Creep
Radiohead
Quiet clean verses broken open by a violent distorted crunch.
What is the Creep guitar tone?
The Creep guitar tone is quiet clean verses broken open by a violent distorted crunch, heard on Radiohead's 1990s alt rock recording. It is a distorted riff tone, and Radiohead reportedly tracked it with Jonny Greenwood's Fender Telecaster, with the muted crunch before each chorus played through a distortion pedal, most likely his Marshall ShredMaster, and probably a Fender 85 amp. The sound depends on compression and pick attack more than on gain, so a lightly driven amp with the tone rolled back gets closer than a high-gain setting.
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.
Creep amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 3, Bass 5, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 3, with the bridge pickup.
- Signal chain
- Distortion pedal (most likely a Marshall ShredMaster)
- The control that matters most
- The distortion pedal. The verses are clean and the crunch is a pedal kicked on before the chorus, so keep the amp clean with some headroom and let the pedal do the distorting.
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.
Adapt these to my amp- Pickup
- Bridge pickup
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 Radiohead use on Creep?
Jonny Greenwood's Fender Telecaster, with the muted crunch before each chorus played through a distortion pedal, most likely his Marshall ShredMaster, and probably a Fender 85 amp.
Sources: Wikipedia: Creep (Radiohead song), Mojo: Jonny Greenwood on Creep, Mixdown: Jonny Greenwood gear rundown, Wikipedia: Jonny Greenwood
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 Creep tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original Creep tone
Get exact knob settings adapted to your rig
Creep tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Creep?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 3, Bass 5, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 3, with the bridge pickup. 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 quiet clean verses broken open by a violent distorted crunch from different positions.
What is the most important control for the Creep tone?
The distortion pedal. The verses are clean and the crunch is a pedal kicked on before the chorus, so keep the amp clean with some headroom and let the pedal do the distorting.
Can you get the Creep tone without the original gear?
Yes. The original was tracked with Jonny Greenwood's Fender Telecaster, with the muted crunch before each chorus played through a distortion pedal, most likely his Marshall ShredMaster, and probably a Fender 85 amp, 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 Creep a rhythm or a lead tone?
It is a riff part with a distorted character, from Radiohead's 1990s alt rock catalogue.
Does Tonelify cost anything to try?
Both plans start with a 7-day free trial and nothing is charged until it ends. Stage is metered and Headliner is unlimited within a fair use limit of 150 new matches a day, and yearly billing works out cheaper on both; the current prices are on your account page once you have one. Reading this page and the rest of the library costs nothing and needs no account.