Tone library / Pantera / Drag The waters

Drag The waters amp settings — marshall MG15G

The Pantera guitar tone for “Drag The waters”, dialed in for a marshall MG15G with a Spira V-400 MGR. Studio version, The Great Southern Trendkill (1996)

Original rig

Randall RG-100 solid-state head, Dean ML 'Dean from Hell' with Bill Lawrence L-500XL pickup, Furman PQ-3 parametric EQ boosting 2-3kHz

Aggressive, razor-sharp groove metal with scooped mids, tight low end, and searing treble attack
Amp settings — marshall MG15G
CHANNELOD (Overdrive channel)
GAIN 9 BASS 7 MID 2 TREBLE 8 REVERB 0 MASTER 6
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain9
Bass7
Mid2
Treble8
Reverb0
Master6
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Guitar
PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10
Signal chain

01EQ Pedal (e.g. Boss GE-7 or MXR 10-Band)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Dimebag's Furman PQ-3 boosted 2-3kHz frequencies which is essential to his attack and cut. Without this, the tone will lack the signature 'razor' quality. A Boss GE-7 (~$100) or MXR 6-Band (~$80) gets you 70% there.

100Hz 4 · 200Hz 5 · 400Hz 3 · 800Hz 3 · 1.6kHz 6 · 2kHz 8 · 3.2kHz 7 · Level 6

02Noise Gate (e.g. Boss NS-2 or ISP Decimator)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Essential for tight palm-muted chugs without string noise bleeding through at high gain.

Threshold 6 · Decay 3
Why these settings

The MG15G is a solid-state practice amp with limited headroom and a darker voicing than Dimebag's Randall RG-100. Gain pushed to 9 compensates for lower output compared to the Randall's aggressive preamp. Mid dropped to 2 replicates the scooped character, but the MG's EQ centers are different—treble at 8 compensates for the MG's softer high end. Without the parametric EQ pedal Dimebag used, you will not achieve the 2-3kHz 'razor' attack; the amp alone will sound thicker and less defined than the original.

PRO TIPTune to D standard (D-G-C-F-A-D) to match the recording. Dimebag's picking attack was critical—use a heavy 1.0mm pick, strike close to the bridge, and dig in hard on palm-muted sections. The percussive 'chug' comes from pick attack, not just gain.

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These settings are for a marshall MG15G. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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