Bulls On Parade (Live In Mexico City, MX, 10/28/99) tone?

Original gear/effects: Guitar: Custom 'Arm The Homeless' Electric Guitar · Amp: Marshall JCM800 2205 50-Watt Head into Peavey 4x12 cabinet; wah, delay.

Can I get the Bulls On Parade (Live In Mexico City, MX, 10/28/99) tone on a different guitar or amp?

Yes. Different guitars and amps need different knob positions to sound the same. GuitarToneAdapt models pickup output and wood brightness, then compensates so you match the record on your own rig.

How do I sound like Rage Against the Machine on Bulls On Parade (Live In Mexico City, MX, 10/28/99) — what gear and pedals?

Start with Bridge pickup, the amp EQ above (gain 8, bass 6, mid 7, treble 7, presence 6.5, reverb 0), and wah, delay. Then let GuitarToneAdapt compensate for the guitar, amp and pedals you actually own so it sits like the record.

Share this tone

Sources

Free practice tools

🎤 Online guitar tuner → · 🎶 Guitar chords → · 🎸 Guitar tunings → · 🎚️ Tuning chart → · 🎼 Guitar scales → · 🎚️ Chord transposer & capo → · 🥁 Metronome → · 🎶 Song chords → · 🎧 Guess the Tone game → · 🎸 Tone Legend quiz → · 📊 Tone data report →

🔥 The most famous guitar tones of all time → · 🎯 Easy guitar songs to play (with settings) → · 🗂️ Browse tone collections (by genre & language) →

More like this

🎸 How to get Rage Against the Machine’s guitar tone → · 🎸 more Rock guitar tones → · 🎚️ Marshall JCM800 settings → · 🎛️ best rock amp settings → · 🎸 more iconic guitar riffs → · 🎚️ Wah tone guide → · 🎯 more percussive tones → · 📖 New to amp settings? What every knob does →

Settings are community-researched estimates, not official. GuitarToneAdapt adapts them to your gear. guitartoneadapt.com