Johnny Marr created the distinctive guitar sound on The Smiths’ ‘How Soon Is Now?’ by combining tremolo, unusual tuning and carefully arranged amplification. Inspired rhythmically by Bo Diddley, the effect gave the song its pulsing, atmospheric character, contrasting with Marr’s usually brighter and cleaner style and reinforcing Morrissey’s melancholy vocals.

Marr tuned his 1963 Epiphone Casino a whole step higher, to F#, and ran it through four amplifiers, each set to a different tremolo speed. The amps were pointed in different directions and panned separately during mixing, while Marr also manipulated the tuning pegs to bend the pitch. Despite initially appearing only as a B-side, the song’s experimental guitar work helped make it one of The Smiths’ defining recordings.