The Day I Tried to Live guitar tone

The rig Soundgarden used

Researched from interviews, production write-ups and gear histories — not guessed.

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.

1. Guild S-100 (Polara)

   1

   source

   guitar
2. Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier

   2

   amp

   amp
3. Marshall 1960 4x12 (V30)

   3

   cab

   cab
4. Shure SM57 (dynamic, close)

   4

   mic

   mic

Why we think this is right

'The Day I Tried to Live' is from Superunknown (1994); the heavy, saturated electric-guitar voice is Kim Thayil's. Thayil's signature guitar is the Guild S-100 (Polara), and the song famously uses an unusual EEBBBB tuning (documented on Songfacts and in interviews), which gives the riff its droning, stacked quality. Thayil's Superunknown-era high-gain tone is broadly associated with Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier amplification into Marshall 4x12 cabinets (Celestion Vintage 30s). The guitar and tuning are high-confidence; the specific amp/cab for this exact track is a well-supported inference from Thayil's documented rig rather than a per-track session sheet, so overall confidence sits just below the very top tier.

Sources

• Songfacts — 'The Day I Tried to Live' (EEBBBB tuning)
• Superunknown album credits / sessions (1994)
• Kim Thayil interviews and rig features (Guild S-100, Mesa/Boogie)
• Guitar-press coverage of Soundgarden's Superunknown-era tone

More example tones

• OneMetallica
• BatteryMetallica
• Sad But TrueMetallica
• Summer of '69Bryan Adams
• Sweet Child O' MineGuns N' Roses
• You Shook Me All Night LongAC/DC