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

Don't Cry amp settings — Music 20w

The Guns N' Roses guitar tone for “Don't Cry”, dialed in for a Music 20w with a Fender Player Stratocaster. Studio version, Use Your Illusion I (1991)

Original rig

Gibson Les Paul Standard (Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro) into Marshall Silver Jubilee 2555X, tuned to Eb standard

Warm, singing lead tone with smooth sustain — mid-forward with controlled gain, not saturated

Amp settings — Music 20w

CHANNELOverdrive / LeadBRIGHToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	6
Bass	6
Treble	4
Reverb	3
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPneck TONE7 VOLUME10

Why these settings

The 'Music 20w' is an unrecognized generic practice amp, so only core controls are active and middle/presence are nulled. Because you are playing single coils on a Stratocaster instead of Slash's Alnico II humbuckers, rolling your guitar tone knob back to 7 warms up the top end and adds the characteristic vocal quality. Keep the amp gain around 6 to get smooth sustain without excessive solid-state fizz.

PRO TIPSlash achieves his signature singing flute-like sustain on this solo by selecting the neck pickup, rolling the tone knob down slightly, and picking with a heavy downstroke near the neck joint rather than close to the bridge.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Music 20w. 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.