Surfing with the alien amp settings — Hiwatt LEEDS 50
The Joe satriani guitar tone for “Surfing with the alien”, dialed in for a Hiwatt LEEDS 50 with a Cort G110. Studio version, Surfing with the Alien (1987) — main lead melody/solo tone
1983 Kramer Pacer (Seymour Duncan JB bridge humbucker) -> Cry Baby Wah (cocked) -> Chandler Tube Driver -> early-1970s Marshall 1959 Super Lead 100W -> Eventide H949 Harmonizer (micro-pitch detune)
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 8 |
| Bass | 4 |
| Mid | 8 |
| Treble | 5 |
| Reverb | 2 |
| Master | 6 |
01Cry Baby Wah (Parked / Cocked)
RECOMMENDED — not owned (leaves the wah halfway forward to capture Satriani's signature vocal midrange honk)
02Tube Overdrive / Distortion (Chandler Tube Driver or Boss DS-1)
RECOMMENDED — not owned (run into clean channel with amp gain at 2 once acquired)
03Pitch Shifter / Detune (Eventide H949 emulation or Pitch Fork)
RECOMMENDED — not owned (slight -11 cent pitch shift to create the signature stereo thickening)
The solid-state Hiwatt Leeds 50 has a naturally clean, articulate British headroom rather than a cranked vintage Plexi tube breakup, so you must push the Overdrive channel gain to 8 to reach Satch's sustain. We dial the mid control up to 8 on the amp to mimic the vocal resonance of Satriani's cocked wah pedal and pull treble to 5 to tame the Cort G110 ceramic bridge humbucker's harsher high frequencies. Presence is set to null because the Leeds 50 faceplate does not feature a dedicated presence control.
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These settings are for a Hiwatt LEEDS 50. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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