Crystal Mountain amp settings — Marshall MG 15 fx

The Death guitar tone for “Crystal Mountain”, dialed in for a Marshall MG 15 fx with a Epiphone G 400. Studio version, Symbolic (1995), Morrisound Recording, Tampa

Original rig

Marshall Valvestate 8100 head, B.C. Rich Stealth with DiMarzio X2N humbucker, Marshall 1960B cab, D Standard tuning, no dirt pedals — amp gain only

Tight, scooped death metal with razor-sharp high end, controlled low end, and aggressive articulation on fast passages

Amp settings — Marshall MG 15 fx

CHANNELOD1 or OD2 (Overdrive channel)

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	6
Mid	3
Treble	8
Presence	0
Reverb	0
Master	5

Don’t have a Marshall MG 15 fx? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01NUX Metal Core Deluxe MK2

Engage pedal, set amp to CLEAN channel with amp gain at 2-3 to avoid double-saturation. The MG15's overdrive channel lacks the tight response needed — use the pedal as your primary gain source into a clean platform.

Level 6 · High 7 · Low 5 · Gain 7

Why these settings

The original Valvestate 8100 had a unique Contour knob that scooped mids aggressively around 400-800Hz — your MG15 lacks this, so mid is set to 3 and the NUX pedal's voicing compensates. Your Epiphone G-400's Alnico humbuckers are warmer and lower output than Chuck's X2N, so pedal gain is set to 7 (vs his amp-only approach) to achieve similar saturation. Run the pedal into the MG's clean channel — stacking the pedal into the OD channel will create mud.

PRO TIPChuck's articulation came from extremely tight palm muting and picking directly over the bridge pickup pole pieces — not the strings between pickups. This gives the attack a sharper transient that cuts through the scooped mids. Also, tune to D Standard (all strings down one whole step) to match the original's low-end weight.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Marshall MG 15 fx. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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