Instrumental Rock1995Alien Love Secrets

Bad Horsie Amp Settings

by Steve Vai

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Original Recording Settings

Well-SourcedResearched tone data for "Bad Horsie" by Steve Vai

Original Gear

Guitar: Ibanez JEM (natural-finish ash body)
Pickups: DiMarzio Evolution Bridge DP159 (13.04kΩ, ceramic magnet) / Evolution Neck DP158 / Evolution V2 ISCV2 middle (bridge)
Amplifier: Bogner Ecstasy (early 100A or 100B)
Channel: High-gain channel, likely boosted with Boss DS-1 or Ibanez TS9
Tuning: C-G-C-F-A-D (Drop D down one whole step)
Pickup Selector: bridge
Strings: 0.010-0.052 (hybrid heavy gauge for low tuning support)

Primary amp in a multi-amp blend. Vai used a custom 6-way signal splitter feeding: Bogner Ecstasy, Marshall JCM900, an older Marshall, SansAmp through speaker simulator, rack-mountable Zoom, and guitar preamps — all tracked simultaneously and blended during mixing. This specific Bogner was loaned directly by Reinhold Bogner and returned after sessions. Cabinets were 4x12 with Celestion Vintage 30s, miked with Shure SM57, Sennheiser 421, and Beyerdynamic M160 (phase-aligned) plus room mics.

Amp Settings

No settings available

Effects Chain

→

Dunlop Cry Baby (heavily modified)

wah

→

DigiTech Whammy Pedal

pitch_shift

→

Boss DS-1 Distortion

boost/distortion

→

Eventide H3000 Ultra-Harmonizer

harmonizer

→

Eventide DSP4000 (or Roland SDE-3000)

delay/looper

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1.Dunlop Cry Baby (heavily modified) — Vai's own words: 'my CryBaby which is heavily modified — I don't know how!' Custom modifications by an unspecified technician — details unknown even to Vai. This predates the Morley Bad Horsie wah (released 1996), which was inspired by this song. The wah is engaged throughout most of the track, actively controlled to shape frequency sweep on both rhythm and lead.

2.DigiTech Whammy Pedal — Used for pitch effects and dive-bomb sounds. Confirmed in the 1995 Guitar Magazine interview.

3.Boss DS-1 Distortion — Used as a front-end boost into the Bogner, not as primary distortion. DS-1 settings from vai.com Q&A. High probability of use on this track — constant in his rig throughout this era.

4.Eventide H3000 Ultra-Harmonizer — Listed in album credits. Used in effects loop for harmonized passages.

5.Eventide DSP4000 (or Roland SDE-3000) — Critical for the song's climax. Vai: 'I play a riff and then hit a hold button and that repeats and then I play another riff and hit the hold button.' Creates layered sound without overdubs. Approximately 30ms digital delay also used to fatten guitar tone in place of double-tracking.

Playing Technique

Wah-driven throughout. Opening horse whinnies produced by striking natural harmonics (primarily 7th fret) while manipulating Ibanez Edge whammy bar through dramatic dives. Heavy palm-muted riffing on low C string for rhythm. Extensive pinch/pitched harmonics, legato hammer-on/pull-off runs, right-hand tapping in solos, slide guitar passages (Velcro-mounted slide), wide vibrato (finger and bar). Volume knob manipulation for clean-to-dirty transitions. Zero overdubs — entire track is a single guitar performance.

Sources+

The Guitar Magazine (UK), Vol. 5 No. 5 (May 1995) — direct Steve Vai interview, primary source for all gear on this track
Guitar Shop Magazine (March 1997) — signal splitter and multi-amp setup details
Jemsite forum archives — ash body confirmation, Bogner Ecstasy provenance (loaned by Reinhold Bogner)
vai.com Q&A — Boss DS-1 settings
Morley Pedals official website — Bad Horsie wah release timeline (1996, post-recording)
Equipboard.com — Steve Vai gear timeline
Guitar World: '50 Greatest Wah Solos' (2015) — Bad Horsie ranked #7