Tone library / Foo fighters / Everlong

Everlong amp settings — Vox AC30VT

The Foo fighters guitar tone for “Everlong”, dialed in for a Vox AC30VT with a Epiphone Les Paul Standard 60s. Studio version, The Colour and the Shape (1997)

Original rig

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier (distorted sections), Fender/Zinky ToneMaster (verses), Gibson Trini Lopez/ES-335, bridge humbucker, Drop D tuning

Aggressive mid-forward crunch with tight low end and cutting highs, compressed sustain on power chords
Amp settings — Vox AC30VT
CHANNELVC (Vox Crunch) or AC30TB model
GAIN 8 BASS 4 MID 7 TREBLE 6 PRESENCE 5 REVERB 0 MASTER 6
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain8
Bass4
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Reverb0
Master6
Don’t have a Vox AC30VT? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →
Guitar
PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10
Signal chain

01ProCo Rat 2 or similar distortion

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Essential for getting the Rectifier-style saturation the AC30 modeling cannot replicate alone. Without this, the tone will lack the aggressive compression and harmonic density of the original.

Distortion 6 · Filter 4 · Volume 7
Why these settings

The original Mesa Rectifier has a scooped, high-gain voice with tight bass response. Your AC30VT's Vox modeling is inherently mid-forward and chimey with less gain on tap. Pushed mids to 7 (vs original's 6) to compensate for the Vox's natural mid-scoop at high gain, dropped treble to 6 (vs 7.5) because the AC30 voicing gets ice-picky where the Mesa stays warm. A Rat-style pedal is critical here — without it, you'll get a fuzzy, undefined crunch instead of the compressed chunk of the recording.

PRO TIPTune to Drop D and palm-mute aggressively on the main riff — Grohl's tone comes as much from his hard right-hand attack as the amp settings. Dig in hard on downstrokes and let the compressive nature of the distortion do the sustain work.

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These settings are for a Vox AC30VT. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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