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Suede·Social·Issue No. 20
Tone recipes·2026 · JUL
Rock2003easy to fake

01The White Stripes

Seven Nation Army

Hollowbody Airline guitar through a DigiTech Whammy WH-4 set an octave down — the famous 'bass' line is actually Jack's guitar through the Whammy. The verse riff is mono and dry. The chorus brings in a different chain: red Whammy (Whammy WH-1) for the higher harmonized lead, and a Big Muff for the wall of fuzz. White's recording is intentionally lo-fi — analog tape, room mics, no compression.

02Signal chain

Guitar to amp, 3 pedals between.

  1. In
    Guitar

    JB Hutto Montgomery Airline (red)

  2. 01
    Octave-down for the iconic 'bass' line
    DigiTech Whammy WH-4

    Pitch: 1 octave down, Expression: full down

  3. 02
    Wall of fuzz for the chorus
    Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi

    Sustain: maxed, Tone: noon, Volume: 1 o'clock

  4. 03
    Boost for solos and big sections
    MXR Micro Amp

    Gain: 2 o'clock

  5. Out
    Amp

    1970s Sears Silvertone 1485 or similar low-watt combo

03Field note

The secret sauce

There's no bass on Seven Nation Army — Jack's guitar pitched down an octave IS the bass. The verse riff is one signal path doing two jobs. Once you realize that, the whole song reorganizes in your head.