How To Dial In Your Amplifier Settings For Great Guitar Tone

Setting the Volume

The volume knob is used to control the amount of signal going into your amplifier. The higher you turn it up, the louder your signal will be. The lower you turn it down, the quieter your signal will be. Turning your volume knob all the way down is equal to having no guitar plugged into an amp!

Turning the volume up too high can cause feedback and turning the volume down too low can cause a weak sound or no sound at all (if there’s no power pushing through). Set the volume to suit the space that you are playing in. You don’t want to be too loud and annoy your neighbors, so if you’re playing at home, start low and gradually turn it up to a comfortable level.

Using your amp’s EQ settings is key to fine-tuning your tone.

EQ is short for equalization, and it’s a series of filters that allow you to adjust the tone of your guitar. It’s also used to adjust the frequency response of your amp. If you’re using an amp with two channels (clean, cr and overdrive), there will be two separate EQs: one for each channel.

In most amps, there are three bands: bass, mid and treble; however some amps have only two bands or one band that can be adjusted with three different frequencies.

Setting the Bass

The bass control on your amplifier controls the amount of low frequencies in your tone. The bass knob can be used to add or subtract bass from your tone, or it can be used to shape the overall amount of bass in your guitar sound. For example, if you want a lot of bottom-end thump but don’t want to sacrifice too much high end clarity, turning down the treble and keeping the middle at 12 o’clock (straight up) will give you plenty of midrange with increased low end punch. In contrast, turning up both treble and middle will keep everything clean while boosting both ends equally for a tighter sound that still has plenty of “punch” when played through an amp with plenty of power behind it (like something along lines like Fender Twin Reverb).

Setting the Mid

The Mid control is the most important control on your amplifier. It controls the tone of the guitar. It can make it sound brighter, darker and more or less boomy. The mid range controls how much fundamental you hear in your pick attack and how much overtones are added to this fundamental by adjusting its prominence in relation to other frequencies produced by your amp.

Midrange settings can vary from “bright” (more mids) to “dark” (less mids). Adjusting any of these settings will affect both your rhythm playing and lead work so be careful!

Setting the Treble

The treble is the brightness of your guitar. It can be set at a midpoint, OR it can be boosted to add more sparkle and presence to your tone. It can also be cut to remove harshness from your tone.

With all of the EQ knobs, try their full range as per what you did with the gain. Once you’ve established their range, set them to the 12 o’clock position and adjust each one in turn until you hit the point that you like the best.

Setting the Reverb

Reverb is a great way to add depth to your guitar tone, but it can also make things muddy. If you’ve ever heard a song that sounded like there was something wrong with the mix, or if you’ve ever felt like something in your own mixes isn’t quite right, this might be the cause. Reverb is an effect that sends a sound out into space and then brings it back into the mix.

Conclusion

Now you know what all the knobs do, keep tweaking, as it will take some time and practice to get those settings right. Write down your preferred settings and combinations on a piece of paper and keep it near or stick it to your amp. You could even try making small chalk marks next to the numbers to remind you of where it should be set. Once you’ve got your amp settings mastered try adding some effects pedals, see our guide here to get started.