Highwayman amp settings — Fender 10G amp

The Highwaymen guitar tone for “Highwayman”, dialed in for a Fender 10G amp with a Fender Player Precision Bass. Studio version, Highwayman album (1985), recorded at Moman's Recording Studios & Woodland Sound Studios, Nashville

Original rig

Waylon Jennings: Fender Telecaster through Fender-style amp (clean country tone); Willie Nelson: Martin N-20 'Trigger' acoustic; Session guitars: Reggie Young, J.R. Cobb on clean Fender-style setups

Clean, articulate country twang with Telecaster bridge-pickup bite and occasional light grit

Amp settings — Fender 10G amp

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	3
Bass	3
Mid	6
Treble	4
Presence	0
Reverb	2
Master	4

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Guitar

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Why these settings

MISMATCH WARNING: A Precision Bass cannot replicate electric guitar tones—it operates one octave lower with fundamentally different harmonic content. The Fender 10G lacks bass-frequency handling and will distort unpleasantly. Settings above are a compromise to maximize clarity and minimize speaker damage: bass rolled off hard, mids pushed for definition, gain low. This will not sound like the recording.

PRO TIPTo actually achieve this tone, you need an electric guitar (ideally a Telecaster or any single-coil equipped guitar). If you want to play the bass part for this song instead, you need a bass amplifier—the recorded bass was played by Mike Leech and Jimmy Tittle with a warm, supportive root-note country feel.

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These settings are for a Fender 10G amp. 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.