Hells Bells amp settings — Peavey Vypyr VIP 2

The AC/DC guitar tone for “Hells Bells”, dialed in for a Peavey Vypyr VIP 2 with a Schecter C-1 Hellraiser. Studio album cut, Back in Black (1980) - Angus Young rhythm & iconic intro riff

Original rig

1970 Gibson SG Standard (T-Top humbuckers) + Marshall 2203 JMP 100W Master Volume + Schaffer-Vega Diversity System (SVDS clean boost/compander) into Marshall 4x12 (Celestion Greenbacks)

Raw, punchy British master-volume crunch with biting upper-mids and dry, articulate string separation

Amp settings — Peavey Vypyr VIP 2

CHANNELBritish (Amber/Crunch channel)BOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	5
Bass	5
Mid	7
Treble	6
Reverb	0
Master	6

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME9

Why these settings

The Peavey Vypyr VIP 2's 'British' model on the Amber channel emulates a classic Marshall JCM/JMP master volume crunch. Because the Schecter C-1 Hellraiser carries hot active EMG 81/89 pickups compared to Angus's lower-output vintage Gibson T-Tops, gain is backed down to 5 and the guitar volume rolled slightly to 9 to prevent over-saturation and maintain percussive clarity. The Vypyr VIP 2 faceplate has no physical presence knob, so presence is nulled, while mids are pushed to 7 to replicate the iconic 2203 bark.

PRO TIPAngus's crisp attack comes from digging in hard near the bridge using an extra-heavy pick—keep your picking hand firm and avoid picking over the neck pickup to keep the opening bell-harmony riffs tight and articulate.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Peavey Vypyr VIP 2. 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.