Surfing with the Alien
Clean amp plus a distortion pedal for a bright, singing lead.
- Guitar
- JS, bridge pickup
- Guitar volume
- 9
- Guitar tone
- 8
- DS-1 — Distortion
- 5
- DS-1 — Level
- 7
- Amp — Gain
- 4
- Amp — Bass
- 6
- Amp — Treble
- 8
All musicians
JS
Solo
Joe Satriani
Instrumental Rock1984–presentUSA
A signature Ibanez into a clean-ish Marshall and a Vox, with a distortion pedal and a wah — melody first, gain second.
Known for: Surfing with the Alien, Always with Me Always with You, Satch Boogie
5
gear entries
5
with sources
Rig rundown
Pedals
2Boss DS-1 Distortion
PedalHis long-standing dirt pedal.
Dunlop Cry Baby Wah
PedalUsed for the funkier instrumentals.
Amps
2Vox AC30
AmpChimey clean for the melodic lines.
Peavey JSX
AmpHis signature amp, used for the crunch.
Guitars
1Ibanez JS signature
GuitarHis signature Ibanez with DiMarzio pickups.
Dial-in specs
What to dial in to chase Joe Satriani's signature sounds — knob positions, pickup choice and amp EQ as documented.
Always with Me, Always with You
Neck pickup, clean with long delay for the ballad lines.
- Guitar
- JS, neck pickup
- Guitar volume
- 8
- Guitar tone
- 6
- Amp — Gain
- 2
- Amp — Bass
- 6
- Amp — Treble
- 7
- Delay
- Long, with feedback