Moonlight on the river amp settings — Harley benton dnafx amp20
The Mac demarco guitar tone for “Moonlight on the river”, dialed in for a Harley benton dnafx amp20 with a Epiphone Les Paul Tribute Plus HCS Les paul. Studio version, 'Here Comes the Cowboy' (2019)
Fender '68 Custom Princeton Reverb or Vibrochamp amp, Fender Stratocaster (neck/middle pickup), MXR Micro Amp boost, JHS Colour Box preamp — recorded with amp tremolo and spring reverb
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 3 |
| Bass | 6 |
| Mid | 5 |
| Treble | 4 |
| Reverb | 7 |
| Master | 5 |
Mac's Princeton is a Fender clean platform with scooped mids and chimey highs. Your DNAFX Amp20's 'Clean' model approximates this. I dropped treble to 4 (your Les Paul humbuckers are warmer and hotter than his Strat single coils) and rolled your guitar's tone knob to 6 to soften the top end. Gain at 3 gives that edge-of-breakup warmth without actual distortion. The key to this tone is the TREMOLO effect — enable it via the modulation section at a slow-to-medium rate with moderate depth.
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These settings are for a Harley benton dnafx amp20. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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