Back in black amp settings — Ibanez IBZ 5

The Ac dc guitar tone for “Back in black”, dialed in for a Ibanez IBZ 5 with a Spira V-400 MSL. Studio version, Back in Black album (1980), Compass Point Studios, produced by Mutt Lange

Original rig

Gibson SG Standard with PAF humbuckers → Schaffer-Vega Diversity System → Marshall 1959 Super Lead 100W / JTM50 into Marshall 4x12 with G12-65 speakers

Crunchy, mid-forward British bark with tight low-end and aggressive pick attack — not high-gain, power-tube saturation with minimal preamp distortion

Amp settings — Ibanez IBZ 5

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	6
Bass	4
Mid	8
Treble	6
Presence	0
Reverb	0
Master	7

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Why these settings

The Ibanez IBZ 5 is a solid-state practice amp with a fundamentally different voicing than a cranked Marshall — it lacks power tube saturation entirely. I've pushed gain to 6 (higher than Angus's amp setting of 2-3) because solid-state amps need more preamp gain to achieve any breakup. Mids pushed to 8 to compensate for the IBZ's naturally scooped voice. The original tone's magic came from 100W tubes at volume — this amp cannot replicate that compression and sag, so expect a thinner, more brittle result.

PRO TIPAngus's secret weapon was his extremely hard picking attack directly over the bridge pickup — dig in aggressively with your pick angled downward and you'll get closer to that percussive bark even on modest gear. The tone is in the hands more than the amp.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Ibanez IBZ 5. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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Song, artist and gear names are used to identify the tone being matched; ToneAdapt is not affiliated with or endorsed by the artists or manufacturers mentioned. Settings are AI-generated starting points — trust your ears.