When I Come Around
A loose, mid-tempo Marshall crunch.
What is the When I Come Around guitar tone?
The When I Come Around guitar tone is a loose, mid-tempo Marshall crunch, heard on Green Day's 1990s punk rock recording. It is a distorted riff tone, and Green Day reportedly tracked it with Billie Joe Armstrong's first guitar, Blue, a Fernandes Stratocaster copy that Guitar.com says played every electric part on Dookie, most likely with the Bill Lawrence humbucker then in its bridge, into a 100-watt Marshall 1959SLP Super Lead that producer Rob Cavallo brought in, with no pedals; Guitar.com says Cavallo's amp already carried the cascaded-gain Dookie mod, while Marshall's own account has Armstrong buying a 1959SLP of his own after the sessions and having it modified to match; the album was recorded with Cavallo at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley in September and October 1993; the song is the tenth track on Dookie, the band had played it live since 1992, and a Melody Maker reviewer heard its opening chords edging towards Rainbow's Since You've Been Gone; it went to radio in December 1994 and came out as the album's fourth single in January 1995, topping the US Modern Rock chart for seven weeks and reaching number six on the Hot 100 Airplay chart. Punk rhythm tones are loud, dry and mid-forward, with enough gain to hold power chords together and not so much that fast downstrokes smear.
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.
When I Come Around amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 6, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 1, with the bridge pickup.
- Gain 6
- Bass 5
- Middle 6
- Treble 6
- Presence 5
- Reverb 1
- Signal chain
- Marshall 1959SLP distortion, no pedals
- The control that matters most
- The amp, and nothing else. Armstrong played one guitar into one Marshall with no pedals on Dookie, so a loud, mid-forward crunch from the amp gets closer than a distortion pedal or a scooped high-gain channel. This one is slower than Basket Case, so keep the gain a little lower and let each chord ring.
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 Green Day use on When I Come Around?
Billie Joe Armstrong's first guitar, Blue, a Fernandes Stratocaster copy that Guitar.com says played every electric part on Dookie, most likely with the Bill Lawrence humbucker then in its bridge, into a 100-watt Marshall 1959SLP Super Lead that producer Rob Cavallo brought in, with no pedals; Guitar.com says Cavallo's amp already carried the cascaded-gain Dookie mod, while Marshall's own account has Armstrong buying a 1959SLP of his own after the sessions and having it modified to match; the album was recorded with Cavallo at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley in September and October 1993; the song is the tenth track on Dookie, the band had played it live since 1992, and a Melody Maker reviewer heard its opening chords edging towards Rainbow's Since You've Been Gone; it went to radio in December 1994 and came out as the album's fourth single in January 1995, topping the US Modern Rock chart for seven weeks and reaching number six on the Hot 100 Airplay chart.
Sources: Guitar.com: the gear Billie Joe Armstrong used on Dookie, Marshall: the Dookie mod, Wikipedia: When I Come Around
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 When I Come Around tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of When I Come Around
Get exact knob settings adapted to your rig
When I Come Around tone questions
What amp settings do you need for When I Come Around?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 6, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 1, 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 loose, mid-tempo Marshall crunch from different positions.
What is the most important control for the When I Come Around tone?
The amp, and nothing else. Armstrong played one guitar into one Marshall with no pedals on Dookie, so a loud, mid-forward crunch from the amp gets closer than a distortion pedal or a scooped high-gain channel. This one is slower than Basket Case, so keep the gain a little lower and let each chord ring.
Can you get the When I Come Around tone without the original gear?
Yes. The original was tracked with Billie Joe Armstrong's first guitar, Blue, a Fernandes Stratocaster copy that Guitar.com says played every electric part on Dookie, most likely with the Bill Lawrence humbucker then in its bridge, into a 100-watt Marshall 1959SLP Super Lead that producer Rob Cavallo brought in, with no pedals; Guitar.com says Cavallo's amp already carried the cascaded-gain Dookie mod, while Marshall's own account has Armstrong buying a 1959SLP of his own after the sessions and having it modified to match; the album was recorded with Cavallo at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley in September and October 1993; the song is the tenth track on Dookie, the band had played it live since 1992, and a Melody Maker reviewer heard its opening chords edging towards Rainbow's Since You've Been Gone; it went to radio in December 1994 and came out as the album's fourth single in January 1995, topping the US Modern Rock chart for seven weeks and reaching number six on the Hot 100 Airplay chart, 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 When I Come Around a rhythm or a lead tone?
It is a riff part with a distorted character, from Green Day's 1990s punk 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 it takes a plan, charged when you subscribe: 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.
