Thunderstruck amp settings — Marshall JCM900

The AC/DC guitar tone for “Thunderstruck”, dialed in for a Marshall JCM900 with a Fender American Professional II Stratocaster. Studio version, The Razors Edge (1990)

Original rig

Angus: Gibson SG Standard → Marshall 1959 Super Lead 100W. Malcolm: 1963 Gretsch Jet Firebird → 1971 Marshall JMP Super Bass 1992 head. No pedals — pure power-amp saturation.

Bright, articulate crunch with aggressive upper-mids and controlled low-end; clean attack on the tapped intro, full saturation on rhythm/solo sections

Amp settings — Marshall JCM900

CHANNELLead channel (High Gain input)BRIGHToffBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	5
Bass	4
Mid	7
Treble	6
Presence	5
Reverb	1
Master	6

Don’t have a Marshall JCM900? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Why these settings

Your JCM900 has more preamp gain than the original Plexi/Super Lead — keep gain at 5 to avoid fizz and let the power section work. The Strat's single-coil bridge is brighter and lower-output than Angus's SG humbuckers, so mid is pushed +1 to 7 for body, treble pulled -1 to 6, and presence dropped to 5 to tame the Strat's ice-pick frequencies. Bass at 4 keeps low-end tight as AC/DC always did.

PRO TIPFor the famous tapped intro, use a lighter pick attack and let the notes ring cleanly — the tone is the same, but Angus backs off his pick hand to keep each tapped note articulate. Roll your Strat's tone knob to 6-7 for just that section to round off the single-coil spike.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Marshall JCM900. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

Get ToneAdapt on Google Play

More tones for the Marshall JCM900

นักเลงเก่า (feat. D GERRARD) [เพลงประกอบภาพยนตร์ "4 KINGS"]TAITOSMITH HushClay Birds chinese democracyGun's and roses Parisienne WalkwaysGary Moore Enter SandmanMetallica NarcoticLiquido

Find your amp

Browse

Marshall JCM900 settingsALL SONGS FOR THIS AMP Thunderstruck on other ampsSAME SONG, YOUR AMP AC/DC tonesALL SONGS AC/DC on the Marshall JCM900SAME ARTIST, SAME AMP Fender American Professional II Stratocaster tonesSAME GUITAR Tone libraryEVERYTHING

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.