Plug In Baby
A fast, fuzzed-up riff on the harmonic minor scale with a Bach-like opening.
What is the Plug In Baby guitar tone?
The Plug In Baby guitar tone is a fast, fuzzed-up riff on the harmonic minor scale with a Bach-like opening, heard on Muse's 2000s space rock recording. It is a distorted riff tone, and Muse reportedly tracked it with a custom Manson guitar with a Z.Vex Fuzz Factory built into it, which Wikipedia says Matt Bellamy recorded Origin of Symmetry with after making Showbiz mainly on a Gibson Les Paul, the start of his long run of Manson guitars, and which Songfacts says carried the fuzz for the classical-influenced intro riff; which amp it went into is not documented; the song was one of the first four the band recorded with producer David Bottrill after the Showbiz tour, the backbone of the album, playing together as a band with some overdubs; it is in B minor at about 136 beats per minute, the riff is built on the harmonic minor scale, its opening resembling the toccata of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, and a 1997 demo of the song did not have it yet; it came out as the album's lead single in March 2001 and reached number 11 in the UK, Muse's highest chart place at the time, and Total Guitar readers have voted its riff the best of the 2000s. 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.
Plug In Baby 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
- Z.Vex Fuzz Factory, built into the guitar
- The control that matters most
- The fuzz, gated. The riff is a run of fast single notes through a Fuzz Factory built into the guitar, so use a fuzz with a hard, buzzing edge and enough gate that each note stops cleanly, and keep the amp's bass down so the line stays separate. A fuzz into a crunch channel gets closer than an amp's own high-gain channel.
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 Plug In Baby?
A custom Manson guitar with a Z.Vex Fuzz Factory built into it, which Wikipedia says Matt Bellamy recorded Origin of Symmetry with after making Showbiz mainly on a Gibson Les Paul, the start of his long run of Manson guitars, and which Songfacts says carried the fuzz for the classical-influenced intro riff; which amp it went into is not documented; the song was one of the first four the band recorded with producer David Bottrill after the Showbiz tour, the backbone of the album, playing together as a band with some overdubs; it is in B minor at about 136 beats per minute, the riff is built on the harmonic minor scale, its opening resembling the toccata of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, and a 1997 demo of the song did not have it yet; it came out as the album's lead single in March 2001 and reached number 11 in the UK, Muse's highest chart place at the time, and Total Guitar readers have voted its riff the best of the 2000s.
Sources: Wikipedia: Plug In Baby, Wikipedia: Origin of Symmetry, Songfacts: Plug In Baby
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 Plug In Baby tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of Plug In Baby
Get exact knob settings adapted to your rig
Plug In Baby tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Plug In Baby?
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 fast, fuzzed-up riff on the harmonic minor scale with a Bach-like opening from different positions.
What is the most important control for the Plug In Baby tone?
The fuzz, gated. The riff is a run of fast single notes through a Fuzz Factory built into the guitar, so use a fuzz with a hard, buzzing edge and enough gate that each note stops cleanly, and keep the amp's bass down so the line stays separate. A fuzz into a crunch channel gets closer than an amp's own high-gain channel.
Can you get the Plug In Baby tone without the original gear?
Yes. The original was tracked with a custom Manson guitar with a Z.Vex Fuzz Factory built into it, which Wikipedia says Matt Bellamy recorded Origin of Symmetry with after making Showbiz mainly on a Gibson Les Paul, the start of his long run of Manson guitars, and which Songfacts says carried the fuzz for the classical-influenced intro riff; which amp it went into is not documented; the song was one of the first four the band recorded with producer David Bottrill after the Showbiz tour, the backbone of the album, playing together as a band with some overdubs; it is in B minor at about 136 beats per minute, the riff is built on the harmonic minor scale, its opening resembling the toccata of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, and a 1997 demo of the song did not have it yet; it came out as the album's lead single in March 2001 and reached number 11 in the UK, Muse's highest chart place at the time, and Total Guitar readers have voted its riff the best of the 2000s, 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 Plug In Baby 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.
