Edge of Desire amp settings — Marshall DSL40CR
The John Mayer guitar tone for “Edge of Desire”, dialed in for a Marshall DSL40CR with a Fender American Professional II Stratocaster. Studio version, Battle Studies (2009) - main signature arpeggiated riff
Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster / 1961 Gibson SG into Dumble Steel String Singer & Two-Rock Custom Reverb Signature with Way Huge Aqua-Puss slapback delay and subtle studio plate reverb
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 4 |
| Bass | 6 |
| Mid | 6 |
| Treble | 5 |
| Presence | 4 |
| Reverb | 2 |
| Master | 5 |
01Boss DD-8 Digital Delay
FX loop. Set mode to Analog or Warm to emulate the Aqua-Puss slapback (approx. 100-120ms with 1-2 repeats).
02Boss RV-6 Reverb
FX loop. Plate mode to replicate the high-headroom studio decay without washing out the arpeggios.
The DSL40CR is naturally more mid-aggressive than Mayer's ultra-clean Dumble/Two-Rock setup, so using the Classic Gain Clean mode with gain kept around 4 preserves clean headroom with just a hint of touch sensitivity. We keep the TS9 bypassed because the core riff relies on pure amp dynamics, while the presence is dialed back to 4 to round off the Marshall bite against the Strat single coils. Bass is lifted to 6 and the neck+middle Strat position mimics the scooped, glassy clarity of the recording.
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