Highway to hell amp settings — Fender Champion 50XL

The AC/DC guitar tone for “Highway to hell”, dialed in for a Fender Champion 50XL with a Epiphone SG Standard. Studio version, Highway to Hell album (1979), Roundhouse Studios London

Original rig

1968 Gibson SG Standard → Schaffer-Vega wireless (preamp boost) → Marshall 1959 Super Lead Plexi 100W cranked, into Marshall 4x12 with Celestion G12-65 speakers

Crunchy, mid-scooped British rock rhythm with tight low-end thump and biting presence — swagger in the pick attack

Amp settings — Fender Champion 50XL

CHANNELOverdrive channel (Voice 1 — British-voiced)

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	6
Bass	5
Mid	4
Treble	5
Reverb	0
Master	7

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Zoom G1X Four — TS808 model (Tube Screamer)

Use as a clean boost to simulate the Schaffer-Vega preamp tightening — low drive, high level pushes the amp's front end for that compressed attack Angus gets

Drive 2 · Tone 6 · Level 7

Why these settings

The Champion 50XL is a Fender-voiced amp — naturally scooped mids and bright treble shelf. The original Plexi is mid-forward with bark around 2-3kHz. I've pushed mids +1 from where you'd set a Marshall and pulled treble -1 to compensate for the Fender's brightness. The Champion's overdrive channel won't saturate like a cranked Plexi, so the Zoom's TS808 model running as a clean boost adds the front-end compression and tightens the low end that the Schaffer wireless provided on the original.

PRO TIPThe swagger is in the right hand — Angus digs in hard with downstrokes on the low strings and lets the open G ring. Practice the riff with aggressive, consistent downpicking; the tone follows the attack dynamics, not the knobs.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Fender Champion 50XL. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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