Clocks amp settings — 3rd AVE GA10E

The Coldplay guitar tone for “Clocks”, dialed in for a 3rd AVE GA10E with a Ibanez Gax30. Studio version, A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)

Original rig

Fender Telecaster (neck pickup) → Vox AC30 (Top Boost channel, edge of breakup) → Boss DD-3 delay (dotted-eighth)

Chimey, clean-to-edge-of-breakup single-coil shimmer with rhythmic delay texture

Amp settings — 3rd AVE GA10E

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

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Guitar

PICKUPneck TONE7 VOLUME7

Signal chain

01Boss DD-3 Digital Delay

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Set to 800ms mode, tap dotted-eighth at 130 BPM (~346ms). Essential for the 'Clocks' guitar texture. A TC Electronic Flashback or even a cheap Donner Yellow Fall gets you there.

E.Level 5 · F.Back 4 · D.Time 7 · Mode 8

Why these settings

The GA10E is a basic solid-state practice amp with limited headroom and a darker voicing than the AC30's glassy chime. Gain stays low (3) to keep it clean — the Ibanez GAX30's humbuckers are hotter than Buckland's Tele single coils, so pushing gain muddies it. Treble at 6 (not higher) because the amp gets fizzy; mid at 6 compensates for the GAX30's scooped humbucker voicing vs the original's midrange-present Tele. Built-in reverb at 4 adds space since you lack the delay.

PRO TIPRoll your guitar volume to 7 and use light pick attack — Buckland plays this part almost like a pad, letting notes bloom. The neck humbucker on the GAX30 will get closer to Tele neck warmth than the bridge. Without the delay pedal, the tone will sound functional but static; the dotted-eighth delay IS the sound of this track.

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These settings are for a 3rd AVE GA10E. 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.