Cowboys from hell amp settings — Blackstar Debut 50r
The Pantera guitar tone for “Cowboys from hell”, dialed in for a Blackstar Debut 50r with a Epiphone Les Paul Standard 60s. Studio version, Cowboys from Hell album (1990)
Dean ML with Bill Lawrence L-500XL → Furman PQ-3 parametric EQ → MXR 6-band EQ → Randall RG100ES (solid-state, distortion channel, gain maxed)
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 10 |
| Bass | 8 |
| Mid | 2 |
| Treble | 8 |
| Presence | 0 |
| Reverb | 0 |
| Master | 5 |
01EQ Pedal (Boss GE-7 or MXR 6-band)
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. This pedal is CRITICAL to Dime's tone. The Furman/MXR combo boosted lows, scooped 400Hz, and pushed upper mids into chainsaw territory. Without it, you'll get a generic high-gain sound, not the Cowboys tone.
02Noise Gate (Boss NS-2 or similar)
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Essential for tight palm mutes. Dime used a Rocktron Hush; any gate will work.
The Blackstar Debut 50R is a practice amp with limited gain compared to Dime's Randall stack, so gain is maxed. ISF full clockwise gives a tighter British response closer to the Randall's solid-state attack. Mid is slashed to 2 to approximate the famous scoop, but without the external EQ pedals (which were 80% of Dime's tone), this will sound thinner and less defined than the original. The Epiphone's humbuckers are hotter than Dime's L-500XL, which helps compensate for the Debut's lower gain ceiling.
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These settings are for a Blackstar Debut 50r. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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