Living Colour - Cult of Personality - Guitar Tab

Fender Stratocaster

Vernon Reid's custom Fender Strats provide the classic contoured body and tremolo system he needs for Living Colour's fusion of funk and metal. The versatile pickup configurations let him switch between thick rhythm tones and articulate lead work within songs.

Marshall JCM800

Reid uses the JCM800's natural British crunch to add warmth and classic rock character to Living Colour's dense low-end, often blending it with other heads to layer different gain frequencies. This amp's tight, focused overdrive cuts through without sounding sterile.

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier

The Dual Rectifier's high-gain saturation and responsive tight low-end are essential for the heavy, articulate riffs on tracks like 'Cult of Personality.' Reid runs this head alongside others to achieve his signature layered, multidimensional distortion tone.

Soldano SLO-100

Reid deploys the SLO-100's smooth, vocal-like high-gain character to add sustain and harmonic richness to lead passages and solo work. This amp's natural breakup responds beautifully to his stacked effects chains and whammy pitch-shifts.

DiMarzio Super Distortion

The Super Distortion's dynamic, open-sounding output gives Reid's riffs clarity and note definition even under heavy distortion, crucial for Living Colour's technically complex rhythms. Its responsive character works perfectly with his HSH pickup configurations for quick tonal switching.

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah

Reid uses the Cry Baby to add expressive funk articulation and vocal-like lead character to Living Colour's fusion sound, often combining it with the Whammy and delays. The wah's responsive sweep helps define the band's signature style blending metal heaviness with rhythmic funk grooves.