Always amp settings — Fender Hot Rod Deluxe IV

The Bon jovi guitar tone for “Always”, dialed in for a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe IV with a Fender American Professional II Stratocaster. Studio version, Cross Road (1994) — clean ballad foundation and soaring emotional solo

Original rig

Marshall JCM800 and Fender Tone-Master, Fender Richie Sambora Signature Stratocaster (HSS with Floyd Rose and mid-boost), Boss SD-1, Klon Centaur, rack chorus and digital delay/reverb

Clean-focused ballad foundation with lush chorus and ambient reverb, boosting into a thick, mid-pushed singing lead tone

Amp settings — Fender Hot Rod Deluxe IV

CHANNELCleanBRIGHToffBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	3
Bass	5
Mid	6
Treble	5
Presence	4
Reverb	3
Master	4

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge+middle TONE9 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Xotic EP Booster

Always-on preamp warmth; fattens single coils to match Sambora's mid-boost circuit

Gain 4

02Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9

Engage for the lead solo sections to provide mid hump and singing sustain

Drive 7 · Tone 5 · Level 6

03Strymon Mobius

(Chorus mode, FX loop) Lush 80s/90s spatial chorus for arpeggiated clean verses

Type 1 · Speed 3 · Depth 6 · Level 5

04Strymon Timeline

(Digital delay mode, FX loop) ~420ms quarter-note delay with moderate mix

Type 1 · Time 5 · Repeats 5 · Mix 4

05Strymon BigSky

(Plate/Hall mode, FX loop) Expansive, polished studio reverb tail

Type 2 · Decay 6 · Pre-Delay 3 · Mix 5

Why these settings

The Hot Rod Deluxe IV has a scooped Fender clean channel, so the mids are pushed to 6 and treble dialed back to 5 to avoid piercing highs on single coils. The TS9 acts as your dedicated solo drive into the clean headroom, replicating Richie's pushed JCM800/Klon lead tone without needing amp distortion. Clean arpeggios: use neck+middle or bridge+middle with TS9 bypassed; Lead solo: flip to bridge pickup and kick on the TS9.

PRO TIPSambora's signature Strat features an active mid-boost circuit; keeping the EP Booster always on before the TS9 thickens the Strat's bridge pickup fundamental so high-fret bends sustain smoothly without thinning out.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe IV. 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.