"Heroes" (2017 Remaster) amp settings — Fender Mustang LT25
The David Bowie guitar tone for “"Heroes" (2017 Remaster)”, dialed in for a Fender Mustang LT25 with a Fender American Professional II Stratocaster. Studio version, "Heroes" (1977) — Robert Fripp's sustained feedback guitar
{"amp":"Hiwatt through EMS Synthi A filter bank — Fripp stood at measured distances from the speaker to achieve natural feedback sustain on each note","guitar":"Gibson Les Paul Custom with humbuckers","effects":"EMS Synthi A (filter/envelope manipulation by Brian Eno), natural feedback sustain (not E-bow)"}
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 7 |
| Bass | 5 |
| Mid | 6 |
| Treble | 5 |
| Reverb | 4 |
| Master | 7 |
01Compressor/Sustainer (RECOMMENDED — not owned)
RECOMMENDED — a Boss CS-3 or MXR Dyna Comp is essential for approximating Fripp's infinite sustain. Max sustain, moderate attack. Without this, the tone will not sing and bloom like the original.
02Fuzz (RECOMMENDED — not owned)
RECOMMENDED — a Big Muff or similar smooth fuzz adds harmonic saturation that feeds back more musically. Keep fuzz moderate for sustain, not buzz.
Fripp used a Les Paul humbucker into a cranked Hiwatt with EMS Synthi filtering. Your Strat single coils are brighter and lower output — the neck pickup with tone rolled to 6 warms it up. The Mustang LT25's Twin model provides clean headroom; gain at 7 pushes it into light breakup for feedback potential. Without a compressor pedal, sustain will be limited — a compressor is the single most important addition to approach this tone.
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These settings are for a Fender Mustang LT25. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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