Nail the ToneThe Strokes

Reptilia

The Strokes · Room on Fire · 2003

The main riff is Albert Hammond Jr.'s 1985 '72-reissue Stratocaster, most likely on his preferred middle pickup, into a Fender Hot Rod DeVille 2x12 with a Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde for the dirt — the same rig he and Nick Valensi used across the first three Strokes albums. Aim for a mid-heavy, lightly saturated crunch with the bass rolled back so the palm-muted low E stays punchy instead of boomy, and keep reverb nearly off for that dry, in-the-room Room on Fire sound. Valensi's interlocking Riviera chord part is what fills in the top; if you're playing alone, nudge treble and mids up slightly.

Where these numbers come from: worked out from the documented rig and the sound of the record

Tuning

Standard tuning, no capo

Both guitars are in standard tuning; the intro/verse riff (Albert Hammond Jr.) sits against Nick Valensi's sustained Bm and E chord part, so the riff sounds fuller on record than it does alone.

Part: Riff

Guitar

  • Fender Stratocaster 1985 '72 Reissue · Single-coil Stratocaster · middle pickup
  • Epiphone Riviera (P-94 pickups) · Gibson P-94 · bridge pickup

Amp

Fender Hot Rod DeVille 212

GAIN
4.0
BASS
3.5
MID
7.0
TREBLE
6.0
PRESENCE
4.0
REVERB
1.5

Producer Gordon Raphael confirmed both guitarists used Hot Rod DeVilles on the sessions but said he never saw their knob positions, so these values are inferred from the record: drive channel just into crunch, mids pushed, bass pulled back to keep the low-E chug tight. Some tone blogs credit a Vox AC30 or an Epiphone Casino on this track; no primary source supports that.

Pedals

  • Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde · overdrive/distortion · Hyde (distortion) side, drive around 10-11 o'clock, tone about noon, level unity
  • MXR Micro Amp · clean boost · Off for the riff; kicked in for lead lines and the solo

Tone character

forward mids · edge-of-breakup crunch · tight, dry low end · bright single-coil snap · almost no reverb

medium

Constant fast eighth-note picking against an open low E while the fretting hand mutes the strings on either side of the melody notes — the challenge is clean muting and right-hand stamina at tempo, not the notes themselves.

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.

Adapt it to my gear

Sources