Tone library / Aris San / Dam Dam

Dam Dam amp settings — Peavey ValveKing 20

The Aris San guitar tone for “Dam Dam”, dialed in for a Peavey ValveKing 20 with a Cort X300. Original 1967 studio recording, reissued 2016 on Fortuna Records (FTN004-B)

Original rig

Likely a Fender-style amp (Showman/Twin/Deluxe common in 60s Israeli/Greek studios) + hollowbody or semi-hollow guitar with single coils + standalone fuzz pedal (Maestro Fuzz-Tone or similar germanium fuzz typical of 1967)

Fuzzy, wooly, mid-forward psychedelic tone with Eastern surf inflections — warm saturation, not harsh, with fingerpicked articulation cutting through
Amp settings — Peavey ValveKing 20
CHANNELClean channelBRIGHToffBOOSToff
GAIN 3 BASS 5 MID 7 TREBLE 5 PRESENCE 4 REVERB 3 MASTER 5
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain3
Bass5
Mid7
Treble5
Presence4
Reverb3
Master5
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Guitar
PICKUPneck TONE6 VOLUME10
Signal chain

01Fuzz (Big Muff style or germanium fuzz clone)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. A basic germanium fuzz (Electro-Harmonix Big Muff, Dunlop Fuzz Face Mini, or budget clone like Donner Fuzz Seeker) is essential for this tone. Without it, you'll only get 40% of the way there.

Volume 6 · Tone 4 · Sustain 5
Why these settings

The ValveKing's gain structure is too tight and modern for 60s fuzz — running it clean lets a fuzz pedal do the work authentically. Without a fuzz, push gain to 6-7 and roll tone knob to 5 for a woolier approximation, but it will lack the sputtery harmonic complexity of the original. Mid pushed to 7 compensates for the Cort's humbuckers being darker than the likely single-coil original.

PRO TIPThe fingerpicking articulation on this track requires a light touch with the fretting hand and aggressive dynamics from the picking hand — dig in on accents, ghost the fills. Roll your guitar volume to 7-8 between phrases to clean up the fuzz and create the breathing dynamics heard in the original.

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