Domination amp settings — Harley benton Blues junior

The Pantera guitar tone for “Domination”, dialed in for a Harley benton Blues junior with a Ibanez GIO GRG170DX. Studio version, Cowboys from Hell (1990)

Original rig

Randall RG-100ES head, Furman PQ-3 parametric EQ, MXR 6-Band EQ, Dean ML with Bill Lawrence L-500XL bridge humbucker

Tight, scooped solid-state distortion with razor-sharp 2-3kHz mid presence and compressed attack

Amp settings — Harley benton Blues junior

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	3
Bass	3
Mid	4
Treble	7
Reverb	0
Master	6

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01High-Gain Distortion (Boss DS-1 or similar)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Essential for this tone. The Blues Junior cannot produce Dimebag's tight high-gain sound on its own. A DS-1, Metal Zone, or MXR Distortion+ will get you in the ballpark. Run amp completely clean.

Tone 7 · Level 7 · Dist 8

026-Band Graphic EQ (MXR M109 or similar)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. This was critical to Dimebag's tone. Cut lows, boost upper mids around 2-3kHz. Without this, the tone will lack his signature 'bark.' Place after distortion pedal.

100Hz 3 · 200Hz 4 · 400Hz 4 · 800Hz 6 · 1.6kHz 8 · 3.2kHz 7

Why these settings

The Blues Junior is a low-wattage tube amp designed for warm cleans and bluesy breakup—the opposite of Dimebag's tight, solid-state Randall sound. Without a high-gain distortion pedal, this tone is unobtainable. I set the amp to full clean (gain at 3) to act as a clean platform; the distortion pedal provides all the gain. Mid is pushed to 4 (higher than Dime's scooped Randall setting of 1-2) because the Blues Junior already has a natural mid-scoop and needs compensation to cut through.

PRO TIPDimebag's picking attack was everything—he dug in hard with the pick angled slightly and used very low action. Practice palm-muting right at the bridge saddles with aggressive downstrokes to get that percussive 'chunk' on the main riff. Your GRG170DX's Infinity R humbucker is hotter than a stock Fender single coil, which helps, but you'll still need that distortion pedal to reach thrash territory.

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