Girls Got Rhythm amp settings — TS PG-3 portable mini electric guitar amplifie TS PG-3 portable mini electric guitar amplifie

The AC/DC guitar tone for “Girls Got Rhythm”, dialed in for a TS PG-3 portable mini electric guitar amplifie TS PG-3 portable mini electric guitar amplifie with a Stratocaster La series. Studio version, Highway to Hell (1979)

Original rig

Malcolm Young: 1963 Gretsch Jet Firebird 'The Beast' (single FilterTron bridge pickup) → Marshall Plexi 1959SLP/Super Bass 100W cranked. Angus Young: Gibson SG → identical Marshall stack. No pedals. Recorded by Mark Dearnley, mixed by Tony Platt.

Crunchy, mid-forward British hard rock rhythm with scratchy highs, tight low-end, and aggressive pick attack

Amp settings — TS PG-3 portable mini electric guitar amplifie TS PG-3 portable mini electric guitar amplifie

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	4
Treble	8
Master	7

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME8

Signal chain

01Overdrive/Distortion pedal (TS-style or OCD clone)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. The TS PG-3 is a small practice amp that cannot reach Marshall crunch on its own. A mid-focused overdrive pedal is essential to get the AC/DC grind. Keep amp gain at 3-4 once you add this pedal to avoid mud.

Drive 5 · Tone 7 · Level 6

Why these settings

The TS PG-3 is a minimal portable amp with bass/treble only (no mid, no presence, no reverb) and limited gain headroom. I've pushed gain to 8 to extract maximum crunch, but it won't match a cranked Marshall Plexi. Treble at 8 compensates for the Strat's brighter voicing vs Malcolm's FilterTron. Rolling guitar volume to 8 softens the Strat's ice-pick highs and approximates the warmer Gretsch output.

PRO TIPMalcolm's tone lives in the pick attack — use firm downstrokes with the pick angled slightly, hitting the strings hard near the bridge. The aggression comes from your right hand, not the amp gain.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a TS PG-3 portable mini electric guitar amplifie TS PG-3 portable mini electric guitar amplifie. 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.