Did Dave Grohl play all the guitars on Everlong?

Yes — Grohl played all the guitar parts, bass, and drums on the studio recording of Everlong. He's a multi-instrumentalist who recorded much of the first Foo Fighters album solo.

What distortion pedal is on Everlong?

The core distortion comes from a ProCo RAT, which provides a gritty, aggressive character different from tube overdrive. It's rawer and more biting.

How to get the Everlong tone?

Use a RAT-style distortion or aggressive overdrive. Drop D tuning. Strum aggressively with a driving rhythm. The tone should be gritty and energetic, not smooth. Layer guitars if recording.

Grunge & Alternative1997The Colour and the Shape

Everlong Amp Settings

by Foo Fighters

Everlong's massive guitar sound was created entirely by Dave Grohl himself. The driving, aggressive tone comes from a ProCo RAT distortion into a cranked amp, with multiple layers of guitars in Drop D creating the song's overwhelming energy.

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What Makes This Tone Iconic

Grohl is a drummer-turned-guitarist, and his guitar tone reflects a drummer's sensibility — it's rhythmic, propulsive, and hits hard. The ProCo RAT provides gritty, aggressive distortion that's rawer than a typical amp overdrive. Combined with Drop D tuning and Grohl's relentless strumming, it creates a wall of guitar energy that matches the song's desperate urgency.

Key Tone Elements

ProCo RAT distortion pedal — gritty, aggressive clipping
Fender ToneMaster and Mesa Dual/Triple Rectifier amps
Drop D tuning for heavier, open chord voicings
Multiple guitar overdubs — Grohl played all parts himself
Driving, rhythmic strumming pattern

Original Recording Settings

Well-SourcedResearched tone data for "Everlong" by Foo Fighters

Original Gear

Guitar: 1978 Gibson RD Standard (Two-Tone Sunburst) / 1967 Gibson Trini Lopez Standard (Cherry Red)
Pickups: Gibson VI humbuckers (RD Standard) / PAF-style vintage Gibson (Trini Lopez) (bridge)
Amplifier: Fender (Zinky) Custom Shop ToneMaster 2x12 100W / Mesa/Boogie Dual or Triple Rectifier
Channel: Clean (ToneMaster verse) / High gain (Mesa chorus)
Tuning: Drop D (D-A-D-G-B-E)
Pickup Selector: bridge (treble position)
Strings: 0.010-0.046

ToneMaster confirmed by guitar tech Earnie Bailey as primary studio amp at Grandmaster Studios. Mesa Recto confirmed for heavy sections (Grohl 1999 Guitar One interview). Vox AC30 likely for clean tones. Mesa 4x12 cab. Miked with SM57 + Neumann U87 through 1084 preamps to tape. Produced by Gil Norton at Grandmaster Studios, Hollywood.

Amp Settings

Gain

7.0

Bass

8.0

Mid

7.0

Treble

7.0

Presence

6.0

Volume

10.0

Extrapolated from Grohl's documented preferences for adjacent albums. Bass at 8 per Grohl's stated AC30 settings. Grohl: 'Cranked up the amp to 10 so that it sounded like the speakers were getting their ass kicked.'

Effects Chain

→

ProCo Turbo Rat / ProCo Rat 2

distortion

→

1.ProCo Turbo Rat / ProCo Rat 2 — Available for layered overdubs. Clean intro likely guitar straight into amp. Distorted sections primarily use Mesa Recto channel gain.

Playing Technique

Extensive open-string voicings with add9 chord shapes in Drop D creating shimmering, ringing quality. Syncopated 16th-note strumming pattern. Extreme dynamic contrast between light verse strumming and aggressive chorus. Palm muting on verse sections. Multiple guitar overdubs panned hard L/R. Gil Norton demanded up to 30 takes per guitar part for perfect sync with kick and snare.

Sources+

Guitar.com: 'The Guitar Gear Used on Foo Fighters' The Colour and the Shape' - confirms ToneMaster, engineer Bradley Cook confirms RD Standard
Guitar Player 1999 (archived at fooarchive.com): Grohl interview confirming Mesa Recto use, bridge pickup preference
Guitar One 1999: Grohl quote about cranking amps
Equipboard.com - Dave Grohl (guitar tech Earnie Bailey quotes)
Ground Guitar: Dave Grohl's Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier
Producer Hive: Dave Grohl guitar models