Tone library / Bullet For My Valentine / Tears don't fall

Tears don't fall amp settings — Montery MCA-25CA

The Bullet For My Valentine guitar tone for “Tears don't fall”, dialed in for a Montery MCA-25CA with a Aria Pro 2 STG-003SPL. Studio version, The Poison (2006)

Original rig

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier, ESP Eclipse with EMG 81 pickups, ISP Decimator noise gate

Tight, scooped modern metal with compressed high-gain saturation and controlled low-end thump

Amp settings — Montery MCA-25CA

CHANNELOverdrive/Distortion channel (if available)BRIGHToff

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

Don’t have a Montery MCA-25CA? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Zoom G2NU - Noise Gate

Critical for tight metal riffing - kills hum between palm-muted chugs

Threshold 6 · Decay 3

02Zoom G2NU - Distortion (Rectifier model if available, or 'Metal' type)

Use the Zoom's high-gain amp sim to compensate for the Monterey's limited gain. Set amp to CLEAN and let the Zoom provide all distortion.

Gain 8 · Tone 5 · Level 7

03Zoom G2NU - EQ (Parametric or Graphic)

Scoop the mids slightly to approximate Rectifier voicing

Low 6 · Mid 3 · High 6

04Zoom G2NU - Delay

Subtle delay for clean arpeggiated intro section only - bypass for heavy riffs

Time 4 · Feedback 2 · Mix 2

Why these settings

The Monterey MCA-25CA is a small practice amp with limited gain, so the Zoom G2NU must provide all distortion—set the amp completely clean. Your Aria's passive single-coil pickups are much lower output and brighter than the original EMG 81 actives, so the Zoom's gain is pushed to 8 (vs typical 6-7) and the EQ scoops mids to compensate for the thinner voice. Drop D tuning is mandatory for this song.

PRO TIPPalm mute directly over the bridge saddles with the heel of your picking hand for the tightest 'chug'—moving even 1cm toward the neck loosens the attack and loses the Rectifier-style precision.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Montery MCA-25CA. 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.