R U Mine?
Arctic Monkeys · AM (originally a 2012 standalone single) · 2012
The main riff is a fat, mid-forward fuzz sound: humbucker bridge pickup into a pedal fuzz, into a small British tube combo run loud rather than a high-gain amp. Guitar.com credits Turner's 1962 Gretsch Duo Jet with its Filter'Trons for this track, and the record was cut in Sheffield with the band's own Selmer and Hiwatt amps, so keep the amp EQ fairly flat with mids up and let the fuzz supply the dirt. Double-track the riff if you can — the width on the record is two takes, not chorus or delay.
Where these numbers come from: worked out from the documented rig and the sound of the record
Tuning
Standard tuning, no capo
Standard tuning — the riff sits on the low E and A strings between the 2nd and 5th frets with one jump to the 14th, and on the record the riff is double-tracked.
Guitar
- 1962 Gretsch G6128T Duo Jet · Filter'Tron humbuckers · bridge pickup
- Gibson SG · humbuckers · bridge pickup
Amp
Selmer Zodiac Twin 30
Turner's main studio amp from Favourite Worst Nightmare onward; it has no gain, mid or presence controls, so the 7 is the channel volume pushed into breakup with the fuzz doing most of the dirt. Sources disagree on the guitar: Guitar.com credits the '62 Duo Jet for this riff, while some gear round-ups instead put Turner's black Les Paul Custom or the Vox Starstream XII on it.
Amp
Hiwatt Studio/Stage 2x12 combo
Cook's long-running combo, the likely doubling amp; no reverb on board. "R U Mine?" was cut in January 2012 at Ross Orton's Sheffield studio with the band's own amps rather than at the later Los Angeles AM sessions, so the amp attribution is period rig, not a track-specific credit.
Pedals
- Cornell The First Fuzz · fuzz · Fuzz around 2 o'clock, level to match clean volume — thick and saturated but still note-defined
- Coopersonic ValveSlapper · valve distortion · Medium drive, tone open; used for the fatter AM-era riff and lead sounds
- Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi · fuzz · Sustain about 11 o'clock, tone about noon — alternative if you want more wool on the doubling track
- MXR Micro Amp · boost · Gain about 10 o'clock to push the amp's front end and tighten the low strings
Tone character
thick saturated fuzz · forward mids · tight low end · snappy humbucker attack · double-tracked width · not much top-end fizz
A single-note low-string riff — the work is in the swung sixteenth timing, keeping the repeated notes palm-muted and even, and landing the slide and the jump up to the 14th fret cleanly.
Want this on your own amp?
These are the record's settings. Tell us what you play through and we'll translate every knob to the amp you actually own — free.
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