Tone library / Michael jackson / Dirty diana

Dirty diana amp settings — Auditio 20 PEAVEY

The Michael jackson guitar tone for “Dirty diana”, dialed in for a Auditio 20 PEAVEY with a Tracer Peavey. Studio version, Bad album (1987/1988) — Steve Stevens on lead guitar

Original rig

Jackson Soloist (bridge humbucker, Seymour Duncan) → Compressor → Delay → Late '60s Marshall Plexi head → Marshall 4x12 cab (Celestion V30s)

Aggressive, searing mid-forward lead tone with sizzling presence and tight compression — classic '80s hard rock solo voice

Amp settings — Auditio 20 PEAVEY

CHANNELHigh Gain / Lead channel (if available, otherwise single channel cranked)BRIGHTon

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	7
Bass	4
Mid	7
Treble	6
Presence	7
Reverb	2
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Compressor (Boss CS-3 or MXR Dyna Comp style)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Essential for the sustained, even lead tone Stevens achieved. Without this, notes will die faster and dynamics will be uneven.

Level 7 · Tone 6 · Attack 5 · Sustain 6

02Delay (Boss DD-3 or similar digital delay)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Set delay time around 350-400ms. The solo has a clear slapback/short delay thickening the tone. Without this, the solo will sound thinner and more exposed.

E.Level 4 · F.Back 3 · D.Time 5 · Mode 7

Why these settings

The Peavey Audition 20 is a solid-state practice amp with limited headroom and a darker, less aggressive voicing than a cranked Plexi. I pushed mids to 7 and treble to 6 to compensate for the Peavey's lack of natural Marshall bite and upper-mid presence. The Peavey Tracer's stock ceramic humbucker is hotter and darker than Stevens' Seymour Duncan, so I rolled tone knob to 8 to retain clarity without ice-pick highs. Gain at 7 gets you into saturated territory without mud on this amp.

PRO TIPStevens used aggressive picking attack right over the bridge pickup pole pieces for that cutting, vocal-like sustain — dig in hard on the pick attack and let the note bloom, rather than playing with a light touch. This is how you fake compression if you don't have a compressor pedal.

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These settings are for a Auditio 20 PEAVEY. 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.