Cake by the ocean amp settings — Vox Pathfinder 10
The DNCE guitar tone for “Cake by the ocean”, dialed in for a Vox Pathfinder 10 with a Fender Player Precision Bass. Studio version, SWAAY EP (2015)
Yamaha bass with TI flatwound strings → Cali76 compressor → MXR M80 Bass D.I.+ → DI to interface. Bassist: Cole Whittle (studio tracking by Mattias Larsson per production credits)
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 3 |
| Bass | 7 |
| Treble | 4 |
| Master | 6 |
The Vox Pathfinder 10 is a guitar amp with no mid control, no presence, and limited headroom — it lacks the clean low-end extension of a bass amp. Bass at 7 compensates for the small speaker's weak fundamental response; treble at 4 tames the bright guitar-voiced circuit. Gain stays low to avoid flubby breakup. The original's compression and MXR M80 warmth are unreachable without pedals — a compressor pedal (Joyo JF-10 or similar) and bass-voiced preamp/DI would close the gap significantly.
Get this tone on your amp
These settings are for a Vox Pathfinder 10. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
Get ToneAdapt on Google PlaySong, 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.