Tone library / Pantera / Cemetery Gates

Cemetery Gates amp settings — Cort CM15R

The Pantera guitar tone for “Cemetery Gates”, dialed in for a Cort CM15R with a Soundsation Buffalo pro wr. Studio version, Cowboys from Hell (1990) — clean arpeggiated intro section

Original rig

Dean ML 'Dean From Hell' (Bill Lawrence L-500XL, neck pickup) → Furman PQ-3 Parametric EQ → MXR 6-Band EQ → Roland JC-120 (clean intro) / Randall RG100ES (heavy sections)

Shimmering clean arpeggios with subtle warmth and dimension, transitioning to scooped crushing high-gain rhythm
Amp settings — Cort CM15R
GAIN 2 BASS 6 MID 5 TREBLE 6 PRESENCE 0 REVERB 3 MASTER 5
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain2
Bass6
Mid5
Treble6
Presence0
Reverb3
Master5
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Guitar
PICKUPneck TONE8 VOLUME10
Signal chain

01Chorus Pedal (Boss CE-5 or similar)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. The JC-120's built-in stereo chorus is essential to the clean intro's shimmer. A basic Boss CE-5 or TC Electronic Corona gets you there.

Rate 3 · Depth 5 · Level 7

02Distortion Pedal (Boss MT-2 or MXR Fullbore Metal)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. For the heavy sections, you need a high-gain pedal with mid-scoop capability. The CM15R cannot produce Dimebag's crushing tone on its own. Set amp gain to 2 and let the pedal do all the work.

Level 7 · Low 7 · Mid 2 · High 8 · Dist 8
Why these settings

The Cort CM15R is a 15W practice amp with limited headroom and no channel switching — it cannot replicate Dimebag's Randall crunch or JC-120 chorus natively. For the clean intro, I've set gain low and boosted reverb to add dimension where chorus is missing. Your Soundsation's humbuckers are hotter than Dimebag's L-500XL, so treble stays moderate to avoid ice-pick highs. Without a distortion pedal, the heavy sections are simply unachievable on this amp.

PRO TIPFor the clean intro arpeggios, pick directly over the neck pickup with the fleshy part of your thumb grazing the strings slightly — Dimebag's clean attack was soft and round, not bright and snappy. Roll tone knob to 6-7 if the top end still feels harsh.

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These settings are for a Cort CM15R. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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