Plug In Baby guitar tone
Muse · Matthew Bellamy
Origin of Symmetry (Mushroom, 2001)
gated-fuzz riff over a two-channel British head
The rig Muse used
Researched from interviews, production write-ups and gear histories — not guessed.
Guitar
Manson DL-1, bridge humbucker
Amplifier
Marshall JCM2000 DSL100, both channels used - one amp, not two
Cabinet
Marshall 1960A 4x12 with Celestion G12T-75s
Microphone
Shure SM57 close on the grille
Signal chain
The order the original sound was built in. The exact settings get dialled for your own amp or modeller when you generate the tone.
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Why we think this is right
The Z.Vex Fuzz Factory is the best-supported item in Muse's early rig and it is what makes the intro riff squeal the way it does; Bellamy later had one built into the Manson itself, but in 2001 it was still a floor pedal, and it is placed in front of the amp here. The amp is the JCM2000 DSL of the Origin of Symmetry period. Two competing claims are rejected: a Vox AC30, which belongs to a different part of Bellamy's history and does not match the tight, mid-forward saturation on this track; and the Diezel VH4, which is an Absolution-era development from 2003 and cannot have been on a 2001 record. The cabinet and microphone are period inference rather than session fact.
Sources
- Equipboard - Matthew Bellamy gear listing (Z.Vex Fuzz Factory, Manson DL-1, Marshall JCM2000 DSL)
- Z.Vex Fuzz Factory product history and the Manson MB-1 onboard-fuzz build (post-2001)
- Diezel VH4 adoption chronology (Absolution period, 2003)
- Muse, Origin of Symmetry (2001) - listening analysis of the released mix