Tom Morello (during his Rage Against the Machine days) had a pretty straightforward amp setup. He ran a Marshall 50-Watt JCM800 2205 head into a 4x12 Peavey stack.
In terms of effects, Tom used quite a few pedals, although he's probably most well-known for using Digitech WH-1 Whammy Pitchshifter/Harmonizer on a lot of his solos.
Like any guitarist, Tom has his fair share of guitars that he uses... but he's probably most iconically identified with: 1) "Arm the Homeless" custom guitar, 2) early-80s American Telecaster, and 3) "Soul Power", a modified Fender Strat.
Another very important item needed to do a lot of the cool DJ effects that he does is a cut-off switch for your guitar.
Settings Summary:
Amp: Marshall 50-watt JCM 800 2205 head
Effects:
- Digitech WH-1 Whammy Pitchshifter/Harmonizer
- Boss TR-2 Tremelo
- Jim Dunlop Original Cry-Baby Wah Wah
- Boss DD-2 Digital Delay
- DOD FX40B Equalizer
- Ibanez DFL Flanger
Amp Settings:
- Gain: 7
- Bass: 4
- Middle: 4
- Treble: 10
- Reverb: 0
Sources:
Source 1
Source 2
Source 3
The amp settings for Brian May's unique classic-rock tone is rather simple, Unfortunately, getting his exact equipment is much less so.
Brian May is famous for using the Vox AC30 amp. Vox recently released a re-issue Vox AC30 Brian May edition, so that would be the amp to get to truly emulate his sound.
Another very important piece of Brian's gear is a treble booster placed before the amp. I believe he used his own, custom-built booster, but these days there are a few different companies making treble boosters. Check here to see some examples.
As for guitars, Brian uses a custom-built guitar he calls the Red Special. Unfortunately, there are only 3 in existence... two are owned by Mr. May himself and the third by the luthier who built it, so you're out of luck there. However, Brian May does have a mass-produced version of his axe for sale. I don't know how good it is, but the reviews seem to be quite favorable.
Amp Settings Summary:
Amp: Vox AC30
Effects: Treble Booster
Guitar: Brian May Red Special
- Gain: 8.5
- Bass: 5.5
- Mid: 9
- Treble: 4
- Reverb: 4
- Volume: Cranked to get natural tube overdrive sound
- Treble Booster Pedal: Turned up just before the point of causing feedback
Sources:
Source 1
Source 2
Source 3
During the Nevermind era, Kurt's guitar of choice was the Fender Mustang for most songs, although his Fender Jaguar and Strat also got some use.
In terms of amps, Kurt used Mesa/Boogie Studio pre-amp with a Crown power amp. He also used a Fender Bassman for about 4 songs, and a Vox AC-30 for the cleans on some songs.
In terms of effects pedals, Kurt used an Electro-Harmonix Small Clone for "the watery guitar sound you hear on the pre-chorus build-up of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' and also 'Come As You Are.'" An Electro-Harmonix Big Muff fuzz box was used on "Lithium" for that "dark, thumpier sound." He also used the Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion pedal, with the following settings: Level: all the way up; Tone: 4; Distortion: usually all the way up but occasionally came down to about 6 or 7 in the studio, and the last knob was set to position one, the non-turbo setting.
Amp Settings Summary:
Amp: Mesa/Boogie Studio pre-amp with a Crown power amp
Cabinet: Marshall stack
Effects: Electro-Harmonix Small Clone, Electro-Harmonix Big Muff, Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion
- Bass: 5
- Mids: 10
- Treble: 4.5
Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion:
- Level: 10
- Tone: 4
- Distortion: 10
- Non-turbo mode
Source:
Source 1
What better way to kick off the first post for the Amp Settings website than to write up the amp settings for the legendary Slash!
Slash has always been known to use Gibson Les Paul guitars and Marshall amps. The first Marshall amp that Slash started using regularly was the Marshall JCM 2555 Silver Jubilee. This amp was only made for a few years in the late 80s. Since Marshall knew Slash’s fondness of that particular amp model, they released a re-issue Marshall JCM 2555 SL Slash’s signature model in 1996. That is Slash’s amp of choice today.
Amp Settings Summary:
Amp: Marshall JCM 2555 Silver Jubilee / Marshall JCM 2555 SL Slash’s Signature model
Cabinet: Marshall 1960A and 1960B (full stack) 4 x 12 cabinets loaded with four 70W Celestion Vintage speakers.
Effects: Dunlop Wah-Wah, MXR 10-band EQ (for solo boost), Heil Talkbox
Dirty tone:
Variation 1:
- Presence: 8
- Bass: 7
- Mid: 7
- Treble: 4.5
- Output Master: 10
- Input Gain: 6.5
Variation 2:
- Presence: 7
- Bass: 7
- Mid: 4.5
- Treble: 7
- Output Master: 6
- Lead Master: 10
- Input Gain: 6.5
Clean tone:
- Presence: 0
- Bass: 9
- Mid: 3
- Treble: 5.5
- Output Master: 10
- Lead Master: 0
- Input Gain: 4
Sources:
Source 1
