Tone library / Chris Isaak / Wicked Game

Wicked Game amp settings — Harley benton HB-40R

The Chris Isaak guitar tone for “Wicked Game”, dialed in for a Harley benton HB-40R with a Harley benton ST-20HSS SBK Standard Series. Studio version, Heart Shaped World (1989), James Calvin Wilsey lead guitar

Original rig

1962 Fender Stratocaster Reissue (neck pickup) into 1964 Fender Deluxe / Silverface Twin Reverb, Roland SDE-3000 delay, TC Electronic 2290, Eventide H3000

Pristine, atmospheric clean with lush spring reverb, subtle ambient delay, and glassy top-end twang

Amp settings — Harley benton HB-40R

CHANNELClean ChannelBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	2
Bass	5
Mid	4
Treble	7
Reverb	8
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPneck TONE10 VOLUME9

Signal chain

01Analog Delay / Tape Echo (e.g. Boss DM-2W or Carbon Copy)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; set for a ~350-400ms ambient repeat

Repeat / F.Back 4 · Echo / Blend 5 · Rate / D.Time 6

02Chorus / Pitch Modulation (e.g. Boss CE-2W or Eventide-style chorus)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; adds the lush, slow detune movement of the original studio track

Rate 3 · Depth 5

Why these settings

The HB-40R is kept on its clean channel with gain low to mimic the massive clean headroom of Wilsey's Fender Twin Reverb. The mids are pulled down slightly to replicate classic Fender mid-scoop, while treble is pushed up to 7 to deliver the glassy single-coil cut through the HB-40R's darker 10-inch custom speaker. Crank the onboard spring reverb to 8 to carry the cavernous surf-noir ambience until you add outboard delay and chorus pedals.

PRO TIPUse a thin-to-medium pick right up against the bridge for maximum snap, but keep the neck pickup selected—and lightly ride the Strat's tremolo arm with your palm on every sustained chord and note decay to produce Wilsey's haunting pitch warble.

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These settings are for a Harley benton HB-40R. 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.