The blue amp settings — Marshall JCM800 2203

The Acid bath guitar tone for “The blue”, dialed in for a Marshall JCM800 2203 with a Epiphone SG Standard. Studio version, When the Kite String Pops (1994)

Original rig

Marshall JCM2000 (live/modern), Boss MT-2 Metal Zone (both albums confirmed), Gibson Flying V/Explorer-style guitars with high-output pickups, C# standard tuning

Thick, grinding sludge metal with saturated low-mids, fizzy high-gain aggression, and crushing downtuned weight

Amp settings — Marshall JCM800 2203

CHANNELSingle channel (High Input)BRIGHToff

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

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE7 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss MT-2 Metal Zone

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. The MT-2 is essential to Acid Bath's recorded tone; Sammy Duet confirmed its use on both albums. Without it, push amp gain to 8 and accept a less scooped, more organic saturation.

Level 7 · High 5 · Low 7 · Mid 6 · Mid Freq 4 · Dist 8

Why these settings

Your JCM800 2203 is the perfect platform for this tone — it's the tighter, more aggressive ancestor of the JCM2000 they use live. The 2203's single-channel design means all gain comes from the preamp; I've set it high but not maxed to retain note definition in downtuned riffs. Without the MT-2, you'll get a rawer, less processed sludge sound — still heavy, but missing the scooped fizz that defines their studio recordings.

PRO TIPAcid Bath tuned to C# standard — if you're in E standard, the tone will feel thin and brittle. Drop to at least D standard with heavy strings (.012-.054 minimum) to get the slack, grinding low-end that makes this tone work. Pick hard directly over the bridge pickup pole pieces for maximum attack.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Marshall JCM800 2203. 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.