Cemetery gates amp settings — Marshall MG15

The Pantera guitar tone for “Cemetery gates”, dialed in for a Marshall MG15 with a Northstar Les paul. Studio version, Cowboys from Hell (1990) — DISTORTED RIFF/SOLO SECTION (not the clean intro)

Original rig

Randall RG100ES solid-state amp, Dean ML 'Dean From Hell' with Bill Lawrence L-500XL bridge humbucker, MXR Six-Band Graphic EQ (V-scoop)

Tight, aggressive, scooped-mid solid-state crunch with razor-sharp attack and controlled low-end

Amp settings — Marshall MG15

CHANNELOD (Overdrive channel)

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

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Dark Matter Distortion

This is your primary gain source — amp gain stays low to avoid mud. The Dark Matter's tight clipping approximates the Randall's solid-state aggression better than the MG's preamp would.

Level 7 · Low 6 · High 7 · Dist 8

02MXR Six-Band EQ or similar graphic EQ

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. This V-scoop EQ after the distortion is essential to Dimebag's sound. Place it between the Dark Matter and the amp input. Without it, you'll get close but miss the surgical mid-cut that defines this tone.

100Hz 7 · 200Hz 4 · 400Hz 2 · 800Hz 2 · 1.6kHz 4 · 3.2kHz 7

Why these settings

The MG15's OD channel is voiced warmer and muddier than the Randall's razor-tight solid-state response, so I dropped amp gain to 2 and made the Dark Matter your primary distortion source — this keeps the attack tight. Your Les Paul's humbuckers are hotter and warmer than Dime's L-500XL blade pickup, so I pulled back the pedal's Low slightly from where a Dean would sit. The extreme mid-scoop (amp mid at 2) is non-negotiable for this tone.

PRO TIPDimebag's right-hand attack was extremely precise and percussive — he picked hard directly over the bridge pickup with the heel of his palm lightly muting. This 'chug' technique is 50% of the Cemetery Gates riff tone; without it, even perfect settings sound flabby.

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