How To Dial In Classic Tones On ANY AMP!
In this video
How to dial in different tones on any guitar amp, demonstrated on both Boss Katana 100 and Victory Sheriff 22. You can achieve similar tones from very different amplifiers - it's about understanding principles, not copying exact settings.
EQ fundamentals: Typical settings are mid-scoop (bass up, mids down, treble up) for modern sounds, or mid-poke (bass down, mids up) for vintage tones. Starting with all EQ at neutral (12 o'clock) is the baseline for comparison.
Classic 70s Marshall/Vox crunch: The quintessential rock sound is mid-poke - quite middle-heavy with everything relatively neutral. Adding a Tube Screamer increases sustain and boosts mids further. This plexi/Marshall sound works best at neutral settings rather than extreme EQ adjustments.
Clean to heavy transitions: Modern modeling amps like the Katana can switch between four saved sounds instantly (clean, crunch, brown sound, heavy). Traditional amps like the plexi can go from clean to overdrive but the same EQ affects both channels, requiring compromise.
Mids are king: Most guitar amp sound lives in the midrange. Bass makes it more or less boomy but doesn't shape core tone. Treble makes it brighter or duller. The mids create the actual character - mid-poke sounds more 60s British Invasion, mid-scoop sounds 80s/90s (especially with reverb added).
The brown sound: Van Halen's signature tone uses mid-scoop with bass and treble up, high gain. However, boosting mids instead creates a different character - more early 70s Black Sabbath. Use mid-scoop to taste but understand it changes the era/feel of your sound.
Cleaning up the low end: Important for recording and making humbuckers sound more like Strats. John Frusciante's settings (bass and treble all the way up) were specific to his Strat and vintage plexi - you must use your ears. To get Chili Peppers tone from a Les Paul: roll bass off, treble up, add a booster pedal. Or switch to a Strat on the neck pickup with mids backed off.
Strat-specific tones: Mark Knopfler's "Sultans of Swing" uses position 4 (both middle pickups). Stevie Ray Vaughan needs single coils on neck pickup with some reverb - you can't get this with humbuckers. Sometimes you need to cut treble rather than boost bass to tame harsh highs.
The 1-2 PM rule: On valve amps, try setting all controls between 1 and 2 o'clock rather than straight up (vertical), then cut what's too much rather than boosting. Don't forget the volume control on your guitar itself - rolling it back shows off a great amplifier's ability to clean up.
The golden rule: Follow your ears. Sounds different in the room at low volume versus high volume. Recording with a mic right next to the speaker (what you heard in this video) is like having your ear against the amp - totally different from standing across the room. Mic placement (on-axis at the speaker cone versus off-axis) drastically affects recorded tone. Practice with GarageBand helps prepare for studio recording decisions.