Tone library / Living Colour / Cult of Personality

Cult of Personality amp settings — Fender 15G Fender 15G

The Living Colour guitar tone for “Cult of Personality”, dialed in for a Fender 15G Fender 15G with a Squier Affinity Stratocaster. Studio version, Vivid (1988)

Original rig

ESP E-II Eclipse (bridge humbucker) → Dunlop Cry Baby GCB95 → MXR Phase 90 → Marshall JCM800 2203

Aggressive mid-forward crunch with tight pick attack and harmonic bite — funk-metal edge with controlled saturation

Amp settings — Fender 15G Fender 15G

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	7
Bass	4
Treble	6
Master	6

Don’t have a Fender 15G Fender 15G? Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Distortion Pedal (Boss DS-1 or similar)

RECOMMENDED — not owned. The Frontman 15G cannot reach JCM800 saturation levels on its own. A DS-1 or RAT clone provides the aggressive midrange crunch this tone requires. Set amp gain to 3-4 when using this pedal.

Tone 6 · Level 7 · Dist 6

Why these settings

The Frontman 15G is a solid-state practice amp with no mid control and limited gain — it cannot replicate JCM800 crunch alone. Bass dropped from original 5 to 4 because the small speaker gets flubby; treble raised slightly to compensate for your Strat's single-coil brightness being thinner than Vernon Reid's ESP humbucker. A distortion pedal is essential to reach this tone's saturation.

PRO TIPVernon Reid's attack on the main riff is extremely precise — he picks close to the bridge with a stiff wrist for that percussive funk-metal snap. Practice the riff with a metronome on beats 2 and 4 (Reid's own training method) to lock in the groove before chasing the tone.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Fender 15G Fender 15G. 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.