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Skid Row - Monkey Business - Guitar Lesson

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Key E minor
Skid Row - Monkey Business guitar lesson video
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Classic Rock

Gain6
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Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.
Slave to the Grind album cover
Slave to the Grind
1991 4:18
Listen on Spotify
Skid Row Hard Rock 1991 E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

About Monkey Business

Attitude-driven and built around chunky, palm-muted riffing in E minor, "Monkey Business" from Skid Row's 1991 record "Slave to the Grind" is a solid workout in Hard Rock rhythm playing. The track sits at 120 BPM in E Standard tuning, which keeps it approachable while still demanding tight right-hand control, especially through the heavy down-picked verses. Getting the palm muting consistent at tempo is the real challenge here: too loose and the riff loses its bite, too tight and it chokes. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop those verse riffs slowed down until the muting pressure feels natural before you bring it back up to full speed. The chord shapes themselves are not complicated, but locking in with the drums and nailing the rhythmic phrasing is what separates a sloppy run-through from something that actually sounds like the record. Pay close attention to where the riff breathes and where it punches.

  • The song is in E Standard tuning and E minor, making it a practical choice for players who want to build palm-muted, down-picked rhythm technique.
  • At 120 BPM the riff sits at a tempo where right-hand consistency is tested, so looping it slowed down is the best way to clean up the muting.
  • The verse rhythm part relies on tight palm muting and precise pick attack rather than complex chord shapes, so focus your practice on right-hand control.

How to Play Monkey Business

Tuning: E Standard · Key: E minor · Tempo: 120 BPM

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 120 BPM to build it up to tempo.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Sabo deployed the Les Paul's thick, woody sustain on Skid Row's heaviest tracks, using the guitar's body mass to add low-end punch to power chords. The Les Paul's stock humbuckers pushed his Marshall into aggressive saturation while maintaining the articulate crunch that defines their sound.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

The Custom's premium build and tonal thickness gave Sabo an alternative for ballad work and heavier material, offering darker midrange warmth than his signature Charvels. This guitar's resonance complemented the Marshall JCM900's natural tube compression for their most saturated, body-forward tones.

Marshall JCM800
Amp

Marshall JCM800

The JCM800's hot preamp became the sonic backbone of Skid Row's crunch, delivering that tight, compressed saturation when cranked that defined hits like 'Youth Gone Wild.' Paired with 4x12 cabs loaded with Greenbacks or Vintage 30s, it produced the articulate yet aggressive tone essential to their hard rock identity.

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah
Pedal

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah

Sabo used the Cry Baby's expressive sweep on solo passages to add human, vocal-like character to leads, especially during extended guitar moments. The wah's responsive filtering complemented his bridge humbucker's output, letting him shape aggressive yet dynamic solo accents.

Boss DD-3 Digital Delay
Pedal

Boss DD-3 Digital Delay

The DD-3's short slapback repeats provided subtle space and dimension to Skid Row's lead work without muddying the amp-driven tone. Set for tight repeats rather than spacious trails, it added polish to solos while keeping the focus on the Marshall's natural tube saturation and pick articulation.

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