Tone library / Caliban / Nothing Is forever

Nothing Is forever amp settings — Fender Champion 50XL

The Caliban guitar tone for “Nothing Is forever”, dialed in for a Fender Champion 50XL with a Ltd Ec-401. Studio version, 'The Opposite from Within' (2004) or 'The Awakening' era — Caliban's signature German metalcore sound

Original rig

Peavey 5150/6505 or Mesa Dual Rectifier, ESP/LTD guitars with EMG 81/85 pickups, tight low-end with scooped mids and aggressive pick attack

Tight, aggressive modern metalcore — palm-muted chunk, scooped mids, controlled low-end, cutting high-gain saturation

Amp settings — Fender Champion 50XL

CHANNELVoice 2 (high-gain voicing on Champion 50XL)BRIGHToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	2
Bass	4
Mid	3
Treble	6
Presence	0
Reverb	0
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss ME-90 — Preamp Type: EXTREME (5150/Rectifier style)

Set Gt.AMP/LINE switch to 'Gt. Amp' since running into Champion 50XL. The ME-90's EXTREME preamp is your primary gain source — the Fender amp stays clean.

PREAMP TYPE EXTREME · GAIN 7 · BASS 5 · MIDDLE 4 · TREBLE 7 · LEVEL 6

02Boss ME-90 — OD/DS Section: METAL DS (backup option)

Alternative to EXTREME preamp. Use one OR the other, not both stacked — double gain destroys definition.

OD/DS TYPE METAL DS · DRIVE 6 · TONE 7 · LEVEL 5

03Boss ME-90 — Noise Suppressor

Essential for high-gain metalcore. Prevents hum between riffs. Built into ME-90 signal chain.

THRESHOLD 5

04Boss ME-90 — Compressor Section

Adds tightness to palm mutes. Subtle compression — not squashed.

COMP TYPE NATURAL · SUSTAIN 4 · ATTACK 5 · LEVEL 5

05Boss ME-90 — EQ Section

Slight mid-scoop for that metalcore chunk. Cut around 800Hz mentally — the parametric mid knob at 3 achieves this.

EQ TYPE PARAMETRIC · LOW 5 · MID 3 · HIGH 6

Why these settings

Your Fender Champion 50XL is a clean-platform amp without high-gain voicing — it cannot produce metalcore saturation alone. The ME-90's EXTREME preamp type becomes your actual amp sound; set the Champion to Voice 2 with gain at 2 to stay clean and let the ME-90 do all the work. Your LTD EC-401 with EMG 81 bridge pickup is identical to Caliban's pickup choice, so no compensation needed there. Dropped the Fender's bass to 4 to prevent low-end mud stacking with the ME-90's bass frequencies.

PRO TIPFor Caliban's tight palm-mute attack, anchor your picking hand firmly on the bridge saddles and use downstrokes with the thick part of the pick — the chunk comes from pick angle and muting pressure, not just gain. Roll your tone knob to 8 to tame the EMG 81's ice-pick highs on the attack transients.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Fender Champion 50XL. 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.