Tone library / Mötley Crüe / Looks That Kill

Looks That Kill amp settings — Hughes & kettner Attax Series Tour Reverb 2-Channel 100-Watt

The Mötley Crüe guitar tone for “Looks That Kill”, dialed in for a Hughes & kettner Attax Series Tour Reverb 2-Channel 100-Watt with a Epiphone Explorer. Studio version, Shout at the Devil (1983)

Original rig

Mick Mars used Marshall JCM800 heads (multiple amps blended), Gibson/Kramer humbucker guitars, close-mic + distant room mic technique for width

Thick, nasal, midrange-forward distortion with sustain — classic early-80s Marshall grind
Amp settings — Hughes & kettner Attax Series Tour Reverb 2-Channel 100-Watt
CHANNELLead channelBRIGHToff
GAIN 7 BASS 6 MID 7 TREBLE 6 PRESENCE 5 REVERB 1 MASTER 6
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain7
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Reverb1
Master6
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Guitar
PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10
Why these settings

Your H&K Attax is a German high-gain design voiced tighter than the Marshall JCM800 original, with more aggressive upper-mids. I pulled treble and presence back 1-2 notches from a typical JCM800 setting and pushed mids to 7 to capture that thick nasal bark. The Epiphone Explorer humbuckers are slightly lower output than Mick's Gibsons, so gain stays at 7 to maintain saturation without getting fizzy.

PRO TIPRoll your guitar's tone knob to 8 instead of wide-open — this cuts the ice-pick highs that German amps can emphasize, getting you closer to that warm JCM800 voicing. Palm-mute heavily during the verse riffs to keep the chug tight.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Hughes & kettner Attax Series Tour Reverb 2-Channel 100-Watt. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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