Alive
A chest-beating opening lick and Strat chords building to a long, Hendrix-influenced outro solo.
What is the Alive guitar tone?
The Alive guitar tone is a chest-beating opening lick and Strat chords building to a long, Hendrix-influenced outro solo, heard on Pearl Jam's 1990s grunge recording. It is a distorted solo tone, and Pearl Jam reportedly tracked it with Mike McCready's black 1962 Japanese reissue Stratocaster, his first Strat, bought for him by Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament out of the band's advance, into a Marshall JCM800 and a 4x12 cabinet he thinks had 25-watt speakers, with a Fender Bassman for clean tones, his own account of the Ten rig; Gossard, who plays mostly Les Pauls, wrote the music as an instrumental called Dollar Short, and McCready played Stevie Ray Vaughan and Hendrix-style chords behind the riff rather than doubling it; the album version comes from a January 1991 demo session at London Bridge Studio in Seattle, and during mixing in England that June Tim Palmer had McCready add to the outro solo, which Palmer remembers him nailing in one take once he put a Uni-Vibe on it, while McCready says parts of the solo were comped from his first takes. The point here is a raw, barely controlled tone, so cleaning it up too much moves it away from the record rather than towards it.
You do not need that exact gear to land in the same place. What carries this sound is the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup choice and the order of the effects, and all four can be rebuilt on equipment that costs a fraction of the original. The numbers change from amp to amp, because a high-gain head and a small practice amp reach the same voicing from different knob positions. That translation is what Tonelify works out for the rig you actually own.
Alive amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 6.5, Bass 6, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2, with the neck pickup for body, bridge if the lead needs to cut.
- Gain 6.5
- Bass 6
- Middle 5
- Treble 6
- Presence 5
- Reverb 2
- Signal chain
- Uni-Vibe on the outro solo → Wah pedal → Marshall JCM800 distortion
- The control that matters most
- The Uni-Vibe. Tim Palmer says McCready was not happy with the pieced-together solo until he played it again through a Uni-Vibe, so a throbbing, modulated lead over a Marshall-style crunch gets closer than more gain. Leave enough sustain to hold the long bends and play it loose: McCready says his first or second take is usually the best.
These positions are free and they are a starting point. A Katana, a Spark and a valve head reach this voicing from different knob positions, so Tonelify rewrites every value above for the amp and guitar you own. Your first match is free with an account, and needs no card.
Adapt these to my amp- Pickup
- Neck pickup for body, bridge if the lead needs to cut
These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. If you tell Tonelify which amp you own, it rewrites every value above for the controls that amp actually has.
What gear did Pearl Jam use on Alive?
Mike McCready's black 1962 Japanese reissue Stratocaster, his first Strat, bought for him by Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament out of the band's advance, into a Marshall JCM800 and a 4x12 cabinet he thinks had 25-watt speakers, with a Fender Bassman for clean tones, his own account of the Ten rig; Gossard, who plays mostly Les Pauls, wrote the music as an instrumental called Dollar Short, and McCready played Stevie Ray Vaughan and Hendrix-style chords behind the riff rather than doubling it; the album version comes from a January 1991 demo session at London Bridge Studio in Seattle, and during mixing in England that June Tim Palmer had McCready add to the outro solo, which Palmer remembers him nailing in one take once he put a Uni-Vibe on it, while McCready says parts of the solo were comped from his first takes.
Sources: Guitar World: Mike McCready looks back on 30 years of Ten, Wikipedia: Alive (Pearl Jam song)
Tonelify reads that chain and translates it to the amp and guitar you already own, returning gain, bass, mids, treble and presence values along with a pickup position.
How do you get the Alive tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of Alive
Get exact knob settings adapted to your rig
Alive tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Alive?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 6.5, Bass 6, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2, with the neck pickup for body, bridge if the lead needs to cut. These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. Tonelify rewrites the same values for the specific amp and guitar you own, because a high-gain head and a small solid-state combo reach the same chest-beating opening lick and Strat chords building to a long, Hendrix-influenced outro solo from different positions.
What is the most important control for the Alive tone?
The Uni-Vibe. Tim Palmer says McCready was not happy with the pieced-together solo until he played it again through a Uni-Vibe, so a throbbing, modulated lead over a Marshall-style crunch gets closer than more gain. Leave enough sustain to hold the long bends and play it loose: McCready says his first or second take is usually the best.
Can you get the Alive tone without the original gear?
Yes. The original was tracked with Mike McCready's black 1962 Japanese reissue Stratocaster, his first Strat, bought for him by Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament out of the band's advance, into a Marshall JCM800 and a 4x12 cabinet he thinks had 25-watt speakers, with a Fender Bassman for clean tones, his own account of the Ten rig; Gossard, who plays mostly Les Pauls, wrote the music as an instrumental called Dollar Short, and McCready played Stevie Ray Vaughan and Hendrix-style chords behind the riff rather than doubling it; the album version comes from a January 1991 demo session at London Bridge Studio in Seattle, and during mixing in England that June Tim Palmer had McCready add to the outro solo, which Palmer remembers him nailing in one take once he put a Uni-Vibe on it, while McCready says parts of the solo were comped from his first takes, but the parts that define the sound are the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup position and the effects order. Those translate to other equipment, which is what the adaptation step does.
Is Alive a rhythm or a lead tone?
It is a solo part with a distorted character, from Pearl Jam's 1990s grunge catalogue.
Does Tonelify cost anything to try?
Your first match for your own gear is free with an account, and needs no card. After that both plans start with a 7-day free trial: Stage is $6.99 a month for 20 matches, Headliner is $10.99 a month for unlimited matching within a fair use limit of 150 new matches a day, and yearly billing works out cheaper on both. Reading this page and the rest of the library costs nothing and needs no account.
