Hysteria
A machine-gun bass riff in sixteenth notes, with distorted guitar chords crashing in over it.
What is the Hysteria guitar tone?
The Hysteria guitar tone is a machine-gun bass riff in sixteenth notes, with distorted guitar chords crashing in over it, heard on Muse's 2000s space rock recording. It is a distorted riff tone, and Muse reportedly tracked it with a 1962 Gibson SG fitted with a Roland GK-2 MIDI pickup, which Mixdown names as the only guitar on Absolution not built by Manson and places on this song, and Matt Bellamy's custom Manson guitars, which producer Rich Costey says were mostly recorded through a Diezel head he brought in and Bellamy's own custom Marshall, into a variety of cabinets, with Mixdown adding that Bellamy liked the Diezel VH4 so much he played it across the whole record; the famous riff is Chris Wolstenholme's bass: it came out of a soundcheck jam in Doncaster with Bellamy playing it in a blues style, Wolstenholme moved it to bass as a pattern of sixteenth notes and split his signal into three Marshall bass amps, one clean and two distorted, which Costey says ran through a Big Muff and an obscure Japanese distortion pedal, blended with a synthesiser; Bellamy reworked the song after Costey's feedback, it was recorded at AIR Studios in late 2002 and finished at Livingston in early 2003, both in London, and it came out as the third single from Absolution on 1 December 2003. Riffs in this style run fast, busy lines through a fuzz pedal or a high-gain amp, so the low end has to stay tight and the mids present, or the notes run together.
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.
Hysteria amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 7, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 2, with the bridge pickup.
- Gain 7
- Bass 5
- Middle 6
- Treble 6
- Presence 6
- Reverb 2
- Signal chain
- Diezel VH4 or Bellamy's custom Marshall, high gain (album rig)
- The control that matters most
- Leave room for the bass. The riff everyone knows is Wolstenholme's bass through three amps, one clean and two distorted, so a guitar on its own will sound thinner than the record. On guitar, keep the bass control down and a tight, high-gain sound under the chords, so they hit hard without covering the bass line that carries the song.
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
- 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 Muse use on Hysteria?
A 1962 Gibson SG fitted with a Roland GK-2 MIDI pickup, which Mixdown names as the only guitar on Absolution not built by Manson and places on this song, and Matt Bellamy's custom Manson guitars, which producer Rich Costey says were mostly recorded through a Diezel head he brought in and Bellamy's own custom Marshall, into a variety of cabinets, with Mixdown adding that Bellamy liked the Diezel VH4 so much he played it across the whole record; the famous riff is Chris Wolstenholme's bass: it came out of a soundcheck jam in Doncaster with Bellamy playing it in a blues style, Wolstenholme moved it to bass as a pattern of sixteenth notes and split his signal into three Marshall bass amps, one clean and two distorted, which Costey says ran through a Big Muff and an obscure Japanese distortion pedal, blended with a synthesiser; Bellamy reworked the song after Costey's feedback, it was recorded at AIR Studios in late 2002 and finished at Livingston in early 2003, both in London, and it came out as the third single from Absolution on 1 December 2003.
Sources: Sound On Sound: Rich Costey on recording Muse's Absolution, Mixdown: gear rundown, Muse's Absolution, Wikipedia: Hysteria (Muse 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 Hysteria tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of Hysteria
Get exact knob settings adapted to your rig
Hysteria tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Hysteria?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 7, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 2, 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 machine-gun bass riff in sixteenth notes, with distorted guitar chords crashing in over it from different positions.
What is the most important control for the Hysteria tone?
Leave room for the bass. The riff everyone knows is Wolstenholme's bass through three amps, one clean and two distorted, so a guitar on its own will sound thinner than the record. On guitar, keep the bass control down and a tight, high-gain sound under the chords, so they hit hard without covering the bass line that carries the song.
Can you get the Hysteria tone without the original gear?
Yes. The original was tracked with a 1962 Gibson SG fitted with a Roland GK-2 MIDI pickup, which Mixdown names as the only guitar on Absolution not built by Manson and places on this song, and Matt Bellamy's custom Manson guitars, which producer Rich Costey says were mostly recorded through a Diezel head he brought in and Bellamy's own custom Marshall, into a variety of cabinets, with Mixdown adding that Bellamy liked the Diezel VH4 so much he played it across the whole record; the famous riff is Chris Wolstenholme's bass: it came out of a soundcheck jam in Doncaster with Bellamy playing it in a blues style, Wolstenholme moved it to bass as a pattern of sixteenth notes and split his signal into three Marshall bass amps, one clean and two distorted, which Costey says ran through a Big Muff and an obscure Japanese distortion pedal, blended with a synthesiser; Bellamy reworked the song after Costey's feedback, it was recorded at AIR Studios in late 2002 and finished at Livingston in early 2003, both in London, and it came out as the third single from Absolution on 1 December 2003, 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 Hysteria a rhythm or a lead tone?
It is a riff part with a distorted character, from Muse's 2000s space rock 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.
