Call Me by Blondie (Riff · Distorted) — Guitar Tone

The Call Me by Blondie guitar tone is built on a Marshall JMP 2203, dialed in at gain 5/10, bass 6, mid 7, treble 7, presence 5.5 (community-researched baseline). Full breakdown below — then adapt every knob to your exact guitar and amp, free.

Amp settings (0–10)

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 5 sits right around the rock average (4.8); mids at 7 are right around average (6.2).

Guitar controls

Original gear

Guitar: Fender Stratocaster (likely late 1970s, as used by Chris Stein in Blondie studio recordings) · Amp: Marshall JMP 2203 (likely studio amp for 'Call Me' era, late 1970s/1980)

Studio recording, 1979-1980. Gear inferred from era, genre, and known Blondie/Chris Stein setups. No direct studio documentation found for 'Call Me' session; live rig rundowns reference later amps (Mesa/Boogie, Soldano) but not for this era. No evidence of pedal use for riff section; effects chain kept minimal for main riff.

Gear used on this tone

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

Pickups

Bridge pickup

Signal chain

Fender Stratocaster (likely late 1970s, as used by Chris Stein in Blondie studio recordings) → Marshall JMP 2203 (likely studio amp for 'Call Me' era, late 1970s/1980)

Effects

Fender Stratocaster → Marshall JMP 2203 (with light spring reverb)

Amp effects: Reverb (spring, level 2)

Tone character

bright and cutting, tight and percussive, slightly gritty edge-of-breakup, articulate single-coil clarity, punchy and driving, minimal effects coloration, classic late-70s/early-80s rock, present midrange, snappy attack, focused rhythm sound

Recording context

studio

How it’s played

straight, fast tempo, loud dynamics · crunch distortion. This shapes how hard the amp is pushed and where the EQ sits for the Call Me sound.

Difficulty

2.5/5 · Riff

The riff is fast and requires tight, consistent picking and muting, but uses straightforward chord shapes and rhythm, making it accessible to intermediate players.

Worth knowing

• No direct studio documentation for 'Call Me' riff section gear; guitar and amp inferred from era, genre, and typical Blondie/Chris Stein setups.
• Premier Guitar rig rundown covers modern Blondie live rigs (Mesa/Boogie, Soldano) not used on the original 1980 recording.
• No specific numeric amp settings found; settings estimated based on Marshall JMP typical classic rock usage.
• No evidence of pedal or modulation effect use on the riff section; effects list is minimal.
• If new evidence emerges about exact studio gear, update accordingly.
• Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. The riff on 'Call Me' features a classic late-70s/early-80s rock crunch with strong midrange presence, moderate gain, and a tight low end typical of British amps like Marshalls. The tone is punchy and forward but not overly bright or saturated, with minimal reverb as was common in dry, radio-friendly productions of the era.

Call Me guitar tone — FAQ

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Sources

• Rig Rundown - Blondie's Chris Stein and Tommy Kessler

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