Tone library / Cacophony / Concerto (feat. Jason Becker and Marty Friedman)

Concerto (feat. Jason Becker and Marty Friedman) amp settings — Fractal Audio Axe-FX III

The Cacophony guitar tone for “Concerto (feat. Jason Becker and Marty Friedman)”, dialed in for a Fractal Audio Axe-FX III with a Gibson Explorer. Studio track, Speed Metal Symphony (1987) — Jason Becker & Marty Friedman dual lead/neoclassical shred tone

Original rig

Marshall JCM800 2203 / Carvin X100B, Ibanez Tube Screamer / Boss OD-1 boost, Hurricane / Carvin guitars with bridge humbuckers, Celestion G12T-75 loaded 4x12 cabs, studio plate reverb and digital delay

Aggressive, bright 80s neoclassical shred tone with tight low-end, forward upper-mids, and smooth singing sustain

Amp settings — Fractal Audio Axe-FX III

CHANNELBrit 800 #34 / Brit 800 (Marshall JCM800 model) + 4x12 1960A G12T-75 IRBRIGHTonBOOSToff

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

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Drive Block (TS808 / Tube Screamer model)

Placed before Amp block to tighten low-end tracking and boost front-end saturation for fast arpeggios

Drive 1 · Tone 6 · Level 8

02Delay Block (Digital Delay)

FX chain post-amp block; set to roughly 380ms for 80s studio lead spatial depth

Time 4 · Feedback 3 · Mix 3

03Reverb Block (Studio Plate)

Post-cab block to recreate the Shrapnel Records stereo studio space

Decay 4 · Mix 3

Why these settings

The Axe-FX III's Brit 800 block replicates the hot-rodded Marshall/Carvin heads used across Speed Metal Symphony. Because the Gibson Explorer with mahogany body and humbuckers is naturally warmer and thicker than Becker and Friedman's brighter alder/ash shred guitars, bass is trimmed to 4 and mids/treble are pushed to 7 for sharp sweep-picking note articulation. The TS808 drive block acts strictly as a front-end clean boost (Drive 1, Level 8) to tighten up tracking without muddying high-speed runs.

PRO TIPUse a sharp, rigid pick (such as a 1.5mm–2.0mm Dunlop Tortex Jazz III) angled slightly to the strings; the fast sweeping on this track relies on extreme pick-attack precision and minimal excess pick displacement.

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These settings are for a Fractal Audio Axe-FX III. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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