Tone library / Guns N' Roses / Don't Cry

Don't Cry amp settings — Boss Katana 50 MkII

The Guns N' Roses guitar tone for “Don't Cry”, dialed in for a Boss Katana 50 MkII with a Harley Benton SC-Custom II. Studio version, Use Your Illusion I (1991) — both album versions share identical guitar tracks

Original rig

Gibson Les Paul Standard/Custom → Marshall JCM800 2205 (split-channel), moderate gain with natural tube saturation, hall reverb for stadium ambience

Warm mid-forward crunch with singing sustain, clean enough for arpeggios but breaking up on harder attacks, lush reverb tail

Amp settings — Boss Katana 50 MkII

CHANNELCrunch amp typeBRIGHToffBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	5
Bass	6
Mid	7
Treble	5
Presence	6
Reverb	6
Master	7

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Guitar

PICKUPneck TONE7 VOLUME10

Why these settings

The Katana's Crunch channel approximates the JCM800's midrange push and touch-sensitive breakup. Your SC-Custom II's humbuckers match Slash's Les Paul output well, so no gain compensation needed. Treble dropped from the original's 6 to 5 because the Katana's Crunch voice has slightly more high-end bite than a real JCM800. Roll tone knob to 7 for the warmer neck-pickup singing quality Slash gets on the melodic sections.

PRO TIPFor the intro arpeggios, pick closer to the neck and lighten your attack to stay clean; dig in harder during the chorus for natural breakup — this dynamic response is the entire point of the moderate gain setting.

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These settings are for a Boss Katana 50 MkII. 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.